bigpigeon.us webpage WWII - Germany > ETO > Enemy Counteroffensives > Ardennes/Bulge Details, updated by RAC 22 Jun 2022.   Incomplete.
This webpage will be deleted once I have salvaged all desired portions.

The German Ardennes Counteroffensive encountered major 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 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 arriving from the south.
The Bastogne Area
The Bastogne Area
 The Meuse River

The Meuse River enters Belgium from the south and flows in a northerly direction through Dinant, Namur, Huy and Liege.

If German armored units had managed to cross the Meuse River and then sieze adequate supplies of gasoline, they might have managed to advance through lower country to Antwerp, siezing the Allies' major port and splitting Allied forces.

Fortunately the Wehrmacht never reached the Meuse.
Their closest approach was at Foy-Nôtre-Dame a few kilometers east of Dinant where Wehrmacht advance was stopped by the 2nd Armored Division.

​Around 3,000 civilians were killed during the Battle of the Bulge. Many others were driven from their homes, seeking safety west of the Meuse.

Among the refugees from the Battle of the Bulge was an eight year old German Jewish girl, being sheltered by a Belgium Catholic family east of Dinant, south of Namur on the above map. This Belgian family fled with her for safety west of the Meuse River, but took shelter before reaching  the bridge shown to the right. The German army never reached Dinant and the Belgian  family and their little Jewish charge survived. Many years later, the little girl became the grandmother of two of my beloved  grandchildren.
Southeastern Belgium
Southeastern Belgium
Refugees at the Dinant Bridge
Refugees at the Dinant Bridge over the Meuse River.
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 on 6 Jan 1945 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 in the distance.
  • 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 near Limburg an der Lahn east of Koblenz, and then, along with many others, to Stalag 9B in Bad Orb east of Hanau, where he died in captivity.
 Sources for the WWII Enemy Counteroffensives > Ardennes/Bulge Details 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.
  • The Southeastern Belgium map is taken from https://www.123rf.com/photo_122605540_high-detailed-belgium-physical-map-with-labeling.html.
  • The Refugees at the Dinant Bridge photo is taken from Chapter 22, The Battle before the Meuse of The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge by Hugh M. Cole, found at https://history.army.mil/books/wwii/7-8/7-8_Cont.htm#toc.

​Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead - Ardennes/Bulge Details: 03-06 - Ardennes/Bulge Overview > Ardennes/Bulge Details (25 dead, updated 30 May 2022)
† Bish, Homer “Jack”, SN 13-009-412, US Army, Armstrong Co., PA
  • 73rd Armored FA Bn., Combat Command R, 9th Armored Div., VIII Corps, First Army; WIA Dec 1944 NE of Bastogne, Belgium; DOW 19 Dec 1944 Belgium; The Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge.
† Brown, Cecil LeRoy, SN 37-697-684, US Army, Cass Co.
  • 23rd Inf. Regt., 2nd Inf. Div., V Corps, First Army (23rd Inf. Regt. attached to 1st Inf. Div. at time of death); KIA 24 Jan 1945 near St. Vith, 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., VII Corps, First Army; 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., VII Corps, First Army; 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., VIII Corps, Third Army; 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., VIII Corps, First Army; KIA 17 Dec 1944 near St. Vith, Belgium; Battle of St. Vith - The Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge.
† Lee, Delbert Donald, SN 17-040-250, US Army, Cass Co.
  • Co. A, 610th Tank Destroyer Bn., attached to 80th Inf. Div., XII Corps, Third Army; KIA 8 Jan 1945 Dahl, SE of Wiltz, Luxembourg (Wiltz is E of Bastogne); The Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge.
† Luchsinger, Stanley Dean, SN 37-455-354, US Army, Pott. Co.
  • Co. C, 33rd Armored Inf. Regt., CCB, 3rd Armored Div., VII Corps, First Army; 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., XVIII Airborne Corps, Third Army; 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., XII Corps, Third Army; KIA 27 Dec 1944 near Arsdorf, Luxembourg, S of Bastogne, Belgium; The Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge.​
† Muller, Harland Max, SN 37-478-022, US Army, Cass Co.
  • 194th Glider Infantry Regt., 17th Airborne Div., VIII Corps, Third Army; KIA 4 Jan 1945 W 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., III Corps, Third Army; 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., XVIII Airborne Corps, First Army; attached to 7th Armored Div. at time of death; KIA 28 Dec 1944 near Manhay, W of St. Vith, Belgium; The Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge.
  • Notes: When the German Ardennes Counteroffensive began on 16 Dec 1944, the 424th Inf. Regt. was at Winterspelt, Rhineland-Palatine, Germany, near the Belgian border. The other two 106th Inf. Div. regiments, the 422nd and 423rd, were in the Schnee Eifel to the north and were encircled and surrendered on 19 Dec. Meanwhile, the 424th had withdrawn from Winterspelt NW across the Our River to St. Vith, Belgium, where it was attached to the 7th Armored Division and joined the defense of St. Vith. Around 21 Dec, the 424th joined the American withdrawal from St. Vith further west to Manhay.
​† Rauterkus, Robert Richard, SN 37-483-565, US Army, Pott. Co.
  • 48th Armored Inf. Bn., 7th Armored Div., XVIII Airborne Corps, First Army; KIA 21 Jan 1945 near Born, N of St. Vith, Belgium; The Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge.
† Reifschneider, Donald Walter, SN 37-490-340, US Army, Montgomery Co.
  • Hq. Co., 3rd Bn., 26th Inf. Regt., 1st Inf. Div., First Army; KIA 30 Dec 1944 near Bütgenbach, Belgium; Battle of Elsenborn Ridge - 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.
† Simpson, Harold Elwood, SN 37-698-983, US Army, Montgomery Co.
  • Co. G, 329th Inf. Regt., 83rd Inf. Div., VII Corps, First Army; KIA 12 Jan 1945 near Petite-Langlire, SW of Vielsalm, Belgium; The Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge.
† Stout, Richard Clyde, SN 37-692-125, US Army, Montgomery Co.
  • unit unknown; KIA 26 Dec 1944 in Luxembourg, bullet wound; 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., VII Corps, First Army; 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. & Douglas Co., NE
  • 15th Tank Bn., 6th Armored Div., III Corps, Third Army; KIA 7 Jan 1945 E of Bastogne, 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., III Corps, Third Army; 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., III or XII Corps, Third Army; DOW 27 Dec 1944 S of Bastogne, Belgium; The Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge.
† Viether, Earl Edward, SN 36-782-812, US Army, Cass Co. & Rock Island Co., IL
  • 330th Inf. Regt., 83rd Inf. Div., VII Corps, First Army; attached to 3rd Armored Div. at time of death; KIA 6 Jan 1945 near Malempre, SE of Manhay, 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.