A Miracle at St Vith After leaving Easton, Pennsylvania for basic training at Fort Eustus Virginia, I was sent to England with the 1st Army, 634th AAA Battalion. In this building was housed Company A, 331st Medical Battalion, serving the 422nd Infantry Regiment and the 14th Cavalry, it was used as their Aid Station. This area is called Justenschlag. Be prepared to do a lot of walking over rough terrain, so dress accordingly. A word of warning here. Americans fall back to a defensive line with 7th Armored Division on the left and 106th’s 424th Regiment on the right. A “Russian High” begins blowing – a cold wind from the northeast and clear weather – freezing the ground and allowing free movement of tracked vehicles and the use of Allied air superiority. This was the sight of Divisional Headquarters. His body was found nearby. Both St Vith and Prum have railway stations, the line to Bleialf is now closed. Holding St. Vith has become more of a liability to the Americans than an asset. U.S. forces are able to outrun the panzers and join forces with XVIII Airborne Corps. Or, you can stay in any of the numerous ‘Gasthaus’ or smaller hotels scattered around the area. Here the 590th Field Artillery Battalion were in position, with Its firing batteries in the woods on the left of the road. At this point COL George Descheneaux, commander of 422nd, decides to surrender the American forces in the Schnee Eifel pocket. Men of the 3rd Battalion 423rd Infantry Regiment came down the track onto the road on their ill-fated attack on Schonberg. Adding to this bad news for Jones, who is hoping for deliverance by the arrival of organized reinforcements, the situation isn’t improved by the appearance of a demoralized Devine with news that German Tiger tanks are right on his heels. In other villages, the cavalry troops are forced to withdraw earlier in the day to avoid being surrounded and cut off. The 1st and 2nd Battalions were here behind Hill 536 at daybreak on 19 December. The place is littered with the clover leaf shaped trays that once were containers for shells and powder charges, and the lifting eyes for the shells are in abundance everywhere. At 4 p.m., this surrender is formalized, and the two regiments of 106th Division and all their supporting units, some 7,000 men, become prisoners of the German army. Left is signposted Schwarzer Mann, or as the Americans called it, ‘Bogeyman Hill’. Company B, 423rd Infantry Regiment positions were in the woods to the right. This map was drawn on Inkscape version 0.47. At the bottom is the hamlet of Ihrenbruck. The headquarters group also brings with it a second cavalry squadron (18th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron) to screen the Losheim Gap, which is on 106th Division’s left flank. Attacking after dark at 5 p.m., the tanks fire star shells into American positions, blinding the defenders, and follow up with armor-piercing shells, destroying American defending vehicles. Finally, a unique resource is the 1965 “Big Picture” documentaries St Vith Parts I and II found on YouTube. The Battle of the Bulge began on December 16, 1944. Show Larger Map Battle of the Bulge summary. Devine is sent to a higher commander to make a “personal report.” With the appearance of German scouts on the hills east of town, Jones decides he has had enough. The Germans capture Steinebruck (six miles east of St. Vith), with its bridge over the Our River. Retrace your steps and come back up to ‘Skyline Drive’, turn left. Looking up the road, there is a logging trail up on the left. Among the prisoners is PVT Kurt Vonnegut of 423rd Infantry Regiment, whose experiences as a prisoner of war form the basis of his novel Slaughterhouse-Five. In the centre is the Church, it was around this, that there was particularly vicious fighting those first few days. This track was used by the 423rd Regiment and 590th FAB on their way to attack Schonberg. The Siege of Bastogne was an engagement in December 1944 between American and German forces at the Belgian town of Bastogne, as part of the larger Battle of the Bulge.The goal of the German offensive was the harbor at Antwerp.In order to reach it before the Allies could regroup and bring their superior air power to bear, German mechanized forces had to seize the … 1 Description 2 Conquest 2.1 Equipment 2.2 Bases 2.2.1 American Fuel Supply Depot 2.2.2 American Outpost (1) 2.2.3 St. Vith 2.2.4 American Outpost … It was here that we found 105mm ammunition in evidence and numerous hastily dug foxholes, ammunition boxes etc. Therefore St. Vith was a “must capture” by the German LXVI Corps and its 5th and 6th Panzer armies. The famous American author Kurt Vonnegut was one such prisoner that passed through here. The First Attacks at St. Vith. A little before 5:30 a.m., a selective German artillery bombardment begins to fall on 106th’s forward positions on the Schnee Eifel, moving gradually back to the division headquarters in St. Vith. Now all is calm, the stately fir trees give welcome shade from the sun, but even now, standing alone next to a front line foxhole, starts the mind racing on how it must have been. COL Charles Cavender of 423rd Regiment counterattacks, which retakes the village of Bleialf. Foxholes and debris of battle on Hill 504. LUXEMBOURG TOURS Here there are still some original old buildings dotted about, but, as with the rest of the area, it took its share of destruction. Drive into the tiny hamlet of Herzfenn; the 589th FAB were based in and around here. Quite a pleasing site after scrambling around the rugged terrain. St. Vith area and surroundings, Monschau-Habscheid Zone, December 15-19th, 1944. The 7th Armored Division fought a running battle out of St. Vith on December 23, 1944. They were eventually overrun. He is aware Montgomery has already decided to withdraw from the St. Vith area. Return to ‘Skyline Drive’, turn left into the village of Radscheid, Oberlascheid, Halenfeld and Buchet, where Cavender had his headquarters. On the eve of the battle, the 106th is covering a front of almost 26 miles. If you stay on this small road and get to Meyerode, there in the village outside the school is a German 75mm anti-tank gun. As can be seen by the map drawn by a member of the 2nd Infantry Division on the 15/11/44, we can take it that, because the 106th relieved the 2nd, man for man, the various headquarters, motor pools etc would have been in the same positions, only the code words would have changed. It became known as ‘Little Verdun’, because it was captured and retaken so many times during the conflict. Monument to the 106th Infantry Division in St Vith. It’s quite a walk! Battery B and C were to the right and just inside the tree line, Battery A was to the left and on the edge of a patch of woods just under half a mile away. Its garrison wrote a brilliant chapter in history by denying the locality to the enemy; therefore, much of the comment pertaining to the Battle of the Bulge has centered around this important terrain feature. It is featured as a map for Battlefield 1942. Approaching the centre of town from the north, a large crossroads will be found with a roundabout. His timetable cded for the capture of St. Vith by 1800 hours on 17 Decem- ber. By midnight he sets up the beginnings of a “horseshoe defense” of St. Vith, a line of units to the north, east and south of town. If you look up the open slope to the top of the hill, you will see where the 422nd Infantry came out of the woods and saw below them (where you are) vehicles ‘bumper to bumper’, the occupants of which then proceeded to open fire on them. Hastily dug foxholes and the remains of a 50 calibre ammunition box near the Ihrenbach Stream. More than 8,000 Americans were captured as German formations rampaged west, But once again, please be careful as there is still a lot of live ammunition kicking about. This later went on to inspire him to write the classic novel, Drive south-west out of town for about one mile and you will see what used to be Bleialf railway station. When the local priest emerged after the initial battle bodies were strewn everywhere, both American and German. You can get back on track by, Into Schonberg, this is another place that has been rebuilt, even the bridge across the Our River is in a slightly different location. However, they are blocked by the enemy and lost to the division. Six of the titan Tiger tanks attack from the Schoenberg-St. Vith road against American positions on the Prumberg. Turn right for Bleialf. To mark the spot there is a memorial with a 105mm Howitzer in position. He had a meal in the cafe/bar opposite (Cafe Zwicker). From Andler proceed back down the N26 towards Schonberg. This road leads through the dense forest, eventually conning out at the village of Meyerode. The 106th Infantry Division’s 422nd and 423rd Infantry Regiments are encircled and cut off from the rest of the division by a junction of enemy forces near Schoenberg. The Ardennes’ most populous cities are Verviers in Belgium and Charleville-Mézières in France, both exceeding 50,000 inhabitants. Turn left in Schonberg and the road starts to climb steeply. After a brief rest in January 1945, the Division returned to positions near St. Vith, attacked, and re-captured the town on 23 January 1945. Later as a prisoner of war he witnessed the destruction of Dresden by Allied bombers. The History Guy examines a tank duel during the Battle of the Bulge at St. Vith, Belgium. This order, and the slow German southern arm, gave more Americans a chance to escape, but since they had newly arrived in the area and had few compasses or maps, most were unable to take advantage of the opportunity. TANKS OF THE 7TH ARMORED DIVISION in a temporary position near St. Vith. The Battle of St. Vith was part of the Battle of the Bulge, which began on December 16, 1944, and represented the r Arriving in Europe in late 1944, they were immediately, and with very little battle experience, thrust into battle at St Vith. The defenders’ battleground is the Ardennes. United States located in the town for their own usage. The two cavalry squadrons, 14th and 18th, set up fortifications in small villages in the area. This main tarmac road was not there during the war, but the unimproved trail to the left was then the main access. Much of the Ardennes is dense forests, with mountains averaging around 1,148 to 1,640 feet high but rising to more than 2,276 feet in the boggy moors of the Hautes Fagnes (Hohes Venn) region of southeastern Belgium. It was a difficult place to take, owing to the many fortifications, for it was an intregal part of the West Wall or Siegfried Line. The climax of the attack is the German 506th Heavy Panzer Battalion. St. Vith represented the right flank in the advance of the German offensive, which intended a pincer movement on U.S. forces through the Losheim Gap and toward the ultimate objective of Antwerp. As LTG Troy H. Middleton assessed in the foreword to the Armor School’s publication The Battle at St. Vith, Belgium, “Two of the most important tactical localities on the 88-mile front held by the VIII Corps in the Ardennes Forest at the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge … were Bastogne and St. Vith. At the time of the Ardennes Offensive, most Allied military commanders were busy planning the next step on the road to defeating the German army. by Colonel R Ernest Dupuy, reprinted by The Battery Press, INC. by Richard W Peterson Ph.d (A member of the 106th Division) U.S. The town was virtually flattened in December 1944, little now exists of the original town buildings, although the road lay-out still remains the same. This movement coincides with a southern advance around the right flank of the Schnee Eifel through Bleialaf to Schoenberg, surrounding U.S. positions on the Schnee Eifel ridge. Stand in front of the shelter and look forward into the forest; you are viewing the area held by Company B. Proceed down the hill into the town of Bleialf. Later as a prisoner of war he witnessed the destruction of Dresden by Allied bombers. Opposite the school is a bar, this was once Dietrich’s Headquarters for a time. He did not capture it until the night of 21 December and did not control the St. Vith area until 23 December when CCB withdrew on order. Above all try and cast your mind back to that terrible December in 1944 and give your respect to those brave soldiers of both sides. December 21 st, 1944 – United States forces were able to re-take Stavelot, Belgium. Opposite the school is a bar, this was once Dietrich’s Headquarters for a time. MG Alan Jones, the 106th’s commander, sends reinforcements to Winterspelt and Schoenberg around noon. Bastogne was an important communications center and was worth the gamble made for its defense. German forces pour into the town, happily looting the remaining American supplies and equipment, in the process creating a traffic jam that prevents pursuit of U.S. forces. American forces are able to escape to the southwest, cross-country to villages such as Crombach, Beho, Bovigny and Vielsalm west of the Salm River. After the mass surrender the majority of American prisoners spent their first night in the ground of this Church, before being marched off deeper into Germany. Its population in 1944 was about 2,000, and its citizens were very much pro-German. The Germans overran this position at about 0930 on 19 December. This marks the most extensive defeat suffered by American forces in the European Theater of Operations. This area is the Prumerberg heights, scene of the desperate defence by Colonel Riggs and his Engineers. Leaving the car here, by two solitary buildings one of which was the 590th headquarters, you can. These defenders were led by U.S. 7th Armored Division and included 424th Infantry (106th U.S. Infantry Division), elements of 9th Armored Division’s CCB and 112th Infantry Regiment of U.S. 28th Infantry Division. Digging or metal detecting is not encouraged, in fact it is forbidden. St. Vith was also close to the western end of the Losheim Gap, a critical valley through the densely forested ridges of the Ardennes Forest and the German offensive’s axis. Ernest Hemingway also was here. Just south-west of Laudesfeld a high hill will be observed, in this area on 19 December, approximately 500 men from all different units made a perimeter defence, and held on until finally surrendering on the morning of 21 December, 1944. This is a sketch map, not to scale, but the furthest German advance covers about five miles. As German troops mass on the opposite bank, 9th Armored blows up the bridge on the Our River at Winterspelt. On the same day, the Germans were able to take St. Vith and Bastogne. Both sides of the road were littered with German and American dead. You are now in the thick of it, as they say. It is where Cavender gave the orders to attack Schonberg and was immediately hit by an artillery bombardment. But to the GIs, it was named ‘88 Corner’ or ‘Purple Heart Corner’. POTEAU -VIELSALM – The Battles for Vielsalm, St Vith & the Poteau Crossroads near Recht. The aid station was in scrub undergrowth just across the stream. The 106th Infantry Division took over position for position. The American attack on Schoenberg launches at 10 a.m. as scheduled, but comes under German assault-gun and anti-aircraft gunfire from armored fighting vehicles on the ridge to their front and from German troops firing small-arms fire. It is where Cavender gave the orders to attack Schonberg and was immediately hit by an artillery bombardment. Moving on will eventually bring you to Hill 504. They were successful in holding up the 2nd SS Panzer Division and 560th Volksgrenadiers Division long enough to enable the 82nd Airborne to get into position. When the local priest emerged after the initial battle bodies were strewn everywhere, both American and German. 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