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Picture
Picture
The ETO
Bulge Overview
bigpigeon.us webpage WW II - Germany > ETO > Ardennes/Bulge Overview > Ardennes/Bulge Details, updated by RAC 4 Oct 2020.  Being Edited Oct 2020.

The German Ardennes Counteroffensive encountered resistance at the three locations from north to south touched on below.
Elsenborn Ridge

The strongest US opposition in the north was based on Elsenborn Ridge, marked by a red oval on the accompanying map. US artillery on the ridge curtailed 6th SS Panzer Army use of nearby roads. Thus the furthest advance in the Bulge was made by 5th Panzer Army to the south.
The Elsenborn Ridge Area
The Elsenborn Ridge Area

The St. Vith Salient

In  the center of the Ardennes front, American defense at St. Vith held up German advance for several days. The defense of St. Vith was followed by an orderly retreat to the west.

Bastogne

US opposition in the south was centered on the road junction of Bastogne, which was encircled on 21 December.
  • The accompanying map shows airborne units, mostly from the 101st Airborne Division,  defending the Bastogne perimeter. Regimental numbers like 5xx denote parachute infantry regiments, 3xx are glider infantry regiments.
  • Other army units participated in the defense of Bastogne.
  • The siege of Bastogne was broken starting on 26 December by elements of the Third Army arrriving from the south.
The Bastogne Area
The Bastogne Area

Nearly 23,000 US ground troops were captured during the Battle of the Bulge. In captivity they all suffered misery and deprivation, although most survived. German POW camps could not hold all the US POWs captured in December 1944.
  • The author, Kurt Vonnegut, was captured early in the Battle of the Bulge, when two regiments of the 106th Infantry Division surrendered. He was sent to Dresden as a forced laborer, where he witnessed the aftermath of the Dresden firebombing and later wrote the novel Slaughterhouse Five.
  • My late friend, Donald Schroder, was captured with his company late in the Battle of the Bulge when the company commander led his troops through an open field without first scouting the wooded flanks. Donald became a forced laborer with a Wehrmacht army unit, running away to the west when he heard Allied gunfire approaching.
  • Jack Albert McCormick of rural Council Bluffs was captured early in January 1945, as American forces slowly reclaimed the territory lost in late December. He was sent to Stalag 12A in xxx and then, along with many others, to Stalag 9B in Bad Orb. He died in captivity.
Sources for the Battle of the Bulge webpage:
  • The page header photo Battle of the Bulge is courtesy of the National WW II Museum.
  • The Ardennes Counteroffensive - German Objectives map is courtesy of https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/world-war-2/images/0/0e/Ardennes_Counteroffensive_Map.png/revision/latest?cb=20160430233135
  • The The Battle of the Bulge - Overview map is 
  • The The Battle of the Bulge - Detail map is courtesy of HistoryNet.
  • The Elsenborn Ridge Area map is courtesy of https://alchetron.com.
  • The Bastogne Area map is courtesy of https://www.thehistoryreader.com/military-history/battle-of-the-bulge/
  • The Bulge Mid-January 1945 map is courtesy of conservapedia.com.

​Pottawattamie County, Iowa Area WW II Dead - Battle of the Bulge
Taken from the bigpigeon.us WW II Dead webarea.
03-06 - Ardennes/Bulge Overview > Ardennes/Bulge Details (eighteen dead, updated 7 Oct 2020)
† Bish, Homer “Jack”, SN 13-009-412, US Army, Armstrong Co., PA
  • 73rd Armored FA Bn., Combat Command R, 9th Armored Div., First Army; WIA Dec 1944 NE of Bastogne, Belgium; DOW 19 Dec 1944 Belgium; The Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge.
† Carter, Meredith M., SN O-1176509, US Army, Pott. & Shelby Cos.
  • Battery B, 14th Armored Field Artillery Bn.; 2nd Armored Div.; KIA 9 Jan 1945 Dochamps, NW of Houffalize, Belgium; The Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge.
† Hansen, Lawrence George, SN 37-120-519, US Army, Shelby Co.
  • 32nd Armored Regt., 3rd Armored Div.; WIA; DOW 10 Jan 1945 in hospital, Vielsalm, W of St. Vith, Belgium; The Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge.
† Hansen, Robert Victor, SN 37-472-746, US Army, Pott. Co.
  • Co. E, 346th Inf. Regt., 87th Inf. Div; KIA 9 Jan 1945, Jenneville, W of Bastogne, Belgium; The Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge.
† Humes, William A., SN O-450902, US Army, Pott. Co.
  • C.O., 543 Signal Depot Co., Signal Depot S-891, Paris, France; WIA by V-2 rocket en route to Liege, Belgium; DOW 16 Dec 1944, Belgium; The Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge. 
† Johnson, Casper Simon, SN 37-021-372, US Army, Pott. Co. & Hennepin Co., MN
  • 14th Tank Bn., 9th Armored Div.; KIA 17 Dec 1944 near St. Vith, Belgium; Battle of St. Vith - The Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge.
† Luchsinger, Stanley Dean, SN 37-455-354, US Army, Pott. Co.
  • Co. C, 33rd Armored Inf. Regt., 3rd Armored Div.; KIA 23 Dec 1944 Hotton, 30 miles NW of Bastogne, Belgium; The Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge.​
† McKeown, Carroll L., SN 37-628-605, US Army, Pott. Co. & Randolph Co., MO
  • Co. F, 33rd Armored Regt., 3rd Armored Div.; KIA 20 Dec 1944 with Task Force Lovelady, near Stavelot, SW of Malmedy, Belgium; The Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge.
† McLoud, James Fredrick , served as Long Fred O, SN 37-442-043, US Army, Pott. Co. & Washington Co., OK
  • 328th Inf. Regt., 26th Inf. Div.; KIA 27 Dec 1944 near Arsdorf, Luxembourg, S of Bastogne, Belgium; The Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge.​
† Osler, Floyd Wayne, SN 37-476-459, US Army, Pott. Co.
  • Co. A, 357th Inf. Regt., 90th Inf. Div.; KIA 9 Jan 1945 in Luxembourg SE of Bastogne, Belgium; The Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge.​
† Plummer, Kenneth Frank, SN 37-680-558, US Army, Pott. Co.
  • 424 Inf. Regt., 106 Inf. Div.; KIA 28 Dec 1944 near Manhay, W of St. Vith, Belgium; The Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge.
† Rauterkus, Robert Richard, SN 37-483-565, US Army, Pott. Co.
  • 48th Armored Inf. Bn., 7th Armored Div.; KIA 21 Jan 1945 near Born, N of St. Vith, Belgium; The Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge.
† Schneckloth, LeRoy William, SN 17-078-891, US Army, Pott. Co.
  • 3250th Signal Services Co., V Corps, 1st Army; KIA 18 Dec 1944 Hünningen, SE of Elsenborn Ridge, Belgium; Battle of Elsenborn Ridge - The Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge.
† Taylor, Leon Francis Hough, SN 37-120-190, US Army, Polk & Harrison Cos.
  • 36th Armored Inf. Regt., 3rd Armored Div.; KIA 3 Jan 1945 NW of Houffalize, Belgium; The Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge.
† Vanderpool, Clifford S., SN 37-739-404, US Army, Pott. Co.
  • 36th Armored Inf. Regt., 3rd Armored Div.; KIA 3 Jan 1945 NW of Houffalize, Belgium; The Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge.
† Vaughan, Orel E., SN 37-451-222, US Army, Pennington Co., SD
  • Medical Detachment, 357th Inf. Regt., 90th Inf. Div.; KIA 11 Jan 1945, near Doncols & Sonlez, NW Luxembourg, SE of Bastogne, Belgium; The Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge.​
† Vermuele, Lyle W., SN 37-694-509, US Army, Carroll Co.
  • Co. B, 318th Inf. Regt., 80th Inf. Div.; DOW 27 Dec 1944 S of Bastogne, Belgium; The Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge.
† Walling, Garrett Alma, SN 2-074-538, US Army, Pott. Co.
  • 506th Parachute Inf. Regt., 101st Airborne Div.; KIA 14 Jan 1945 NE of Bastogne, Belgium; The Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge.
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