Battle of Lanzareth ridge
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Lanzerath Ridge during World War II
was fought on December 16, 1944, the first day of the Battle of the Bulge
near the town of Lanzerath, Belgium
. It was fought between 18 men belonging to two American reconnaissance squads
, four U.S. Forward Artillery Observers
, and a battalion of about 500 German paratroopers. During a day-long confrontation, the platoon of Americans inflicted dozens of casualties on the Germans and bottled up the advance along a key route the 1st SS Panzer Division
, spearhead of the entire German 6th Panzer Army, which had been selected to make the main effort.
The Germans finally flanked the Americans at dusk and captured them. Only one American, a forward artillery observer, was killed, while 14 were wounded. German casualties totaled 92. The Germans paused, believing the woods were filled with more Americans and tanks. Only when SS-Standartenführer Joachim Peiper
and his Panzer tanks arrived at midnight, twelve hours behind schedule, did the Germans learn the woods were empty.
Due to lost communications with Battalion and then Regimental headquarters and the unit's subsequent capture, its disposition and success at delaying the advance of the 6th Panzer Army that day was unknown to the U.S. commanders. Lt. Lyle Bouck
considered the wounding of most of his men and the capture of his entire unit a failure. When the war ended five months later, the platoon was split between two prisoner-of-war camp
s. All of the men just wanted to get home. Bouck only learned after the war that because his platoon prevented the lead German infantry elements from advancing, the schedule for the armored units' advance was also pushed back by about 20 hours. On October 26, 1981, after considerable lobbying, a Congressional hearing, and letter-writing by Bouck, every member of the unit were finally recognized for their valor that day, making the platoon the most decorated American unit of World War II.
at Wahlerscheid. During two days of hard fighting, the U.S. Army had finally managed to slip through the heavily fortified lines and penetrate the German defenses. The Americans were expecting a counterattack in the area, but their intelligence completely failed to detect the German's movement of hundreds of armored units and tens of thousands of infantry into the region. Much of region was relatively quiet however, lending the area the title of "Ghost Front."
During early December 1944, a weakness in the American Ardennes defensive line was the lack of defenses south of Losheimergraben. General Leonard T. Gerow
, in command of V Corps, recognized this area as a possible avenue of attack by the Germans. This area between the V Corps and the VIII Corps
commanded by Troy H. Middleton
was patrolled by jeep. These patrols were conducted by the 394th Intelligence and Reconnaissance Squads
of the 99th Infantry Division in the northern section of the area and by the 18th Cavalry Squadron, 14th Cavalry Group, attached to the 106th Infantry Division to the south.
In the border area between Germany and Belgium, there was only one road network that supported a military advance. It was through the area known as the Losheim Gap
, a 5 miles (8 km) long, narrow valley at the western foot of the Schnee Eifel
, on the border of Belgium and Germany. This was the key route through which the German Sixth and Fifth Panzer Army planned to advance.
On December 11, General Walter M. Robertson, commander of the battle-hardened 2nd Infantry Division, was ordered to attack and seize the Roer River dams. In case he had to pull back, he chose Elsenborn Ridge
as his defensive line. General Walter E. Lauer, commanding the 99th Infantry Division, was given the charge to build up the defenses around Elsenborn Ridge. Lauer knew his front was very long and very thinly manned. He gave instructions to his division's soldiers to dig in and build cover for their foxholes.
The troops of the 99th Infantry Division, without any battle experience, were deployed to the Ardennes
in November 1944. They relieved the 60th Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, with which the 394th's commanding officer Major Kriz had fought in North Africa before he was wounded and sent home to recuperate. Among the units were two reconnaissance squads
consisting of well-trained soldiers, including college-educated men, former members of the U.S. Army's abruptly terminated ASTP
program. Members of the platoon had been chosen because they were in top physical condition and expert marksmen. Led by 20 year old Lt. Lyle Bouck
, the second youngest man in the unit, for the next few weeks his reconnaissance platoon
established and maintained regimental listening and observation posts, conducted patrols behind enemy lines, and gathered information. They lived in a brick building in Hunningen, taking advantage of a basement full of potatoes and a home-made stove to supplement the military C-ration
s.
The platoon consisted of two nine-man reconnaissance squads and a seven-man headquarters section who were attached to the 394th regimental S2 section. As they were not intended nor trained for combat, they were told to avoid direct engagement with the Germans. Nonetheless, during several missions behind enemy lines when they were dispatched as far as Losheim, 2 miles (3.2 km) behind the front line, to capture enemy soldiers for intelligence, Bouck and several of his men were among the first group in their regiment to be recognized with the Combat Infantry Badge. Most often their patrols consisted of creeping through snow-clogged defiles obscured by fog to fix enemy positions.
On December 10, the two reconnaissance squads
were ordered by Major Kriz to a new position about 6 miles (9.7 km) southeast, near Lanzerath, Belgium, a village of about 15 homes. The village lay at a critical road junction in the northern part of the Losheim Gap. Their small unit of 18 men were charged by Kriz with plugging a 5 miles (8 km) gap in the front line between the 106th Division to the south and the 99th Division to the north. Only the 3rd Battalion of the 394th Infantry Regiment was in reserve in Bucholz Station. Behind them lay roads that would give the enemy rapid access to the Army's rear and allow them to easily flank the thinly placed 99th Division.
, attached to the 14th Cavalry Group, 106th Infantry Division of VIII Corps
. They were reinforced by 22 members of the 2nd Recon Platoon, commanded by Lieutenant John Arculeer, who were mounted on an armored half-track and two jeeps. Members of the Second Platoon took up positions in two homes inside the village of Lanzerath about 200 yards (182.9 m) to the southeast. Together the two units comprised the foremost units in their sector of the American forces facing the Siegfried Line
.
The Americans were attacking through the Siegfried Line at Walerscheid about 5 miles (8 km) to the north, and a localized counter-attack was expected. Lt. Bouck
followed procedure and ordered his men to build fortifications with interlocking fields of fire. Taking advantage of the foxholes left by the previous unit, they dug them deeper so that two or three men could stand in them and fire from the concealed edges. They covered each hole with 8 inches (20.3 cm) to 12 inches (30.5 cm) pine logs. Their hilltop location was just inside the edge of a forest and overlooked a pasture bisected by a 4 feet (1.2 m) high barbed wire fence. Their position covered about 300 yards (274.3 m) along a shallow ridge line, about 30 feet (9.1 m) above the road and 200 yards (182.9 m) northwest of the village. Their foxholes extended along the ridge line in a northeast direction, almost to a fork in the road at their left flank. Snow fell, covering their dug-in fortifications inside the woods, leaving them virtually invisible from the road below.
They took advantage of a small log hut behind their position to use it as a warming hut. Bouck augmented the unit's weaponry with four additional carbines
, two Browning automatic rifles, and one light .30 calibre machine gun
. Avoiding official channels, he traded his unit's collection of German memorabilia with an ordnance supply officer for an armored Jeep
with a mounted .50 calibre machine gun. They dug an emplacement for the armored jeep and its .50 caliber gun, placing it in enfilade down the road along the German's possible axis of advance.
Once an hour, in an attempt to fill the gap in their sector, they ran a jeep patrol up and down the line to stay in contact with units to their right and left flank and to detect any enemy movement. They hoped they would be relieved soon. "We weren't trained to occupy a defensive position in the front lines. We were trained to patrol and get information about the enemy," Bouck said in an interview 60 years later. On the night of December 16, they heard the clanking of armor and the sound of vehicles in the distance, and Bouck ordered his men to remain awake. The temperature ranged from 20 °F (-6.7 °C) to the low 30 °F (-1.1 °C) during the day.
and Luftwaffe
. The German 3rd Fallschirmjaeger Division
, which had previously acquired a superb combat reputation, had been virtually destroyed during the Normandy Invasion in the Falaise pocket
. It had been resurrected by using replacements from the 22nd, 51st, and 53rd Luftwaffe
Field Regiments. The German units were usually organized around small cadres of seasoned veterans. Although they carried the new Schmeisser machine pistol
and were equipped with rifle grenades, few had ever fired them in combat. The German recruits were told the American soldiers they faced would not have the nerve to stand and fight. Their officers said the Americans were "a gum-chewing, undisciplined half-breed with no stomach for real war."
To preserve the quantity of armor available, the infantry of the 9th Fallschirmjaeger Regiment, 3rd Fallschirmjaeger Division
, had been ordered to lead the attack through Lanzerath and clear the village before advancing towards Bullingen. The German commanders estimated they would face a full division of U.S. troops.
The German's initial position was east of the German-Belgium border and the Siegfried Line
near Losheim. SS
Oberstgruppenführer
Sepp Dietrich's plan was for the Sixth Panzer to advance northwest through Losheimergraben and Bucholz Station and then drive 72 miles (115.9 km) through Honsfield, Büllingen, and a group of villages named Trois-Ponts
, connect to Belgian Route Nationale N-23, and cross the River Meuse. It was then another 53 miles (85.3 km) to Antwerp. A downed overpass destroyed by the Germans during their retreat earlier that autumn over the railroad tracks on the Losheim-Losheimergraben road prevented use of that road. A second railroad overpass on the Lanzerath-Losheimergraben similarly allowed only German infantry to advance towards Losheimergraben. On the initial day of the offensive, the engineers were slow to repair the Losheim-Losheimergraben road, forcing Peiper's vehicles to take the road through Bucholz Station.
Once the infantry captured Lanzerath, Sepp Dietrich’s Sixth Panzer Army led by Kampfgruppe
SS
Standartenführer
Joachim Peiper
's 1st SS Panzer Division
would proceed without delay. The infantry would then secure the right flank of the attack route near Losheimergraben
. Despite the losses that had brought the Allies to the border of their homeland, German morale was surprisingly strong. The men knew the Allies were demanding an unconditional surrender
. They were now fighting for the fatherland, defending the soil of their beloved country, not just fighting for Hitler.
Dietrich knew the plan had flaws. The Germans had captured the same terrain during the summer of 1940 in three days. Now they were being asked to do it in winter in five days. The plan counted on bad weather to keep the Allied planes grounded. Dietrich only had one-quarter the fuel they needed; their plan counted on capturing Allied fuel depots and keeping to an ambitious timetable. Dietrich's assigned route (or Rollbahn) included narrow roads – in many places single-tracks – which would force units of the Kampfgruppe to tail each other, creating a column of infantry and armor up to 25 kilometres (15.5 mi) long. The roads would prevent the attackers from concentrating their forces in the blitzkrieg
fashion which had served them so well in the past. The main roads designated for their use had many hairpin turn
s and traversed steep hillsides that would delay his already slow-moving towed
artillery
and bridging trains. Dietrich knew that a determined fight at one of these critical choke points by even a token U.S. force could seriously impede his schedule. When Hitler's operations officer Generaloberst Alfred Jodl
gave him his orders, Dietrich yelled, "I'm a general, not a bloody undertaker!"
On December 16, 1944, at 5:30 am, the Germans launched a 90-minute artillery barrage using 1,600 artillery pieces across an 80 miles (128.7 km) front, although the American platoon was only aware of what was happening in their sector. Their first impression was that this was the anticipated counterattack resulting from the Allies' recent attack in the Wahlerscheid sector to the north where the 2nd Division had knocked a sizable dent into the Siegfried Line
. Bouck later said:
Many shells exploded in the trees, sending shards of steel and wood into the ground, but the men were protected by their reinforced foxholes. The German guns cut deep holes the size of trucks in the pasture.
, Germany. At 8:00, as the sun rose, the American platoon heard explosions and guns around Buchholz Station and Losheimergraben
to the east and north where the 3rd and 1st Battalions of the 394th Infantry Division was located. The 55 soldiers of U.S. 2nd Platoon, Company A, 820th Tank Destroyer Battalion
, 14th Cavalry Group was initially ordered south to help protect Manderfeld, but shortly afterward were redirected to join the active battle near Buchholz Station. They withdrew from the village and left without contacting the I&R platoon. This left the platoon as the only unit in the sector and without armor support.
Bouck sent James, Slape and Creger to set up an observation post in a home on the eastern side of the village abandoned by Task Force X. Accompanying them, he spotted in the dawn light a long column of what appeared to be about 500 German troops headed toward them from the east. Their distinctive helmet style told Bouck they were paratroopers
, among the best soldiers Germany could field. None of his training or experience prepared him for this situation, outnumbered as he was by perhaps 20 to 1. Bouck and James scrambled back to the ridge top and the rest of their unit. The platoon's telephone land line to 1st Battalion headquarters in Losheimergraben was knocked out, but their SCR-300
radio still worked. Bouck reached Regimental headquarters at Hünningnen on the radio and requested permission to withdraw and engage in a delaying action. He was told to "remain in position and reinforcements from the 3rd Battalion will come to support you."
In town, Creger watched as a forward element of the German infantry advanced with weapons slung into Lanzerath. They obviously did not expect to encounter any Americans. Creger radioed Bouck and told him of the Germans advancing through Lanzerath on the road between Creger and Bouck's position. Bouck sent Robinson, McGeehee and Silvola to assist Creger, who crept down to the Bucholz Station road and thence up a ditch towards Lanzerath. Before the three men reached Creger, he left the village using a more direct route. As he returned to the American lines, he engaged and killed or wounded most of a German platoon.
On the eastern side of the road, Robinson, McGeehee and Silvola attempted to rejoin their platoon, but found the way blocked by German soldiers who threatened to flank them. They decided to head for Losheimergraben and seek reinforcements. They crossed a 20 feet (6.1 m) deep railroad cut and once on the far side encountered soldiers from Fusilier Regiment 27 of the 12th Volksgrenadier Division. Trying to outflank the 1st Battalion, 394th Infantry Regiment in Losheimergraben, they spotted the three men. After a brief firefight, Robinson and McGeehee were wounded and all three were captured.
Germans entered the home that Creger and Slape were using as an observation post. Slape climbed into the attic while Creger only had time to hide behind a door. He pulled the pin on a grenade as the door knob jammed into his ribs. Bullets from the I&R platoon struck the building, and the Germans suddenly left. Creger and Slape exited the back door and ducked into a nearby cowshed. They crossed a field and then found themselves in a minefield. Picking their way forward, they circled through the woods until they encountered a handful of Germans. Opening fire, they killed them. Creger and Slape spotted Bouck and Milosovich across a road and sprinted towards them, drawing German fire. They made it back to their ridge-top position and Bouck called Regimental Headquarters. He requested artillery support, but when he reported the German column advancing on his position, the voice on the other end of the radio told him "he must be seeing things". Bouck told them he had 20-20 vision and demanded artillery fire on the road in front of his unit.
Radio operator James Fort attempted to contact headquarters on the SCR-284 radio mounted on a jeep by the command post and found that German martial music jammed the channel. He then used a side-channel and Morse code
, hoping the Germans weren't listening, to send a status report to regimental headquarters.
Four members of a Forward Observation Team from Battery C, 371st Field Artillery had been in the village when the Tank Destroyer unit withdrew. Lieutenant Warren Springer and the other three men, Sergeant
Peter Gacki, T/4
Willard Wibben, and T/5 Billy Queen joined Bouck's unit on the ridge where they could continue to observe the enemy movement. Bouck distributed them among the foxholes to help reload magazines and reinforce their position.
The German infantry deployed and about two platoons of the 2nd Company, 1st Battalion, then attacked the Americans head-on, bunched together in the open and charging straight up the hill, directly at the platoon's hidden and fortified positions. The Americans were surprised at the inexperienced tactics. For the Americans, it was like "shooting clay ducks in California at an amusement park." Several attackers were killed trying to climb over the 4 feet (1.2 m)-high barbed wire fence that bisected the field, often shot at close range with a single shot to the heart or head. Lt. Springer used his jeep-mounted SCR-610
radio to call in coordinates for artillery fire. A few shells landed near the road outside Lanzerath, but they did not hinder the German attack. His jeep was then struck by machine gun fire or mortar shrapnel and his radio was destroyed.
Slape and Milosevich fired continually, as fast as they could reload. Slape thought the Germans were mad to attack in such a suicidal manner, straight across the open field. He later recalled that it was one of the "most beautiful fields of fire" he had ever seen. After only about 30 seconds, the firing stopped. Nearly all of the attacking Germans had been killed or wounded. McConnell, shot in the shoulder, was the only American casualty.
During a second attack made around 11:00 am, Milosevich fired the .50 caliber jeep-mounted machine gun until enemy fire drove him back into his foxhole. In both the first and second attack that morning no German soldier got past the fence in the middle of the field. Bodies were piled around it. German medics waved a white flag late in the morning and indicated they wanted to remove the wounded, which the American defenders allowed. The Americans again suffered only one wounded on the second attack, when Pvt. Kalil was struck in the face by a rifle grenade that failed to explode.
The Germans mounted a third attack late in the afternoon, around 3:00. Several times German soldiers attempted to penetrate the American lines. The Americans left their foxholes and in close combat fired on the attackers to push them back down the hill. At one point PFC Milsovech spotted a medic working on and talking to a soldier he felt certain was already dead. As mortar fire on his position got more accurate, Milsovech noticed a pistol on the supposed medic's belt, and decided he must be calling in fire on their position. He shot and killed him. Bouck contacted Regimental Headquarters once more, seeking reinforcements. At 3:50, Fort sent the unit's last update to Regimental headquarters in Hunningen. He reported they were still receiving some artillery fire but were holding their position against an estimated enemy strength of about 75, who were attempting to advance from Lanzerath towards the railroad to the northwest.
As dusk approach and their ammunition ran dangerously low, Bouck feared they could be flanked at any time. He planned to pull his men back just before dusk, when they would have enough light to escape through the woods. Bouck ordered his men to remove the distributor caps from their Jeeps and to prepare to evacuate to the rear. He dispatched Corporal Sam Jenkins and PFC Preston through the woods to locate Major Kriz at Regimental HQ and seek instructions or reinforcements.
Bouck tried to contact Regimental headquarters on the SCR-300
radio for instructions. A sniper shot the radio as Bouck held it to his ear. The sniper also hit the SCR-284 radio mounted in the Jeep behind Bouck, eliminating any possibility of calling for reinforcements or instructions.
The German troops were reluctant to attack head on once again, and Sergeant Vinz Kulbach pleaded with the officers of the 9th Fallschirmjaeger Regiment to allow his men to flank the Americans in the dusk. Fifty men from Fusilier Regiment 27 of the 12th Volksgrenadier Division were dispatched to attack the American's southern flank through the woods. Just as Bouck was about to blow his whistle to indicate withdrawal, German soldiers penetrated their lines and began overrunning their foxholes. Several attackers were killed by grenades rigged to wires and tfriggered by Americans in their foxholes. Each of the positions spread out over the ridge top were overrun in turn. Surprisingly, the Germans did not simply kill the defenders in their foxholes. Bouck was pulled from his foxhole by an officer with a machine gun, and he thought he would be shot when the German put his weapon in his back and pulled the trigger; it was empty. Both Bouck and the German officer were then struck by bullets. The German fell seriously wounded, while Bouck was struck in the calf. Sergeant Kuhlbach asked Bouck who was in command, and Bouck replied that he was. Kuhlbach asked him why the Americans were still shooting, and Bouck said it was not his men doing it. Bouck surrendered and helped carry his wounded men down to the village.
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During their dawn to dusk fight, the 15 remaining men of the I&R platoon plus the four men of the 371st Artillery Forward Observation Team repeatedly engaged elements of the 1st Battalion, 9th Fallschirmjaeger Regiment, 3rd Fallschirmjaeger Division of about 500 men. The Germans reported 16 killed, 63 wounded, and 13 missing in action. Other reports say the Americans inflicted between 60 and five hundred casualties on the Germans. Only one American, forward artillery observer Billy Queen, was killed; in Bouck's platoon, 14 out of 18 men were wounded. The small American force had seriously disrupted the schedule of the entire 6th Panzer Army's drive for Antwerp along the entire northern edge of the offensive. After virtually no sleep during the preceding night and a full day of almost non-stop combat, with only a few rounds of ammunition remaining, flanked by a superior enemy force, the platoon and artillery observers were captured.
The German military took took over several homes in Lanzerath and turned them into aid stations for the wounded of both sides. The rest of the homes were commandeered as temporary quarters.
Kampfgruppe
Peiper
, the lead element of the Sixth Panzer Army's spearhead, 1st SS Panzer Division
, consisted of 4,800 men and 600 vehicles. It started December 16 as much as 36 kilometres (22.4 mi) to the east in Tondorf, Germany, and was unable to advance at their scheduled rate because of road congestion. The road from Scheid to Losheim was one solid traffic jam, in part due to two blown railroad overpasses blocking access to Losheimergraben, but also due to American resistance. Peiper's lead units did not reach Losheim until 7:30 pm, when he was ordered to swing west and join up with the 3rd Fallschirmjaeger Division
, which had finally cleared the route through Lanzerath. Peiper was furious about the delay. Enroute to Lanzerath, Peiper's unit lost five tanks and five other armored vehicles to American mines and anti-tank weapons. Kampfgruppe Peiper finally reached Lanzerath near midnight.
Lt. Bouck, held in Café Scholzen, turned 21 years old at midnight on December 17. At midnight he watched as a senior German officer who he later identified as Peiper attempted to obtain accurate information about the U.S. Army's strength in the area. Peiper was told by Obersturmbannführer i.G. von Hoffman, a former Luftwaffe
general staff officer from Berlin and commanding officer of the 9th Fallschirmjaeger Regiment, 3rd Fallschirmjaeger Division, that his men had run into stiff resistance. He reported that the woods and road ahead were packed with American troops and tanks. He had bedded his troops down for the night and planned to probe the forest for Americans at first light. Their expectations of further resistance was all based on the stiff defense offered by Bouck's force of just 18 men.
Peiper asked the Battalion commander and a Hauptmann (captain) in the same unit about the American resistance. Both said they had not personally seen the Americans but that the woods were heavily fortified. Peiper learned that no patrols into the woods had been conducted and no one had personally reconnoitered the area. Disgusted, Peiper demanded that von Hoffman give him a battalion of paratroops to accompany his tanks. At 4:30 on December 17, more than 16 hours behind schedule, the 1st SS Panzer Division rolled out of Lanzareth and headed east for Bucholz Station. The entire timetable of their advance on the River Meuse and Antwerp had been seriously slowed, allowing the Americans precious hours to move in reinforcements.
Peiper's lead units entered Bucholz Station without resistance at 5:00 am They found only two rifle companies from the 3rd Battalion, 394th Infantry Regiment had been left to defend it and they were quickly captured, except for a headquarters company radio operator. Hidden in a cellar, he called in reports to division headquarters until he was finally captured. Driving east, the Germans entered Honsfield at 6:00 am where his column merged in the dark with an American column. In Honsfield they encountered one of the 99th Division's rest centers, clogged with still sleeping, confused American troops. They killed many, destroyed a number of American armored units and vehicles, and took several dozen prisoners who were later executed by elements of his force.
Based on the noise to the northeast, Peiper decided that the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend was encountering more resistance than expected. Unable to contact his division headquarters and with his vehicles low on fuel, Peiper decided to switch his planned route to the south through Büllingen, where he believed an American fuel depot existed. His units entered the town at 8:00 am and easily captured 50000 gal of fuel for his vehicles. He was apparently unaware he had nearly taken the town and unknowingly bypassed an opportunity to flank and trap the entire 2nd and 99th Division. Peiper turned south to detour around Hünningen, interested only in hurrying west as quickly as he could. The unit gained notoriety when on this route they encountered a lightly armored American convoy and apparently murdered 84 U.S. prisoners of war in what became known as the Malmedy massacre
.
The German advance never recovered from its initial delay, and Kampfgruppe Peiper only got as far as Stoumont, where the remaining vehicles ran out of fuel and came under heavy attack from American artillery and tanks. Having advanced less than half-way to the River Meuse, they were forced to abandon more than a hundred vehicles in the town, including six Tiger II tanks. The soldiers were left to find their own way back to the east on foot. Having started the offensive with about 5800 men, 60 tanks (some Tigers), 3 flak tanks, 75 half-tracks, 14 20mm Flak Wagons, 27 75mm assault guns
, plus 105
and 150mm
SP Howitzers, Hitler's prized Kampfgruppe was reduced to 800 S.S. troopers creeping through the brush at night, trying to get back to their own line.
The task of defeating the 99th Division was the objective of 12th SS Panzer Division
reinforced by additional Panzergrenadier and Volksgenadier divisions. On December 17, German engineers repaired one of the road bridges over the railroad along the Losheim-Losheimergraben road and the 12th Division German armor began advancing towards the key road junction at Losheimergraben and the twin villages of Rocherath and Krinkelt
. However, in more than ten days of intense battle, they were unable to dislodge the Americans from Elsenborn Ridge
, where elements of the V Corps of the First U.S. Army prevented the German forces from reaching the road network to their west.
Due to the determined resistance of the 99th Division, composed of relatively inexperienced troops, along with the 2nd and 23rd Divisions, the northern shoulder of the Battle of the Bulge was a sticking point for the entire offensive operation. Had the Americans given way, the German advance would have overrun the vast supply depots around Leige and Spa
and possibly have changed the outcome of the Battle of Bulge.
near Bad Fallingbostel
, the most primitive POW
camp in Germany where about 6,000 Soviet prisoners had died of typhus
during 1941. After two days of walking through the cold, Bouck and the remainder of his platoon were loaded into a boxcar in the village of Junkerath. They spent 11 days traveling deep into Germany, as the POW camps were overflowing with prisoners. Their unmarked trains were prime targets for Allied aircraft, who attacked Bouck's train on December 21, killing and wounding several POWs. The prisoners were allowed off only once, and were given only some bread and water during the entire trip.
Bouck and his men were finally imprisoned in Stalag XIII-D
in Nuremberg
and later in Stalag XIII-C
in Hammelberg, where the non-commissioned and enlisted men were split, with the officers sent to Oflag XIII-B
. Corporal Sam Jenkins and PFC Preston were captured before they reached Allied lines, and they later joined Bouck and the rest of the platoon in the prison. The men barely survived, most suffering from the advanced effects of malnutrition. When Task Force Baum
from Patton's 4th Armored Division attempted to liberate the camp, Bouck pretended to be a field grade officer and accompanied the task force as it attempted to return to the front lines. However, almost the entire task force was captured or killed, and Bouck was returned to prison for the remainder of the war. When he was freed, he was too weak to file a combat report, and he did not think his men had accomplished that much. "We were in those foxholes and ... what we did was to defend ourselves and try to live through it."
only briefly mentioned Bouck's platoon, which upset former platoon member William James (who had changed his name from Tsakanikas). James contacted Bouck and encouraged him to get his men proper recognition.
Bouck contacted his former division commander, Maj. Gen. Walter Lauer, who nominated Bouck for a Silver Star
. In June 1966, a Silver Star arrived in Bouck's mailbox, but no other platoon member was recognized. Bouck was shortly afterward interviewed by John S. D. Eisenhower for his book The Bitter Woods, which described the actions of the unit in detail. Columnist Jack Anderson unsuccessfully campaigned for William James (Tsakanikas) be awarded the Medal of Honor
. Congressional hearings on the men's action resulted in a recommendation to the Secretary of Defense that Bill James be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor
. The U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force concurred, by the Marine Corp responded that James failed to show sufficient "intrepidity". The hearings also resulted in in Public Law 96-145 waiving the time limitation exclusively for members of the platoon. It was signed by President Jimmy Carter
on December 14, 1979.
On October 26, 1981, after considerable lobbying and letter-writing by Bouck, the men of the unit were finally decorated. Fourteen of the 18 were present at the ceremon hosted by Secretary of the Army John O. Marsh. Every man was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. Four received the Distinguished Service Cross
es, five Silver Star
s, and ten got the Bronze Star
with V device
for their 10 hour struggle against a 500-man strong German battalion
.
Platoon members and the citations they received were:
Lieutenant Warren Springer and his three-man artillery observation unit—Sergeant Peter Gacki, T/4 Willard Wibben, and T/5 Billy Queen also joined the men in battle. Queen was killed in action before the remainder were captured
. All four were awarded the DSC
for their valor at Lanzerath.
In 2004, the book The Longest Winter was published documenting the defensive actions of the platoon. Bouck cooperated with the author, Alex Kershaw, but imposed one condition, "I told him that other authors never wrote about the other men in the platoon, just me. I said I wouldn't talk to him unless he promised that he'd also write about the other men."
On May 12, 2005, veterans of the 99th Infantry Division and local citizens of Lanzerath, Belgium dedicated a monument composed of a small brass plaque alongside a bench and a United States flag to commemorate the fight on the grassy hill overlooking the village.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was fought on December 16, 1944, the first day of the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
near the town of Lanzerath, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. It was fought between 18 men belonging to two American reconnaissance squads
ISTAR
ISTAR stands for Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing the information they gather.Information is collected on...
, four U.S. Forward Artillery Observers
Artillery observer
A military artillery observer or spotter is responsible for directing artillery fire and close air support onto enemy positions. Because artillery is an indirect fire weapon system, the guns are rarely in line-of-sight of their target, often located tens of miles away...
, and a battalion of about 500 German paratroopers. During a day-long confrontation, the platoon of Americans inflicted dozens of casualties on the Germans and bottled up the advance along a key route the 1st SS Panzer Division
1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler was Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard. Initially the size of a regiment, the LSSAH eventually grew into a divisional-sized unit...
, spearhead of the entire German 6th Panzer Army, which had been selected to make the main effort.
The Germans finally flanked the Americans at dusk and captured them. Only one American, a forward artillery observer, was killed, while 14 were wounded. German casualties totaled 92. The Germans paused, believing the woods were filled with more Americans and tanks. Only when SS-Standartenführer Joachim Peiper
Joachim Peiper
Joachim Peiper , more often known as Jochen Peiper, was a field officer in the Waffen-SS during World War II, convicted of war crimes in Belgium and accused of war crimes in Italy. He was Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler's personal adjutant . In 1945, he was an SS-Standartenführer, the Waffen-SS's...
and his Panzer tanks arrived at midnight, twelve hours behind schedule, did the Germans learn the woods were empty.
Due to lost communications with Battalion and then Regimental headquarters and the unit's subsequent capture, its disposition and success at delaying the advance of the 6th Panzer Army that day was unknown to the U.S. commanders. Lt. Lyle Bouck
Lyle Bouck
Lyle Bouck, Jr. enlisted in the U.S. National Guard at age 14. During World War II, he was a 20 year old Lieutenant in charge of the Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon, 394th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division...
considered the wounding of most of his men and the capture of his entire unit a failure. When the war ended five months later, the platoon was split between two prisoner-of-war camp
Prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp is a site for the containment of combatants captured by their enemy in time of war, and is similar to an internment camp which is used for civilian populations. A prisoner of war is generally a soldier, sailor, or airman who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or...
s. All of the men just wanted to get home. Bouck only learned after the war that because his platoon prevented the lead German infantry elements from advancing, the schedule for the armored units' advance was also pushed back by about 20 hours. On October 26, 1981, after considerable lobbying, a Congressional hearing, and letter-writing by Bouck, every member of the unit were finally recognized for their valor that day, making the platoon the most decorated American unit of World War II.
Background
Prior to the Battle of the Bulge, the U.S. Army was engaged in a campaign to attack the Roer River dams before invading the rest of Germany. The 99th Infantry Division was supporting the 2nd Infantry Division in their attack on the German West WallSiegfried Line
The original Siegfried line was a line of defensive forts and tank defences built by Germany as a section of the Hindenburg Line 1916–1917 in northern France during World War I...
at Wahlerscheid. During two days of hard fighting, the U.S. Army had finally managed to slip through the heavily fortified lines and penetrate the German defenses. The Americans were expecting a counterattack in the area, but their intelligence completely failed to detect the German's movement of hundreds of armored units and tens of thousands of infantry into the region. Much of region was relatively quiet however, lending the area the title of "Ghost Front."
During early December 1944, a weakness in the American Ardennes defensive line was the lack of defenses south of Losheimergraben. General Leonard T. Gerow
Leonard T. Gerow
Leonard Townsend Gerow was a United States Army general.-Early life:Gerow was born in Petersburg, Virginia. The name Gerow is derived from the French name "Giraud". Gerow attended high school in Petersburg and then attended the Virginia Military Institute. He was three times elected class...
, in command of V Corps, recognized this area as a possible avenue of attack by the Germans. This area between the V Corps and the VIII Corps
VIII Corps (United States)
The U.S. VIII Corps was a corps of the United States Army that saw service during various times over a fifty-year period during the twentieth century. The VIII Corps was organized 26–29 November 1918 in the Regular Army in France and demobilized on 20 April 1919. The VIII Corps was soon...
commanded by Troy H. Middleton
Troy H. Middleton
Lieutenant General Troy Houston Middleton was a distinguished soldier-educator who served as a corps commander in Europe during World War II and later as President of Louisiana State University...
was patrolled by jeep. These patrols were conducted by the 394th Intelligence and Reconnaissance Squads
ISTAR
ISTAR stands for Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing the information they gather.Information is collected on...
of the 99th Infantry Division in the northern section of the area and by the 18th Cavalry Squadron, 14th Cavalry Group, attached to the 106th Infantry Division to the south.
In the border area between Germany and Belgium, there was only one road network that supported a military advance. It was through the area known as the Losheim Gap
Losheim Gap
The Losheim Gap is a long, narrow valley at the western foot of the Schnee Eifel, on the border of Belgium and Germany. Most accounts of World War II describing the Battle of the Bulge focus on the attack by the Germans around Battle of Bastogne and the Battle of St. Vith, while the Germans'...
, a 5 miles (8 km) long, narrow valley at the western foot of the Schnee Eifel
Schnee Eifel
The Schnee Eifel is a heavily wooded landscape in Germany's Central Uplands that forms part of the western Eifel in the area of the German-Belgian border...
, on the border of Belgium and Germany. This was the key route through which the German Sixth and Fifth Panzer Army planned to advance.
On December 11, General Walter M. Robertson, commander of the battle-hardened 2nd Infantry Division, was ordered to attack and seize the Roer River dams. In case he had to pull back, he chose Elsenborn Ridge
Elsenborn Ridge
The Elsenborn Ridge is a ridge line east of the town of Elsenborn, Belgium in the Ardennes forest that was the blocking line on the northern shoulder of the Battle of the Bulge. Their area was the main line of advance for Hitler's prized 12th SS Hitlerjugend. Units of V Corps of the First U.S...
as his defensive line. General Walter E. Lauer, commanding the 99th Infantry Division, was given the charge to build up the defenses around Elsenborn Ridge. Lauer knew his front was very long and very thinly manned. He gave instructions to his division's soldiers to dig in and build cover for their foxholes.
Inexperienced American units
Ardennes
The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and ridges formed within the Givetian Ardennes mountain range, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France , and geologically into the Eifel...
in November 1944. They relieved the 60th Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, with which the 394th's commanding officer Major Kriz had fought in North Africa before he was wounded and sent home to recuperate. Among the units were two reconnaissance squads
ISTAR
ISTAR stands for Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing the information they gather.Information is collected on...
consisting of well-trained soldiers, including college-educated men, former members of the U.S. Army's abruptly terminated ASTP
Army Specialized Training Program
The Army Specialized Training Program was a military training program instituted by the United States Army during World War II at a number of American universities to meet wartime demands for junior officers and soldiers with technical skills...
program. Members of the platoon had been chosen because they were in top physical condition and expert marksmen. Led by 20 year old Lt. Lyle Bouck
Lyle Bouck
Lyle Bouck, Jr. enlisted in the U.S. National Guard at age 14. During World War II, he was a 20 year old Lieutenant in charge of the Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon, 394th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division...
, the second youngest man in the unit, for the next few weeks his reconnaissance platoon
ISTAR
ISTAR stands for Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing the information they gather.Information is collected on...
established and maintained regimental listening and observation posts, conducted patrols behind enemy lines, and gathered information. They lived in a brick building in Hunningen, taking advantage of a basement full of potatoes and a home-made stove to supplement the military C-ration
C-ration
The C-Ration, or Type C ration, was an individual canned, pre-cooked, or prepared wet ration intended to be issued to U.S. military land forces when fresh food or packaged unprepared food prepared in mess halls or field kitchens was impractical or not available, and when a survival ration was...
s.
The platoon consisted of two nine-man reconnaissance squads and a seven-man headquarters section who were attached to the 394th regimental S2 section. As they were not intended nor trained for combat, they were told to avoid direct engagement with the Germans. Nonetheless, during several missions behind enemy lines when they were dispatched as far as Losheim, 2 miles (3.2 km) behind the front line, to capture enemy soldiers for intelligence, Bouck and several of his men were among the first group in their regiment to be recognized with the Combat Infantry Badge. Most often their patrols consisted of creeping through snow-clogged defiles obscured by fog to fix enemy positions.
On December 10, the two reconnaissance squads
ISTAR
ISTAR stands for Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing the information they gather.Information is collected on...
were ordered by Major Kriz to a new position about 6 miles (9.7 km) southeast, near Lanzerath, Belgium, a village of about 15 homes. The village lay at a critical road junction in the northern part of the Losheim Gap. Their small unit of 18 men were charged by Kriz with plugging a 5 miles (8 km) gap in the front line between the 106th Division to the south and the 99th Division to the north. Only the 3rd Battalion of the 394th Infantry Regiment was in reserve in Bucholz Station. Behind them lay roads that would give the enemy rapid access to the Army's rear and allow them to easily flank the thinly placed 99th Division.
American defensive preparations
The I&R platoon took over positions formerly occupied by the 2nd Infantry Division on a ridge top immediately northeast of the town. They were ordered to improve their foxhole positions and maintain contact with Task Force X, made up of four, towed three-inch guns from the 2nd Platoon of Company A, 820th Tank Destroyer BattalionTank destroyer battalion (United States)
The tank destroyer battalion was a type of unit used by the United States Army during World War II. The unit was organized in one of two different forms—a towed battalion equipped with anti-tank guns, or a self-propelled battalion equipped with armored tank destroyers. U.S. Army doctrine held that...
, attached to the 14th Cavalry Group, 106th Infantry Division of VIII Corps
VIII Corps
List of military corps — List of military corps by numberA number of countries have Eighth, or VIII, Corps:* VIII Corps * VIII Corps * U.S. VIII Corps involvement in the American Civil War...
. They were reinforced by 22 members of the 2nd Recon Platoon, commanded by Lieutenant John Arculeer, who were mounted on an armored half-track and two jeeps. Members of the Second Platoon took up positions in two homes inside the village of Lanzerath about 200 yards (182.9 m) to the southeast. Together the two units comprised the foremost units in their sector of the American forces facing the Siegfried Line
Siegfried Line
The original Siegfried line was a line of defensive forts and tank defences built by Germany as a section of the Hindenburg Line 1916–1917 in northern France during World War I...
.
The Americans were attacking through the Siegfried Line at Walerscheid about 5 miles (8 km) to the north, and a localized counter-attack was expected. Lt. Bouck
Lyle Bouck
Lyle Bouck, Jr. enlisted in the U.S. National Guard at age 14. During World War II, he was a 20 year old Lieutenant in charge of the Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon, 394th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division...
followed procedure and ordered his men to build fortifications with interlocking fields of fire. Taking advantage of the foxholes left by the previous unit, they dug them deeper so that two or three men could stand in them and fire from the concealed edges. They covered each hole with 8 inches (20.3 cm) to 12 inches (30.5 cm) pine logs. Their hilltop location was just inside the edge of a forest and overlooked a pasture bisected by a 4 feet (1.2 m) high barbed wire fence. Their position covered about 300 yards (274.3 m) along a shallow ridge line, about 30 feet (9.1 m) above the road and 200 yards (182.9 m) northwest of the village. Their foxholes extended along the ridge line in a northeast direction, almost to a fork in the road at their left flank. Snow fell, covering their dug-in fortifications inside the woods, leaving them virtually invisible from the road below.
M1 Carbine
The M1 carbine is a lightweight, easy to use semi-automatic carbine that became a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and was produced in several variants. It was widely used by U.S...
, two Browning automatic rifles, and one light .30 calibre machine gun
M1919 Browning machine gun
The M1919 Browning is a .30 caliber medium machine gun that was widely used during the 20th century. It was used as a light infantry, coaxial, mounted, aircraft, and anti-aircraft machine gun by the U.S. and many other countries, especially during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War...
. Avoiding official channels, he traded his unit's collection of German memorabilia with an ordnance supply officer for an armored Jeep
Jeep
Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...
with a mounted .50 calibre machine gun. They dug an emplacement for the armored jeep and its .50 caliber gun, placing it in enfilade down the road along the German's possible axis of advance.
Once an hour, in an attempt to fill the gap in their sector, they ran a jeep patrol up and down the line to stay in contact with units to their right and left flank and to detect any enemy movement. They hoped they would be relieved soon. "We weren't trained to occupy a defensive position in the front lines. We were trained to patrol and get information about the enemy," Bouck said in an interview 60 years later. On the night of December 16, they heard the clanking of armor and the sound of vehicles in the distance, and Bouck ordered his men to remain awake. The temperature ranged from 20 °F (-6.7 °C) to the low 30 °F (-1.1 °C) during the day.
German positions
Many of the German units were recent conscripts with very little experience. Sergeant Vinz Kuhlbach's platoon was typical. Most of his soldiers had little combat experience and even less training. The German units had been formed by conscripting teenage boys and men over 50, men previously rejected as physically unfit for service, wounded soldiers newly released from hospitals, and men transferred from the "jobless" personnel of the shrinking KriegsmarineKriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
and Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
. The German 3rd Fallschirmjaeger Division
3rd Parachute Division (Germany)
The 3rd Parachute Division was a German military unit that was active during World War II. Its formation began in October 1943 in France near Reims. From February 1944 near Brest...
, which had previously acquired a superb combat reputation, had been virtually destroyed during the Normandy Invasion in the Falaise pocket
Falaise pocket
The battle of the Falaise Pocket, fought during the Second World War from 12 to 21 August 1944, was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy...
. It had been resurrected by using replacements from the 22nd, 51st, and 53rd Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
Field Regiments. The German units were usually organized around small cadres of seasoned veterans. Although they carried the new Schmeisser machine pistol
MP40
The MP 38 and MP 40 , often called Schmeisser, were submachine guns developed in Nazi Germany and used extensively by paratroopers, tank crews, platoon and squad leaders, and other troops during World War II.-Development:The MP 40 descended from its predecessor, the MP 38, which was in turn based...
and were equipped with rifle grenades, few had ever fired them in combat. The German recruits were told the American soldiers they faced would not have the nerve to stand and fight. Their officers said the Americans were "a gum-chewing, undisciplined half-breed with no stomach for real war."
To preserve the quantity of armor available, the infantry of the 9th Fallschirmjaeger Regiment, 3rd Fallschirmjaeger Division
3rd Parachute Division (Germany)
The 3rd Parachute Division was a German military unit that was active during World War II. Its formation began in October 1943 in France near Reims. From February 1944 near Brest...
, had been ordered to lead the attack through Lanzerath and clear the village before advancing towards Bullingen. The German commanders estimated they would face a full division of U.S. troops.
The German's initial position was east of the German-Belgium border and the Siegfried Line
Siegfried Line
The original Siegfried line was a line of defensive forts and tank defences built by Germany as a section of the Hindenburg Line 1916–1917 in northern France during World War I...
near Losheim. SS
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
Oberstgruppenführer
Oberstgruppenführer
Oberst-Gruppenführer was the highest commissioned SS rank with the exception of Reichsführer-SS, which was a special rank held by Heinrich Himmler...
Sepp Dietrich's plan was for the Sixth Panzer to advance northwest through Losheimergraben and Bucholz Station and then drive 72 miles (115.9 km) through Honsfield, Büllingen, and a group of villages named Trois-Ponts
Trois-Ponts
Trois-Ponts is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liege. On January 1, 2006 Trois-Ponts had a total population of 2,445. The total area is 68.90 km² which gives a population density of 35 inhabitants per km². It is situated at the confluence of the...
, connect to Belgian Route Nationale N-23, and cross the River Meuse. It was then another 53 miles (85.3 km) to Antwerp. A downed overpass destroyed by the Germans during their retreat earlier that autumn over the railroad tracks on the Losheim-Losheimergraben road prevented use of that road. A second railroad overpass on the Lanzerath-Losheimergraben similarly allowed only German infantry to advance towards Losheimergraben. On the initial day of the offensive, the engineers were slow to repair the Losheim-Losheimergraben road, forcing Peiper's vehicles to take the road through Bucholz Station.
Once the infantry captured Lanzerath, Sepp Dietrich’s Sixth Panzer Army led by Kampfgruppe
Kampfgruppe
In military history and military slang, the German term Kampfgruppe can refer to a combat formation of any kind, but most usually to that employed by the German Wehrmacht and its allies during World War II and, to a lesser extent, in World War I...
SS
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
Standartenführer
Standartenführer
Standartenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in the so-called Nazi combat-organisations: SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK...
Joachim Peiper
Joachim Peiper
Joachim Peiper , more often known as Jochen Peiper, was a field officer in the Waffen-SS during World War II, convicted of war crimes in Belgium and accused of war crimes in Italy. He was Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler's personal adjutant . In 1945, he was an SS-Standartenführer, the Waffen-SS's...
's 1st SS Panzer Division
1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler was Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard. Initially the size of a regiment, the LSSAH eventually grew into a divisional-sized unit...
would proceed without delay. The infantry would then secure the right flank of the attack route near Losheimergraben
Büllingen
Büllingen is a largely German language-speaking municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. On January 1, 2006 Büllingen had a total population of 5,385. The total area is 150.49 km² which gives a population density of 36 inhabitants per km²....
. Despite the losses that had brought the Allies to the border of their homeland, German morale was surprisingly strong. The men knew the Allies were demanding an unconditional surrender
Unconditional surrender
Unconditional surrender is a surrender without conditions, in which no guarantees are given to the surrendering party. In modern times unconditional surrenders most often include guarantees provided by international law. Announcing that only unconditional surrender is acceptable puts psychological...
. They were now fighting for the fatherland, defending the soil of their beloved country, not just fighting for Hitler.
Dietrich knew the plan had flaws. The Germans had captured the same terrain during the summer of 1940 in three days. Now they were being asked to do it in winter in five days. The plan counted on bad weather to keep the Allied planes grounded. Dietrich only had one-quarter the fuel they needed; their plan counted on capturing Allied fuel depots and keeping to an ambitious timetable. Dietrich's assigned route (or Rollbahn) included narrow roads – in many places single-tracks – which would force units of the Kampfgruppe to tail each other, creating a column of infantry and armor up to 25 kilometres (15.5 mi) long. The roads would prevent the attackers from concentrating their forces in the blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg
For other uses of the word, see: Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg is an anglicized word describing all-motorised force concentration of tanks, infantry, artillery, combat engineers and air power, concentrating overwhelming force at high speed to break through enemy lines, and, once the lines are broken,...
fashion which had served them so well in the past. The main roads designated for their use had many hairpin turn
Hairpin turn
A hairpin turn , named for its resemblance to a hairpin/bobby pin, is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn almost 180° to continue on the road. Such turns in ramps and trails may be called switchbacks in American English, by analogy...
s and traversed steep hillsides that would delay his already slow-moving towed
Artillery tractor
Artillery tractor is a kind of tractor, also referred to as a gun tractor, a vehicle used to tow artillery pieces of varying weights.-Traction:...
artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
and bridging trains. Dietrich knew that a determined fight at one of these critical choke points by even a token U.S. force could seriously impede his schedule. When Hitler's operations officer Generaloberst Alfred Jodl
Alfred Jodl
Alfred Josef Ferdinand Jodl was a German military commander, attaining the position of Chief of the Operations Staff of the Armed Forces High Command during World War II, acting as deputy to Wilhelm Keitel...
gave him his orders, Dietrich yelled, "I'm a general, not a bloody undertaker!"
German barrage
Siegfried Line
The original Siegfried line was a line of defensive forts and tank defences built by Germany as a section of the Hindenburg Line 1916–1917 in northern France during World War I...
. Bouck later said:
Many shells exploded in the trees, sending shards of steel and wood into the ground, but the men were protected by their reinforced foxholes. The German guns cut deep holes the size of trucks in the pasture.
German advance
German infantry began to advance near Losheim before the artillery barrage lifted, preparing to cross the front line as soon as it ended. They marched under the glow of massive searchlights, bouncing light off the clouds. The armor was located farther back, near BlankenheimBlankenheim, North Rhine-Westphalia
Blankenheim is a municipality in the district of Euskirchen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Blankenheim is located in the Eifel hills, approx. 27 km south-west of Euskirchen...
, Germany. At 8:00, as the sun rose, the American platoon heard explosions and guns around Buchholz Station and Losheimergraben
Büllingen
Büllingen is a largely German language-speaking municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. On January 1, 2006 Büllingen had a total population of 5,385. The total area is 150.49 km² which gives a population density of 36 inhabitants per km²....
to the east and north where the 3rd and 1st Battalions of the 394th Infantry Division was located. The 55 soldiers of U.S. 2nd Platoon, Company A, 820th Tank Destroyer Battalion
Tank destroyer battalion (United States)
The tank destroyer battalion was a type of unit used by the United States Army during World War II. The unit was organized in one of two different forms—a towed battalion equipped with anti-tank guns, or a self-propelled battalion equipped with armored tank destroyers. U.S. Army doctrine held that...
, 14th Cavalry Group was initially ordered south to help protect Manderfeld, but shortly afterward were redirected to join the active battle near Buchholz Station. They withdrew from the village and left without contacting the I&R platoon. This left the platoon as the only unit in the sector and without armor support.
Bouck sent James, Slape and Creger to set up an observation post in a home on the eastern side of the village abandoned by Task Force X. Accompanying them, he spotted in the dawn light a long column of what appeared to be about 500 German troops headed toward them from the east. Their distinctive helmet style told Bouck they were paratroopers
Fallschirmjäger
are German paratroopers. Together with the Gebirgsjäger they are perceived as the elite infantry units of the German Army....
, among the best soldiers Germany could field. None of his training or experience prepared him for this situation, outnumbered as he was by perhaps 20 to 1. Bouck and James scrambled back to the ridge top and the rest of their unit. The platoon's telephone land line to 1st Battalion headquarters in Losheimergraben was knocked out, but their SCR-300
SCR-300
The SCR-300 was a portable radio transceiver used by US Signal Corps in World War II. This backpack-mounted unit was the first two way radio to be nicknamed a "walkie talkie".- History :...
radio still worked. Bouck reached Regimental headquarters at Hünningnen on the radio and requested permission to withdraw and engage in a delaying action. He was told to "remain in position and reinforcements from the 3rd Battalion will come to support you."
In town, Creger watched as a forward element of the German infantry advanced with weapons slung into Lanzerath. They obviously did not expect to encounter any Americans. Creger radioed Bouck and told him of the Germans advancing through Lanzerath on the road between Creger and Bouck's position. Bouck sent Robinson, McGeehee and Silvola to assist Creger, who crept down to the Bucholz Station road and thence up a ditch towards Lanzerath. Before the three men reached Creger, he left the village using a more direct route. As he returned to the American lines, he engaged and killed or wounded most of a German platoon.
On the eastern side of the road, Robinson, McGeehee and Silvola attempted to rejoin their platoon, but found the way blocked by German soldiers who threatened to flank them. They decided to head for Losheimergraben and seek reinforcements. They crossed a 20 feet (6.1 m) deep railroad cut and once on the far side encountered soldiers from Fusilier Regiment 27 of the 12th Volksgrenadier Division. Trying to outflank the 1st Battalion, 394th Infantry Regiment in Losheimergraben, they spotted the three men. After a brief firefight, Robinson and McGeehee were wounded and all three were captured.
Germans entered the home that Creger and Slape were using as an observation post. Slape climbed into the attic while Creger only had time to hide behind a door. He pulled the pin on a grenade as the door knob jammed into his ribs. Bullets from the I&R platoon struck the building, and the Germans suddenly left. Creger and Slape exited the back door and ducked into a nearby cowshed. They crossed a field and then found themselves in a minefield. Picking their way forward, they circled through the woods until they encountered a handful of Germans. Opening fire, they killed them. Creger and Slape spotted Bouck and Milosovich across a road and sprinted towards them, drawing German fire. They made it back to their ridge-top position and Bouck called Regimental Headquarters. He requested artillery support, but when he reported the German column advancing on his position, the voice on the other end of the radio told him "he must be seeing things". Bouck told them he had 20-20 vision and demanded artillery fire on the road in front of his unit.
U.S. artillery unavailable
But the platoon's position at the south end of the 99th Division's sector was not only outside the 99th Division boundary, it was outside their own regimental boundary and the V Corps boundary. The division prioritized artillery fire for targets within its boundary. Bouck waited in vain for the sound of incoming artillery. He called Regimental Headquarters again asking for directions. He was told to "hold at all costs," which essentially meant until dead or captured. Bouck knew that if his platoon gave way, the 99th Division's right flank, already thin and undermanned, could be in grave danger.Radio operator James Fort attempted to contact headquarters on the SCR-284 radio mounted on a jeep by the command post and found that German martial music jammed the channel. He then used a side-channel and Morse code
Morse code
Morse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment...
, hoping the Germans weren't listening, to send a status report to regimental headquarters.
German attack
As the German forces moved through Lanzerath and in front of their positions, Bouck and his men allowed lead members of the unit to pass, hoping to surprise the Germans. They were preparing to fire on three men who they believed were the Regiment's officers when a girl from the village emerged from one of the homes. Talking to the officers, she pointed in their general direction. An officer yelled a command, and the paratroopers jumped for ditches on either side of the road. The Americans thought she had given their position away. The Americans fired on the Germans and wounded several. (In October 2006, more than 50 years later, a writer found the now adult woman, still living in the village. She told him she did not know the Americans were still in the area, and was pointing out the direction the Tank Destroyer unit had departed, towards Bucholz Station.)Four members of a Forward Observation Team from Battery C, 371st Field Artillery had been in the village when the Tank Destroyer unit withdrew. Lieutenant Warren Springer and the other three men, Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
Peter Gacki, T/4
Technician Fourth Class
Technician Fourth Grade was one of three United States Army technician ranks established on January 8, 1942 during World War II. Those who held this rank were often addressed as Sergeant, as they shared the same pay grade. Technicians possessed specialized skills which were rewarded with a...
Willard Wibben, and T/5 Billy Queen joined Bouck's unit on the ridge where they could continue to observe the enemy movement. Bouck distributed them among the foxholes to help reload magazines and reinforce their position.
The German infantry deployed and about two platoons of the 2nd Company, 1st Battalion, then attacked the Americans head-on, bunched together in the open and charging straight up the hill, directly at the platoon's hidden and fortified positions. The Americans were surprised at the inexperienced tactics. For the Americans, it was like "shooting clay ducks in California at an amusement park." Several attackers were killed trying to climb over the 4 feet (1.2 m)-high barbed wire fence that bisected the field, often shot at close range with a single shot to the heart or head. Lt. Springer used his jeep-mounted SCR-610
SCR-610
The SCR-610 was a Signal Corps Radio used by the U.S. Army during and after World War II, for short range ground communications, it was standardized 29 Sept...
radio to call in coordinates for artillery fire. A few shells landed near the road outside Lanzerath, but they did not hinder the German attack. His jeep was then struck by machine gun fire or mortar shrapnel and his radio was destroyed.
Slape and Milosevich fired continually, as fast as they could reload. Slape thought the Germans were mad to attack in such a suicidal manner, straight across the open field. He later recalled that it was one of the "most beautiful fields of fire" he had ever seen. After only about 30 seconds, the firing stopped. Nearly all of the attacking Germans had been killed or wounded. McConnell, shot in the shoulder, was the only American casualty.
During a second attack made around 11:00 am, Milosevich fired the .50 caliber jeep-mounted machine gun until enemy fire drove him back into his foxhole. In both the first and second attack that morning no German soldier got past the fence in the middle of the field. Bodies were piled around it. German medics waved a white flag late in the morning and indicated they wanted to remove the wounded, which the American defenders allowed. The Americans again suffered only one wounded on the second attack, when Pvt. Kalil was struck in the face by a rifle grenade that failed to explode.
The Germans mounted a third attack late in the afternoon, around 3:00. Several times German soldiers attempted to penetrate the American lines. The Americans left their foxholes and in close combat fired on the attackers to push them back down the hill. At one point PFC Milsovech spotted a medic working on and talking to a soldier he felt certain was already dead. As mortar fire on his position got more accurate, Milsovech noticed a pistol on the supposed medic's belt, and decided he must be calling in fire on their position. He shot and killed him. Bouck contacted Regimental Headquarters once more, seeking reinforcements. At 3:50, Fort sent the unit's last update to Regimental headquarters in Hunningen. He reported they were still receiving some artillery fire but were holding their position against an estimated enemy strength of about 75, who were attempting to advance from Lanzerath towards the railroad to the northwest.
As dusk approach and their ammunition ran dangerously low, Bouck feared they could be flanked at any time. He planned to pull his men back just before dusk, when they would have enough light to escape through the woods. Bouck ordered his men to remove the distributor caps from their Jeeps and to prepare to evacuate to the rear. He dispatched Corporal Sam Jenkins and PFC Preston through the woods to locate Major Kriz at Regimental HQ and seek instructions or reinforcements.
Bouck tried to contact Regimental headquarters on the SCR-300
SCR-300
The SCR-300 was a portable radio transceiver used by US Signal Corps in World War II. This backpack-mounted unit was the first two way radio to be nicknamed a "walkie talkie".- History :...
radio for instructions. A sniper shot the radio as Bouck held it to his ear. The sniper also hit the SCR-284 radio mounted in the Jeep behind Bouck, eliminating any possibility of calling for reinforcements or instructions.
The German troops were reluctant to attack head on once again, and Sergeant Vinz Kulbach pleaded with the officers of the 9th Fallschirmjaeger Regiment to allow his men to flank the Americans in the dusk. Fifty men from Fusilier Regiment 27 of the 12th Volksgrenadier Division were dispatched to attack the American's southern flank through the woods. Just as Bouck was about to blow his whistle to indicate withdrawal, German soldiers penetrated their lines and began overrunning their foxholes. Several attackers were killed by grenades rigged to wires and tfriggered by Americans in their foxholes. Each of the positions spread out over the ridge top were overrun in turn. Surprisingly, the Germans did not simply kill the defenders in their foxholes. Bouck was pulled from his foxhole by an officer with a machine gun, and he thought he would be shot when the German put his weapon in his back and pulled the trigger; it was empty. Both Bouck and the German officer were then struck by bullets. The German fell seriously wounded, while Bouck was struck in the calf. Sergeant Kuhlbach asked Bouck who was in command, and Bouck replied that he was. Kuhlbach asked him why the Americans were still shooting, and Bouck said it was not his men doing it. Bouck surrendered and helped carry his wounded men down to the village.
Conclusion
Aftermath
German armor advance
Kampfgruppe
In military history and military slang, the German term Kampfgruppe can refer to a combat formation of any kind, but most usually to that employed by the German Wehrmacht and its allies during World War II and, to a lesser extent, in World War I...
Peiper
Joachim Peiper
Joachim Peiper , more often known as Jochen Peiper, was a field officer in the Waffen-SS during World War II, convicted of war crimes in Belgium and accused of war crimes in Italy. He was Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler's personal adjutant . In 1945, he was an SS-Standartenführer, the Waffen-SS's...
, the lead element of the Sixth Panzer Army's spearhead, 1st SS Panzer Division
1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler was Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard. Initially the size of a regiment, the LSSAH eventually grew into a divisional-sized unit...
, consisted of 4,800 men and 600 vehicles. It started December 16 as much as 36 kilometres (22.4 mi) to the east in Tondorf, Germany, and was unable to advance at their scheduled rate because of road congestion. The road from Scheid to Losheim was one solid traffic jam, in part due to two blown railroad overpasses blocking access to Losheimergraben, but also due to American resistance. Peiper's lead units did not reach Losheim until 7:30 pm, when he was ordered to swing west and join up with the 3rd Fallschirmjaeger Division
3rd Parachute Division (Germany)
The 3rd Parachute Division was a German military unit that was active during World War II. Its formation began in October 1943 in France near Reims. From February 1944 near Brest...
, which had finally cleared the route through Lanzerath. Peiper was furious about the delay. Enroute to Lanzerath, Peiper's unit lost five tanks and five other armored vehicles to American mines and anti-tank weapons. Kampfgruppe Peiper finally reached Lanzerath near midnight.
Lt. Bouck, held in Café Scholzen, turned 21 years old at midnight on December 17. At midnight he watched as a senior German officer who he later identified as Peiper attempted to obtain accurate information about the U.S. Army's strength in the area. Peiper was told by Obersturmbannführer i.G. von Hoffman, a former Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
general staff officer from Berlin and commanding officer of the 9th Fallschirmjaeger Regiment, 3rd Fallschirmjaeger Division, that his men had run into stiff resistance. He reported that the woods and road ahead were packed with American troops and tanks. He had bedded his troops down for the night and planned to probe the forest for Americans at first light. Their expectations of further resistance was all based on the stiff defense offered by Bouck's force of just 18 men.
Peiper asked the Battalion commander and a Hauptmann (captain) in the same unit about the American resistance. Both said they had not personally seen the Americans but that the woods were heavily fortified. Peiper learned that no patrols into the woods had been conducted and no one had personally reconnoitered the area. Disgusted, Peiper demanded that von Hoffman give him a battalion of paratroops to accompany his tanks. At 4:30 on December 17, more than 16 hours behind schedule, the 1st SS Panzer Division rolled out of Lanzareth and headed east for Bucholz Station. The entire timetable of their advance on the River Meuse and Antwerp had been seriously slowed, allowing the Americans precious hours to move in reinforcements.
Peiper's lead units entered Bucholz Station without resistance at 5:00 am They found only two rifle companies from the 3rd Battalion, 394th Infantry Regiment had been left to defend it and they were quickly captured, except for a headquarters company radio operator. Hidden in a cellar, he called in reports to division headquarters until he was finally captured. Driving east, the Germans entered Honsfield at 6:00 am where his column merged in the dark with an American column. In Honsfield they encountered one of the 99th Division's rest centers, clogged with still sleeping, confused American troops. They killed many, destroyed a number of American armored units and vehicles, and took several dozen prisoners who were later executed by elements of his force.
Based on the noise to the northeast, Peiper decided that the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend was encountering more resistance than expected. Unable to contact his division headquarters and with his vehicles low on fuel, Peiper decided to switch his planned route to the south through Büllingen, where he believed an American fuel depot existed. His units entered the town at 8:00 am and easily captured 50000 gal of fuel for his vehicles. He was apparently unaware he had nearly taken the town and unknowingly bypassed an opportunity to flank and trap the entire 2nd and 99th Division. Peiper turned south to detour around Hünningen, interested only in hurrying west as quickly as he could. The unit gained notoriety when on this route they encountered a lightly armored American convoy and apparently murdered 84 U.S. prisoners of war in what became known as the Malmedy massacre
Malmedy massacre
The Malmedy massacre was a war crime in which 84 American prisoners of war were murdered by their German captors during World War II. The massacre was committed on December 17, 1944, by members of Kampfgruppe Peiper , a German combat unit, during the Battle of the Bulge.The massacre, as well as...
.
The German advance never recovered from its initial delay, and Kampfgruppe Peiper only got as far as Stoumont, where the remaining vehicles ran out of fuel and came under heavy attack from American artillery and tanks. Having advanced less than half-way to the River Meuse, they were forced to abandon more than a hundred vehicles in the town, including six Tiger II tanks. The soldiers were left to find their own way back to the east on foot. Having started the offensive with about 5800 men, 60 tanks (some Tigers), 3 flak tanks, 75 half-tracks, 14 20mm Flak Wagons, 27 75mm assault guns
Sturmgeschütz III
The Sturmgeschütz III assault gun was Germany's most produced armoured fighting vehicle during World War II. It was built on the chassis of the proven Panzer III tank...
, plus 105
Sturmgeschütz III
The Sturmgeschütz III assault gun was Germany's most produced armoured fighting vehicle during World War II. It was built on the chassis of the proven Panzer III tank...
and 150mm
Brummbär
The Sturmpanzer IV was a German armoured infantry support gun based on the Panzer IV chassis used in the Second World War. It was used at the Battles of Kursk, Anzio, Normandy, and helped to put down the Warsaw Uprising...
SP Howitzers, Hitler's prized Kampfgruppe was reduced to 800 S.S. troopers creeping through the brush at night, trying to get back to their own line.
The task of defeating the 99th Division was the objective of 12th SS Panzer Division
12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend
The 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend was a German Waffen SS armoured division during World War II. The Hitlerjugend was unique because the majority of its junior enlisted men were drawn from members of the Hitler Youth, while the senior NCOs and officers were generally veterans of the Eastern...
reinforced by additional Panzergrenadier and Volksgenadier divisions. On December 17, German engineers repaired one of the road bridges over the railroad along the Losheim-Losheimergraben road and the 12th Division German armor began advancing towards the key road junction at Losheimergraben and the twin villages of Rocherath and Krinkelt
Büllingen
Büllingen is a largely German language-speaking municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. On January 1, 2006 Büllingen had a total population of 5,385. The total area is 150.49 km² which gives a population density of 36 inhabitants per km²....
. However, in more than ten days of intense battle, they were unable to dislodge the Americans from Elsenborn Ridge
Elsenborn Ridge
The Elsenborn Ridge is a ridge line east of the town of Elsenborn, Belgium in the Ardennes forest that was the blocking line on the northern shoulder of the Battle of the Bulge. Their area was the main line of advance for Hitler's prized 12th SS Hitlerjugend. Units of V Corps of the First U.S...
, where elements of the V Corps of the First U.S. Army prevented the German forces from reaching the road network to their west.
Due to the determined resistance of the 99th Division, composed of relatively inexperienced troops, along with the 2nd and 23rd Divisions, the northern shoulder of the Battle of the Bulge was a sticking point for the entire offensive operation. Had the Americans given way, the German advance would have overrun the vast supply depots around Leige and Spa
Spa, Belgium
Spa is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liège. It is situated in a valley in the Ardennes mountain chain, some southeast of Liège, and southwest of Aachen. As of 1 January 2006, Spa had a total population of 10,543...
and possibly have changed the outcome of the Battle of Bulge.
Prisoners of war
The I&R platoon members who were able to walk were sent to Germany. James and Kalil, who were seriously wounded, were loaded onto trucks and eventually transported to hospitals in Frankfurt and Hanover. McConnell, also wounded, ended up like James in Stalag XI-BStalag XI-B
Stalag XI-B was a German Army POW camp near Fallingbostel in Lower Saxony, north-western Germany.-Timeline:* Originally a work camp at the west end of the huge German Army training grounds Bergen, it was transformed into a POW camp at the end of 1939, to serve as a base for prisoners working in...
near Bad Fallingbostel
Bad Fallingbostel
Bad Fallingbostel is the district town of the Heidekreis district in the German state of Lower Saxony. Since 1976 the town has had a state-recognised Kneipp spa and has held the title of Bad since 5 August 2002. It has close ties to Walsrode, a few miles to the west...
, the most primitive POW
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
camp in Germany where about 6,000 Soviet prisoners had died of typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
during 1941. After two days of walking through the cold, Bouck and the remainder of his platoon were loaded into a boxcar in the village of Junkerath. They spent 11 days traveling deep into Germany, as the POW camps were overflowing with prisoners. Their unmarked trains were prime targets for Allied aircraft, who attacked Bouck's train on December 21, killing and wounding several POWs. The prisoners were allowed off only once, and were given only some bread and water during the entire trip.
Stalag XIII-D
Stalag XIII-D Nürnberg Langwasser was a German Army World War II prisoner-of-war camp built on what had been the Nazi parade grounds in Nürnberg, northern Bavaria.-Timeline:...
in Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
and later in Stalag XIII-C
Stalag XIII-C
Stalag XIII-C was a German Army World War II prisoner-of-war camp built on what had been the German Army training camp Hammelburg, Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany....
in Hammelberg, where the non-commissioned and enlisted men were split, with the officers sent to Oflag XIII-B
OFLAG XIII-B
Oflag XIII-B was a German Army World War II Prisoner-of-war camp camp for officers, originally in Langwasser near Nuremberg. In 1943 it was moved to 3 km south of Hammelburg, Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany....
. Corporal Sam Jenkins and PFC Preston were captured before they reached Allied lines, and they later joined Bouck and the rest of the platoon in the prison. The men barely survived, most suffering from the advanced effects of malnutrition. When Task Force Baum
Task Force Baum
Task Force Baum was a secret and controversial World War II task force set up by U.S. Army general George S. Patton and commanded by Capt. Abraham Baum in late March 1945. Baum was given the task of penetrating 50 miles behind German lines and liberating the POWs in camp OFLAG XIII-B, near...
from Patton's 4th Armored Division attempted to liberate the camp, Bouck pretended to be a field grade officer and accompanied the task force as it attempted to return to the front lines. However, almost the entire task force was captured or killed, and Bouck was returned to prison for the remainder of the war. When he was freed, he was too weak to file a combat report, and he did not think his men had accomplished that much. "We were in those foxholes and ... what we did was to defend ourselves and try to live through it."
Unit recognition
All who were wounded and captured recovered to return home after the war. In 1965, the U.S. Army published a multi-volume history of World War II, including one on The Ardennes: The Battle of the Bulge. Author Hugh M. ColeHugh M. Cole
Hugh Marshall Cole was an American historian and army officer, best known as the author of The Lorraine Campaign and The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge, two volumes of the U.S. Army official history of World War II....
only briefly mentioned Bouck's platoon, which upset former platoon member William James (who had changed his name from Tsakanikas). James contacted Bouck and encouraged him to get his men proper recognition.
Bouck contacted his former division commander, Maj. Gen. Walter Lauer, who nominated Bouck for a Silver Star
Silver Star
The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
. In June 1966, a Silver Star arrived in Bouck's mailbox, but no other platoon member was recognized. Bouck was shortly afterward interviewed by John S. D. Eisenhower for his book The Bitter Woods, which described the actions of the unit in detail. Columnist Jack Anderson unsuccessfully campaigned for William James (Tsakanikas) be awarded the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
. Congressional hearings on the men's action resulted in a recommendation to the Secretary of Defense that Bill James be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
. The U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force concurred, by the Marine Corp responded that James failed to show sufficient "intrepidity". The hearings also resulted in in Public Law 96-145 waiving the time limitation exclusively for members of the platoon. It was signed by President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
on December 14, 1979.
On October 26, 1981, after considerable lobbying and letter-writing by Bouck, the men of the unit were finally decorated. Fourteen of the 18 were present at the ceremon hosted by Secretary of the Army John O. Marsh. Every man was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. Four received the Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
es, five Silver Star
Silver Star
The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
s, and ten got the Bronze Star
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
with V device
Valor device
The Valor device is an award of the United States military which is a bronze attachment to certain medals to indicate that it was received for valor...
for their 10 hour struggle against a 500-man strong German battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
.
Platoon members and the citations they received were:
- First Lt. Lyle J. Bouck Jr.Lyle BouckLyle Bouck, Jr. enlisted in the U.S. National Guard at age 14. During World War II, he was a 20 year old Lieutenant in charge of the Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon, 394th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division...
(DSCDistinguished Service Cross (United States)The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
) - Tech. Sgt. William L. Slape (DSCDistinguished Service Cross (United States)The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
) - PFC William James Tsakanikas (DSCDistinguished Service Cross (United States)The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
) - PFC Risto "Milo" Milsovech (DSCDistinguished Service Cross (United States)The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
) - Pvt. Robert D. Adams (Bronze Star MedalBronze Star MedalThe Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
with V deviceValor deviceThe Valor device is an award of the United States military which is a bronze attachment to certain medals to indicate that it was received for valor...
for heroism) - Pvt. Robert D. Baasch (Bronze Star MedalBronze Star MedalThe Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
with V deviceValor deviceThe Valor device is an award of the United States military which is a bronze attachment to certain medals to indicate that it was received for valor...
for heroism) - Sgt. William D. Dustman (Bronze Star MedalBronze Star MedalThe Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
with V deviceValor deviceThe Valor device is an award of the United States military which is a bronze attachment to certain medals to indicate that it was received for valor...
for heroism) - Pvt. Clifford R. Fansher (Bronze Star MedalBronze Star MedalThe Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
with V deviceValor deviceThe Valor device is an award of the United States military which is a bronze attachment to certain medals to indicate that it was received for valor...
for heroism) - T/3 James Fort (Bronze Star MedalBronze Star MedalThe Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
with V deviceValor deviceThe Valor device is an award of the United States military which is a bronze attachment to certain medals to indicate that it was received for valor...
for heroism) - Cpl. Samuel L. Jenkins (Bronze Star MedalBronze Star MedalThe Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
with V deviceValor deviceThe Valor device is an award of the United States military which is a bronze attachment to certain medals to indicate that it was received for valor...
for heroism) - Pvt. Joseph A. McConnell (Bronze Star MedalBronze Star MedalThe Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
with V deviceValor deviceThe Valor device is an award of the United States military which is a bronze attachment to certain medals to indicate that it was received for valor...
for heroism) - Cpl. Robert H. "Mop" Preston (Bronze Star MedalBronze Star MedalThe Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
with V deviceValor deviceThe Valor device is an award of the United States military which is a bronze attachment to certain medals to indicate that it was received for valor...
for heroism) - Sgt. George H. "Pappy" Redmond (Bronze Star MedalBronze Star MedalThe Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
with V deviceValor deviceThe Valor device is an award of the United States military which is a bronze attachment to certain medals to indicate that it was received for valor...
for heroism) - Pvt. John B. Creger (Silver StarSilver StarThe Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
) - Pvt. Louis J. Kalil (Silver StarSilver StarThe Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
) - Cpl. Aubrey P. "Schnoz" McGeehee (Silver StarSilver StarThe Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
) - PFC Jordan H. "Pop" Robinson (Silver StarSilver StarThe Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
) - Pvt. James R. "Sil" Silvola (Silver StarSilver StarThe Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
)
Lieutenant Warren Springer and his three-man artillery observation unit—Sergeant Peter Gacki, T/4 Willard Wibben, and T/5 Billy Queen also joined the men in battle. Queen was killed in action before the remainder were captured
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
. All four were awarded the DSC
Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
for their valor at Lanzerath.
In 2004, the book The Longest Winter was published documenting the defensive actions of the platoon. Bouck cooperated with the author, Alex Kershaw, but imposed one condition, "I told him that other authors never wrote about the other men in the platoon, just me. I said I wouldn't talk to him unless he promised that he'd also write about the other men."
On May 12, 2005, veterans of the 99th Infantry Division and local citizens of Lanzerath, Belgium dedicated a monument composed of a small brass plaque alongside a bench and a United States flag to commemorate the fight on the grassy hill overlooking the village.