Bitburg, ~ Mar 1945

Siegfried Line

bigpigeon.us webpage WWII Germany > The ETO > Siegfried Line 1945 > XII Corps to Bitburg, © 2023 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 25 Jun 2022.   
Incomplete.

The XII Corps attack, coupled with the earlier VIII Corps attack, put the Third Army behind the Siegfried Line throughout most of the Eifel region and enabled the Third Army's dashes across most of the Rhineland-Palatinate in March.

The initial attack, across the swollen Our and Sauer Rivers, led to the drowning deaths of large numbers of American troops. The human costs of this initial attack is little-documented and little-known. I believe this is  one of the major stories of the ETO which requires more attention from historians, whether scholarly, popular, or amateur.

Vianden Bulge & Bitburg, 6-28 Feb 2022

 Click here to zoom and pan.

Sources for Big Pigeon's The ETO > Siegfried Line 1945 > XII Corps to Bitburg webpage:

• The Last Offensive, Chapter VI, Bitburg and the Vianden Bulge (the United States Army in World War II, European Theater of Operations series, Charles B. MacDonald, 1973) - http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-E-Last/USA-E-Last-6.html.
• The webpage header photo Bitburg, ~ Mar 1945 is courtesy of https://dbs.bh.org.il, the Open Databases Project of the Museum of the Jewish People.
• Vianden Bulge & Bitburg - Map #IV, The Last Offensive - https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-E-Last/maps/USA-E-Last-IV.jpg. 

Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead - The ETO > Siegfried Line 1945 > XII Corps to Bitburg:

• Taken from the bigpigeon.us WWII Dead module.

03-06 - The ETO > Siegfried Line 1945 > XII Corps to Bitburg: (six dead, updated 8 Aug '23/23 Aug '23)
† Armstrong, Kenneth Burton, SN 37-735-072, US Army, Harrison Co.

• Co. F, 319th Inf. Regt., 80th Inf. Div., XII Corps, Third Army; KIA 6 Feb 1945 Luxembourg at Sauer River near German Border, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany; The ETO > Siegfried Line 1945 > XII Corps to Bitburg.

† Larson, Darwin Norville, SN 37-435-093, US Army, Montgomery Co.

• 737th Tank Bn., attached to 5th Inf. Div., XII Corps, Third Army; KIA 23 Feb. 1945 approaching Bitburg, Rhineland-Palatine, Germany; The ETO > Siegfried Line 1945 > XII Corps to Bitburg.

† Nelson, Leonard Mortensen, SN 17-043-992, US Army, Audubon Co.

• first overseas tour Jun-Dec 1943; departed US for second tour Nov 1944; 304th Inf. Regt., 76th Inf. Div., XII Corps, Third Army; WIA Feb 1944 near Irrel, N of Trier, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany; DOW 28 Feb 1945; Siegfried Line 1945 > XII Corps to Bitburg.

† Orr, Bertis Stanley, SN 37-118-280, US Army, Pott. Co. & Adams Co., IL

• Co. F, 319th Inf. Regt., 80th Inf. Div., XII Corps, Third Army; KIA 7 Feb 1945 Luxembourg, near German Border, at Sauer River NW of Wallendorf, Eifel, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany; The ETO > Siegfried Line 1945 > XII Corps to Bitburg.

† Starner, Russell Leroy, SN 37-734-909, US Army, Shelby Co.

• Co. K, 319th Inf. Regt., 80th Inf. Div., XII Corps, Third Army; KIA 13/15 Feb 1945 E of Sauer River, near Wallendorf, Eifel, Rhineland-Palatinate; Germany; The ETO > Siegfried Line 1945 > XII Corps to Bitburg.

 † Winslow, Fred Lute John, SN 37-693-036, US Army, Mills Co.

• Co. K, 318th Inf. Regt., 80th Inf. Div., XII Corps, Third Army; KIA 11 Feb 1945 near Sauer and Our River junction, Luxembourg; The ETO > Siegfried Line 1945 > XII Corps to Bitburg.