Free Ardennes 1944: Hitler's Last Gamble by Antony Beevor Page B

Volksgrenadiers taken prisoner in the fighting round the twin villages of Rocherath–Krinkelt.

30. Brigadier General Robert W. Hasbrouck, who commanded the 7th Armored Division and the defence of St Vith, receiving the silver star from Lieutenant General Courtney Hodges of the First Army.

31. In the wake of the scare caused by Otto Skorzeny’s disguised commandos behind American lines, US military police check the identities of Belgian refugees near Marche-en-Famenne.

32. Dinant. Belgian refugees rush to cross the Meuse to safety to avoid German reprisals and the fighting.

33. A bazooka team from Cota’s 28th Infantry Division withdraw after three days of fighting in Wiltz. This helped delay the Germans and allow the 101st Airborne just enough time to establish a defensive perimeter around Bastogne.

34. A young SS trooper taken prisoner near Malmédy, fortunate not to have been shot out of hand after the massacre nearby at Baugnez.

35. Civilians murdered by Kampfgruppe Peiper at Stavelot.

36. Vapour trails over Bastogne. On 23 December, the skies suddenly cleared to Allied relief and German anxiety. This allowed the Allied air forces to deploy the overwhelming strength of their air forces.

37. The change in the weather at last allowed the US Air Force to send in its C-47 Dakota transport aircraft to drop supplies into the Bastogne perimeter.

38. Unable to evacuate their wounded from Bastogne, the American command had to leave their casualties in cellars in the town, where they lay on straw awaiting the arrival of surgical teams dropped in by glider.

39. Paratroopers of the 101st Airborne sing carols on Christmas Eve just a few hours before the all-out German attack on the perimeter.

40. The end of the German thrust to the Meuse. Remnants of the Kampfgruppe Böhm from the 2nd Panzer-Division in a farmyard in Foy-Notre-Dame.

41. General Patton (
right
) reaches Bastogne on 30 December and decorates both Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe (
left
) and Lieutenant Colonel Steve Chappuis (
centre
), the commander of the 502nd Parachute Infantry, with the Distinguished Service Cross.

42. American reinforcements advancing in steeply wooded Ardennes terrain.

43. A patrol from the British XXX Corps in the Ardennes wearing snowsuits made out of villagers’ bedsheets.

44. The Allied counter-offensive in January 1945. Soldiers from the 26th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Division finally advance from Bütgenbach, which they had defended since 17 December.

45. La Roche-en-Ardenne was so badly destroyed that when swallows returned to rebuild their nests in the spring, they became disorientated.

46. Investigators start the work of identifying the American soldiers massacred at Baugnez near Malmédy.

47. After the massacre of American soldiers near Malmédy, their comrades, with the encouragement of senior commanders, shot most Waffen-SS soldiers who surrendered. Yet many had been forced into SS uniform against their will, or were pathetically young, like this boy.

48. Joachim Peiper on trial for war crimes including the massacre near Malmédy. Although the death sentence was commuted, members of the French Resistance killed him later.

Order of Battle, Ardennes Offensive
     
ALLIED
     
     
    12th Army Group
    Lieutenant General Omar N. Bradley
     
    US First Army
    Lieutenant General Courtney H. Hodges
     
    V Corps
    Major General Leonard T. Gerow
    102nd Cavalry Group; 38th and 102nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadrons (attached)
    613th Tank Destroyer Battalion
    186th, 196th, 200th and 955th Field Artillery Battalions
    187th Field Artillery Group (751st and 997th Field Artillery Battalions)
    190th Field Artillery Group (62nd, 190th, 272nd and 268th Field Artillery Battalions)
    406th Field Artillery Group (76th, 941st, 953rd and 987th Field Artillery Battalions)
    1111th Engineer Combat Group (51st, 202nd, 291st and 296th Engineer Combat Battalions)
    1121st Engineer Combat Group (146th and 254th Engineer Combat Battalions)
    1195th