Big Pigeon - Pottawattamie County, Iowa
  • Pigeon Home
    • Usage Hints
    • Acknowledgments
    • Resources >
      • Free Sites
      • Pay Sites
      • Print Resources
      • Search Engines
      • Land Records
      • Resources - Denmark >
        • Finding Danish Ancestors
    • Project Mgt - Public >
      • Website Overview
      • Website Log
      • Project Overview
      • Mac Computer Use
      • Weebly Use
      • Reunion Use
      • Project History
      • Image Provenance
    • Project Mgt - Private >
      • Site Management
      • Site Plan
      • Contact List
      • Backup Info & Log
      • System Info & Log
      • Image Storage
      • E-Mail Log
      • Asset Organization
      • History Index
      • Binders & Photos
      • Upon My Death
      • Donations & Dispersal
  • Family
    • Photos - Recent
    • Christiansen
    • Rasmussen
    • Christiansen/Rasmussen News
    • Larsen/Larson
    • Hansen
    • Larsen/Hansen News
    • Allied Families
    • Wall of Honor
  • St. Paul's
    • Early Families >
      • Early Families Help
      • Early Families More Lists
    • St. Paul's Roots
    • St. Paul's Timeline
    • St. Paul's Resources
  • PottCo
    • Early History >
      • Missouri River
      • Native Americans
      • Colonial Period
    • Pott. Co. History
    • Big Pigeon Area >
      • Area Towns >
        • Beebeetown
        • Crescent
        • Honey Creeek
        • Loveland
        • Neola
        • Persia
        • Underwood
        • Weston
        • Lost Locales
      • Danes from Dronninglund
      • Maps & Plats
      • Big Pigeon Galleries >
        • Gallery 1 - Area Historic Structures
        • Gallery 2 - Grange Sunday School
    • Avoca >
      • Gold Star Avoca
      • Cuppy's Grove
    • Pott. Co. Addendum
    • LDS History >
      • LDS Links
      • Gallery 1 - Mormon Maps
    • A House Divided >
      • Endnotes
      • Niels Peder Pedersen
      • Ane Katrine Pedersen
      • Kirsten Pedersen
      • Kirsten's Story >
        • Kirsten's LDS Daughters
        • Kirsten's Daughter, Karen Bondo
        • Kirsten's Son, Anders Johnson
        • Kirsten's Niece, Christine Mortensen
        • Kirsten's Niece, Anne Marie Larsen
    • More History >
      • Iowa History
      • American History
  • WWII Home
    • Big Pigeon and WWII
  • WWII Roster
    • Roster Records >
      • Roster-A
      • Roster-B
      • Roster-C
      • Roster-D
      • Roster-EF
      • Roster-G
      • Roster-H
      • Roster-IJ
      • Roster-K
      • Roster-L
      • Roster-M
      • Roster-NO
      • Roster-P
      • Roster-QR
      • Roster-S
      • Roster-TUV
      • Roster-WXYZ
    • Other WWII Era Dead >
      • Other In-Service Deaths
      • Post-Separation Deaths
    • Roster Residences >
      • Council Bluffs
      • Rural Pott. Co.
      • Audubon Co.
      • Cass Co.
      • Harrison Co.
      • Mills Co.
      • Montgomery Co.
      • Shelby Co.
      • Other SW Iowa Counties
      • Other Iowa Counties
      • StatesBorderingIowa
      • Other States
    • Roster Fatalities >
      • War with Japan
      • Battle of the Atlantic
      • Mediterranean Theater
      • European Theater
      • Stateside Deaths
    • Roster Sources >
      • 1946 War Dept. Dead List
      • 1946 Navy Dept. Dead List
    • Roster Notes >
      • The Air Dead
      • The Sea Dead
      • Awards for Valor
      • Roster Demographics
      • Iowa Casualties & Dead
    • Roster Photos >
      • Roster Photos - Contents
      • Photos of Individuals
      • Land War with Japan
      • Air War with Japan
      • Sea War with Japan
      • Land War with Germany
      • Air War with Germany
      • Sea War with Germany
      • Stateside
      • Memorials
      • Cemeteries
    • Roster Outliers >
      • Pott. Co. Discrepancies
    • About the Roster >
      • Roster Planning
      • Members Not in St. Paul's
    • Roster Additions
    • Roster Attic >
      • Recent Roster Additions
      • Roster Additions Log
  • WWII US
    • WWII Operations
    • WWII Overview
    • WWII Commanders
    • WWII Web Sources >
      • Web Sources - Personnel
      • Web Sources - Japan
      • Web Sources - Germany
    • WWII Personnel >
      • WWII Casualties
      • WWII Deaths
      • WWII Burials
      • Service Numbers
    • WWII Ground Forces >
      • High Level Organization
      • Infantry Organization >
        • Infantry Equipment
      • Ground Forces - Japan
      • Ground Forces - The MTO
    • WWII in The Air
    • WWII at Sea
    • WWII at Home
    • Civilian Victims
    • Strategic Bombing
    • The Cold War
    • World War I >
      • Iowa In World War I
  • Japan
    • WWII - Japan Overview
    • Japan Ascendant
    • Japan Lashes Out >
      • Pearl Harbor
      • Guam & Wake Island
      • Malaya & Singapore Lost
      • The Dutch Indies Lost
      • The Philippines Lost
      • New Guinea & Solomons
    • Japan Overreaches >
      • Coral Sea
      • Midway
    • South & SW Pacific >
      • Solomons Naval War
      • Solomon Is., Guadalcanal
      • SE New Guinea, Papua
      • NE New Guinea, Lae to Madang
      • Solomon Is., New Georgia
      • Solomon Is., Bougainville
      • Bismarck Archipelago
      • Western New Guinea
    • North Pacific >
      • Alaska
      • Attu & Kiska
      • Pacific Lend-Lease Routes
    • Central Pacific >
      • Gilbert Islands
      • Marshall Islands
      • Mariana Islands
      • Palau Islands
    • Philippines Liberated >
      • Leyte
      • Battle of Leyte Gulf
      • Philippines Naval War
      • Luzon
      • Southern Philippines
    • Iwo Jima & Okinawa >
      • Iwo Jima
      • Land Battle of Okinawa
      • Naval Battle of Okinawa
    • China-Burma-India >
      • China - 1941-45
      • India - 1942-45
      • Burma - 1941-45
      • Crossing the Hump
    • Japan Overpowered >
      • Japan Under Attack
      • Strategic Air War - Japan
      • Japan Vanquished
    • US Naval War w/ Japan >
      • US Submarine Force
      • Third & Fifth Fleets
    • US Air Force War w/ Japan >
      • Fifth Air Force
      • Seventh Air Force
      • Thirteenth Air Force
    • The Pacific Base Areas
  • Germany
    • WWII-Germany Overview
    • Battle of the Atlantic
    • The MTO >
      • MTO Overview >
        • MTO Background
      • North Africa >
        • Operation Torch
        • The Race to Tunis
        • Tunisia
      • Italy >
        • Sicily
        • Italy Leaves the Axis
        • Salerno-Naples-Foggia
        • To the Gustav Line
        • Battle of Anzio
        • Cassino/the Gustav Line
        • Cassino to Rome
        • Rome To Florence
        • Northern Apennines
        • The Po Valley
      • MTO Air War
      • MTO Sea War
      • MTO Comm. Zone
    • The ETO >
      • ETO Overview >
        • ETO Background
      • ETO Orders of Battle >
        • ETO Unit Subordination
      • Normandy Campaign >
        • D-Day
        • ETO, 6 June 1944
        • Normandy, June 1944
        • ETO, 30 June 1944
        • Normandy, July 1944
        • After D-Day
      • Liberation >
        • Operation Cobra
        • ETO, 1 August 1944
        • Brittany
        • Normandy
        • Northern France & Belgium
        • ETO, 25 August 1944
        • Southern France
      • War of Attrition >
        • ETO, 15 September 1944
        • Netherlands 1944
        • Rhineland 1944 >
          • V Corps at the West Wall
          • Aachen
          • Hürtgen Forest
          • Operation Queen
          • Queen/Hürtgen
          • Last 1944 Offensives
        • Lorraine/Alsace 1944 >
          • Lorraine/Third Army
          • Lorraine/Seventh Army
          • Alsace/Seventh Army
        • ETO, 15 December 1944
      • Ardennes/The Bulge >
        • Before the Bulge
        • The Bulge Begins
        • The Bulge Grows
        • Ardennes, 25 December 1944
        • The Bulge Contained
        • The Bulge Eliminated
        • Ardennes/Bulge Details
        • Ardennes/Bulge Overview
      • Alsace 1945 >
        • Alsace, Nordwind
        • Alsace, Colmar Pocket
      • Siegfried Line 1945 >
        • ETO, 26 January 1945
        • Operation Blackcock
        • First US Effort
        • Roer River Dams
        • VIII Corps to Prüm
        • XII Corps to Bitburg
        • XX Corps to Trier
      • To the Rhine >
        • ETO, 1 March 1945
        • Ops. Veritable & Grenade
        • Operation Lumberjack
        • Operation Undertone
        • Patton's Probing Attacks
        • Ninth & First Armies
        • Third & Seventh Armies
      • Central Europe >
        • Crossing the Rhine
        • Beyond the Rhine
        • ETO, 4 April 1945
        • Central Germany
        • Southern Germany
        • Germany Surrenders
      • ETO Air War
      • ETO Sea War
      • ETO Comm. Zone
    • The Eastern Front
Picture
Picture
The Bulge
Picture
bigpigeon.us webpage WWII-Germany > The ETO > Ardennes/The Bulge > The Bulge Eliminated, © 2023 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 17 Oct  2022.
Coordinated Allied efforts to eliminate the Bulge began on 3 January 1945 and continued through January.
Bulge Order of Battle, January 1945
By the end of 1944, seven Allied corps faced the Wehrmacht forces, counterclockwise from the upper right on the accompanying map:
US First Army:
  • V Corps (hit during the Wehrmacht attack, retreated to Elsenborn Ridge).
  • XVIII Airborne Corps (brought in from theater reserve c. 19 December).
  • VII Corps (moved from First Army's left flank c. 20 December).
British Second Army:
  • XXX Corps (arrived from north to protect the Meuse River crossings c. 22 December, began entering the  battle line 24 December).
US Third Army:
  • VIII Corps (formerly with First Army, hit during the Wehrmacht attack).
  • III Corps (moved north from Third Army reserve).
  • XII Corps (moved north from the Saar River).
The Bulge, 3 January 1945
The Bulge, 3 January 1945
Scalable Map - Western Front, 3 January 1945
Eliminating the Bulge
As The Bulge was eliminated, few German units were trapped. Rather, they were slowly squeezed out, withdrawing behind the Siegfried Line (also known as the West Wall, as shown on the accompanying maps).

The Battle of the Bulge, which began on 16 December officially ended on 25 January, but some mid-December Wehrmacht gains weren't retaken until early February.

The operation to eliminate the Bulge began on 3  January. The main pincers consisted of the Third Army's VIII Corps advancing north from Bastogne and the First Army's VII Corps moving south.

US forces met near Houffalize on 16 January, but by then most Germans in the western part of the Bulge had escaped eastward.

Subsequent US operations continuing eastward until the First Army was halted in early February to prepare for operations further north.
  • VIII Corps of the Third Army continued into February with an advance on Prüm.
  • Meanwhile Third Army's XII Corps was advancing northward, and would turn east in mid-February to cross the Our and Sauer Rivers from Luxembourg into Germany.
Recovering from the German Ardennes counteroffensive
Battle of the Ardennes, 26 December1944 - 28 January 1945, Eliminating the Bulge
The Bulge, 3-28 January
The Ardennes Counteroffensive, 3-28 January 1945
Scalable Version

Bulge Timeline, 3 January 1945 onwards
  • 3 January - Allied offensive to reclaim the Bulge begins. 
  • 15 January - US First Army captures Houffalize.
  • 16 January - British XXX Corps ordered back to The Netherlands.
  • 16 January - Wehrmacht's Sixth Panzer Army begins moving to Hungary. Fifteenth Army takes over its front.
  • 16 January US First and Third Armies make contact near Houffalize.
  • 17 January - First Army captures Vielsalm.
  • 19 January - Third Army captures Diekirch, Luxembourg.
  • 22 January - Third Army captures Wiltz, Luxembourg.
  • 23 January - First Army captures St. Vith.
Advances 29 Dec - 9 Jan
The Bulge Reduced, 29 December - 9 January

Sources for Big Pigeon's The ETO > Ardennes/The Bulge > The Bulge Eliminated webpage:
General sources for the Ardennes/The Bulge webpages: (C/O = courtesy of)
  • http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-E-Ardennes/index.html - The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge (from the United States Army in World War II, European Theater of Operations series, by Hugh M. Cole).
  • https://history.army.mil/catalog/pubs/72/72-26.html - Ardennes-Alsace (brochure from Campaigns of World War II: A World War II Commemorative Series, by Roger Cirillo).
  • Ardennes-Alsace Brochure - This is Big Pigeon's copy of the above, provided for faster loading. 
  • Printable Timeline with Situation Maps, https://www.loc.gov/collections/world-war-ii-maps-military-situation-maps-from-1944-to-1945/articles-and-essays/the-battle-of-the-bulge/printable-timeline/ - C/O Library of Congress, loc.gov. This timeline depicts the key events of "The Battle of the Bulge" which took place in northern France over the course of December 16, 1944 to January 18, 1945 as told through the daily situation maps made for the US Military VIII Corps.
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Bulge - long article with a few good maps.
  • http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_bulge.html - good overview but a number of minor errors.
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Bulge_order_of_battle - detailed order of battle for an unspecified date late in the battle.
  • Battle of St. Vith, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_St._Vith. The majority of this long article relates to The Fall of the 106th Infantry Division.
  • The Last Offensive, by Charles B. MacDonald, 1972, ~532 pp. [CMH #7-9] - the 1945 ETO Rhineland Campaign.
Sources for the images used on this webpage: (C/O = courtesy of)
  • The Bulge, 3 January 1945, map excerpted from http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-E-Last/maps/USA-E-Last-I.jpg - map I in The Last Offensive cited above.
  • Battle of the Ardennes, 26 December 1944 - 28 January 1945, Eliminating the Bulge, map, 
  • The Ardennes Counteroffensive, 3-28 January 1945, map, https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-E-Last/maps/USA-E-Last-II.jpg - taken from The Last Offensive cited above.
  • The Bulge Reduced, 29 December - 9 January, map - https://www.military-history.org/feature/world-war-2/the-ardennes-1944.htm - C/O https://www.military-history.org.

​Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead - The ETO > Ardennes/The Bulge > The Bulge Eliminated:
  • Taken from the bigpigeon.us WWII Roster module.
03-06 - The ETO > Ardennes/The Bulge > The Bulge Eliminated (17 dead, updated 4 Feb 2023)
† Brown, Cecil LeRoy, SN 37-697-684, US Army, Cass Co.
  • 23rd Inf. Regt., 2nd Inf. Div., V Corps, First Army (regiment attached to 1st Inf. Div. at time of death); KIA 24 Jan 1945 near St. Vith, Belgium; The ETO > Ardennes/The Bulge > The Bulge Eliminated.
† 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 ETO > Ardennes/The Bulge > The Bulge Eliminated.
† 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 ETO > Ardennes/The Bulge > The Bulge Eliminated.
† 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 ETO > Ardennes/The Bulge > The Bulge Eliminated.
† Johnson, Myron Paul Edward (served as Johnson Myron P E), SN 37-194-564, US Army, Montgomery Co.
  • Co. F, 33rd Armored Regt., 3rd Armored Div., VII Corps, First Army; captured ~ 7 Jan 1945 in Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge; release date unknown; DNB 1 May 1945 in British hospital, Belgium; malnutrition & pneumonia; The ETO > Ardennes/The Bulge > The Bulge Eliminated.​
† 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; The ETO > Ardennes/The Bulge > The Bulge Eliminated.
​† McCormick, Jack Albert, SN 20-743-489, US Army, Pott. Co.
  • Co. G, 330th Inf. Regt., 83rd Inf. Div., VII Corps, First Army, attached to 3rd Armored Div.; POW 5 Jan 1945 during German counterattack on Hill 108 near Lansival, W of Vielsalm, Belgium; perhaps processed at POW camp Stalag 12A, Limberg, E of Koblenz, Germany and then transferred to Stalag 9B, Bad Orb, NE of Hanau, Germany; DNB 3 Mar 1945; pneumonia; The ETO > Ardennes/The Bulge > The Bulge Eliminated.
† 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 ETO > Ardennes/The Bulge > The Bulge Eliminated.
† 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 near Berle, Luxembourg SE of Bastogne & SW of Wiltz; The ETO > Ardennes/The Bulge > The Bulge Eliminated.​
† 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 ETO > Ardennes/The Bulge > The Bulge Eliminated.
† 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 ETO > Ardennes/The Bulge > The Bulge Eliminated.
† 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 ETO > Ardennes/The Bulge > The Bulge Eliminated.
† 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 ETO > Ardennes/The Bulge > The Bulge Eliminated.
† 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 ETO > Ardennes/The Bulge > The Bulge Eliminated.​
† 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 & W of Vielsalm, Belgium; The ETO > Ardennes/The Bulge > The Bulge Eliminated.
† 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 ETO > Ardennes/The Bulge > The Bulge Eliminated.
† Wooten, Harry Thomas, SN 37-241-056, US Army, Atchison Co., MO
  • Co. B., 50th Armored Inf. Bn., 6th Armored Div., III Corps, Third Army; KIA ~ 26 Jan 1945 (official date 27 Jan)  serving with Task Force Root near Weiswambach, extreme northern Luxembourg; head wound; The ETO > Ardennes/The Bulge > The Bulge Eliminated.
Proudly powered by Weebly