Counteroffensives

bigpigeon.us webpage WWII - Germany > ETO > Enemy Counteroffensives > The Bulge Created, updated by RAC 27 Jul 2022.  Incomplete.

Early on 16 December 1944, the three armies of the Wehrmacht's Army Group B smashed westward into the weakly-defended lines of the US First Army's V and VIII Corps, creating a bulge in Allied lines.

The first accompanying map shows the German Ardennes counteroffensive progressing, from the US front lines early on 16 December, then on 20 December, and then on 25 December, when the Bulge was near its maximum.

After the attack began, both parties fed additional divisions into the combat zone.



Front line divisions, counterclockwise from top right:
V Corps, First Army:

• 78th Infantry Division (not shown, above the upper right).
• 5th Armored Division (apparently the 5th Armored was kept in reserve during the Bulge).
• 99th Infantry Division.
• 2nd Infantry Division.
• 1st Infantry Division - in VII Corps & resting near Aachen pre-16 Dec; attached to V Corps 16 Dec.

VXIII Airborne Corps, First Army:

• 30th Infantry Division - in Ninth Army reserve pre- 16 Dec; to V Corps 17 Dec, & to XVIII Corps 21 Dec.
• 82nd Airborne Division - in theater reserve near Reims pre-16 Dec; to VIII Corps 17 Dec, to V Corps 18 Dec, & to XVIII Corps 19 Dec.
• 7th Armored Division - in XIII Corps, Ninth Army pre-16 Dec; to VIII Corps 16  Dec, to XVIII Corps 20 Dec.
• 106th Infantry Division - residue, not shown, in VIII Corps pre-16 Dec, to XVIII Corps 20 Dec.

VII Corps, First Army (HQ moved from former left flank of First Army to new right flank):

• 3rd Armored Division
• 2nd Armored Division

VIII Corps, formerly First Army, now Third Army:

• CCA, 9th Armored Division
• 28th Infantry Division

​Inside the Bastogne Perimeter:

• 101st Airborne Division (in theater reserve near Reims when the battle began)
• ​CCR, 9th Armored Division
• CCB, 10th Armored Division

III Corps, Third Army:

• 4th Armored Division
• 26th Infantry Division
• 80th Infantry Division
• 35th Infantry Division (just arriving)

​XII Corps, Third Army:

• 10th Armored Division
• 5th Infantry Division
• 4th Infantry Division (formerly in VIII Corps)

In addition, XXX Corps of the British Second Army moved south to back up US First Army units. Some British units crossed the Meuse and engaged German forces near the leftmost point of the Bulge.

Battle of the Bulge Overview - Positions

Battle of the Bulge Overview - Movement

Ardennes Landscape near Stavelot

The Battle of the Bulge - Order of Battle
(This is primarily for my benefit. The casual reader would best use the red arrow at the top to advance to the next page.)

​Early in the Battle of the Bulge, the XVIII Airborne Corps was dispatched to joint the First Army to shore up the northern edge. Divisions known to have been under XVIII Corps control during combat in the Bulge include:

• 30th Infantry Division - sent from V Corps, Ninth Army c. 17 Dec.; in XVIII Corps 21 Dec '44 - 3 Feb 1945.
• 75th Infantry Division - arrived continent 13 Dec '44; entered combat 24 Dec '44; in XVIII Corps 29 Dec '44 - 2 Jan '45.
• 82nd Airborne Division - sent from Reims area early; in XVIII Corps throughout.
• 106th Infantry Division.
• 3rd Armored Division.
• 7th Armored Division.
• not complete.

Notes:

• The 101st Airborne Division was sent from the Reims area early to Bastogne, assigned to VIII Corps, and led the US resistance in Bastogne..

Ten or eleven days passed before the Wehrmacht advance was halted. It took an additional month for US forces to eliminate the Bulge.

Neither the grandiose German goal of advancing to Antwerp nor a more moderate Meuse River goal was realized. The result was an American strategic victory. The German army lost valuable reserves and were eventually forced to withdraw. However, Allied losses in men and material were roughly the same as German losses.

As collateral damage, around 3,000 civilians were killed during the Battle of the Bulge, including 22 mostly women and children taken from a cellar and shot by the SS in Stavelot.

 Sources for the WWII Enemy Counteroffensives > The Bulge Created webpage:

• Battle of the Bulge Overview - Positions​ - map
• Battle of the Bulge Overview - Movement - map from pp. 26-27 of Ardennes-Alsace, the US Campaigns of WWII.​
• Ardennes Landscape near Stavelot - photo - https://www.dreamstime.com/photos-images/belgian-ardennes.html.

Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead - Enemy Counteroffensives > The Bulge Created:

• Taken from the bigpigeon.us WWII Roster module.

03-06 - Enemy Counteroffensives > The Bulge Created (five dead, updated 27 Jul 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; Enemy Counteroffensives > Ardennes - The Bulge Created.

† Johnson, Casper Simon, SN 37-021-372, US Army, Pott. Co. & Hennepin Co., MN

• 14th Tank Bn., Combat Command B, 9th Armored Div., VIII Corps, First Army; KIA 17 Dec 1944 near St. Vith, Belgium; Enemy Counteroffensives > Ardennes - The Bulge Created (Battle of St. Vith).

† 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; Enemy Counteroffensives > Ardennes - The Bulge Created.​

† 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; Enemy Counteroffensives > Ardennes - The Bulge Created.

† Schneckloth, LeRoy William, SN 17-078-891, US Army, Pott. Co.

• 3250th Signal Services Co., V Corps, 1st Army; KIA 18 Dec 1944 Hünningen, N of St. Vith, Belgium; Enemy Counteroffensives > Ardennes - The Bulge Created.