Battle of St. Vith
Encyclopedia
The Battle of St. Vith was part of the Battle of the Bulge
which began on December 16, 1944, and represented the right flank
in the advance of the German center, 5th Panzer-Armee (Armored Army) toward the ultimate objective of Antwerp.
The town of St. Vith, a vital road junction, was close to the boundary between the 5th and Sepp Dietrich’s Sixth Panzer Army, the two strongest units of the attack. St. Vith was also close to the western end of Losheim Gap
, a critical valley through the densely forested ridges of the Ardenne Forest
, and the axis of the entire German counteroffensive. Opposing this drive, were units of the U.S. VIII Army Corps
. These defenders, were led by the 7th U.S. Armored Division, included the 424th Infantry (the remaining regiment of the 106th U.S. Infantry Division) with elements of the 9th U.S. Armored Division's Combat Command B and the 112th Infantry of the U.S. 28th Infantry Division. These units operated under the command of General Bruce C. Clarke
, and successfully resisted the German attacks, thereby significantly slowing the German advance.
Under orders from Montgomery
, St. Vith was given up by Clarke on December 21, 1944; U.S. troops fell back to positions supported by the 82nd Airborne Division to the west, presenting an imposing obstacle to a successful German advance. By 23 December, as the Germans shattered their flanks, the defenders’ position became untenable, and U.S. troops were ordered to retreat west of the Salm River. As the German plan called for the capture of St. Vith by 18:00 on 17 December, the prolonged action in and around it presented a major blow to their timetable.
, dictator of the Third Reich, first outlined his plan for a decisive counteroffensive on the Western Front
on September 16, 1944. This assault's goal was to pierce the thinly held lines of the U.S. First Army between Monschau and Wasserbillig with Army Group B commanded by Field Marshal
(Generalfeldmarschall
) Walter Model
, cross the Meuse between Liege and Dinant, seize Antwerp and the western bank of the Schelde estuary. The main purpose of the counteroffensive was both political and diplomatic. Hitler contended that the alliance between England and the United States in Western Europe was unnatural and therefore fragile, and would shatter if subjected to a German drive that would place a wedge between the two allied armies. Germany could then make a separate peace with the Western Allies, and concentrate its armies for a successful drive against the Soviet Union
.
In the months following the initial pronouncement, Hitler gathered reserves for his plan in great secrecy, realizing such a counterattack would have no success unless it was a complete surprise. His chosen commander for the Western Front and figurehead behind which new armies would rally was Gerd von Rundstedt
, an aged Field Marshall of great reputation and respectability. Under his banner was recreated a rebuilt Army Group B
consisting of three armies, 6th SS Panzer, 5th Panzer, and 7th Army. These armies would drive west through the Ardennes in a repeat of the great western offensive of 1940, splitting the allied armies. The 6th SS Panzer would be the strong right arm of the offensive, on the northern flank and was tasked with driving through Elsenborn Ridge
along the Albert Canal
on the most direct route to Antwerp. The 5th Panzer would support the left flank of the 6th, and the less mobile 7th army would block flanking attacks directed against the southern, or left flank of the attacking armies.
The center army of the grand offensive was 5th Panzer. It was not the most politically favored, or the most well equipped, as was 6th SS Panzer. 5th Panzer did have an edge in leadership, under the command of General der Panzertruppen (General of Armored Forces) Hasso Eccard von Manteuffel
. An expert in mechanized warfare
from the Eastern Front
, Manteuffel had a reputation for meticulous planning and daring execution, along with a flair for independent thinking that had led to trouble in the past with his superiors. As a technical expert, he still retained enough of a reputation to be trusted with a supporting role in the grand plan. Though second in power to 6th SS Panzer, the 5th Panzer army represented considerable mobile strength. Four Panzer Division
s and one Panzer Brigade were supported by five Volksgrenadier
(People’s Elite) infantry shock troop
divisions.
Supporting these mobile fighting forces were numerous artillery, antiaircraft, and rocket bombardment units.
After being informed of the nature of the offensive in a meeting with Hitler, von Rundstedt, and Model on October 27, 1944, Manteuffel proceeded to place his personal imprint upon the grand plan. At first he supported Model’s and Rundstedt’s attempt to narrow the scope of the operation to the means that Army Group B could bring to bear. The 1944 offensive could not equal the strength of the 1940 invasion of the west
. The number of vehicles and particularly the number of supporting aircraft would be lacking. Therefore Manteuffel supported what came to be called the “small solution”, a limited envelopment that would destroy the American First and Ninth armies. Manteuffel referred to this plan as the “little slam”, a title from his love of contract bridge
, as opposed to Hitler’s “grand slam” plan for the occupation of Antwerp. Hitler would not hear of any abbreviation of his goals however, so Antwerp remained the official objective, and Manteuffel had to content himself with minor tactical changes.
While detailing the deployment of his forces along the Westwall
opposite the American lines, Manteuffel performed an extensive reconnaissance
of the positions on the German 5th Panzer army front. Based on these observations, performed while disguised in a infantry colonel
s uniform, Manteuffel suggested the following changes to the attack. These changes involved limiting or eliminating the artillery bombardment
in areas where American forces were in the habit of withdrawing for the night, or where they were so widely spaced as to allow German troops to advance around them during the night before the attack. He also suggested using searchlight
s reflecting light indirectly from the clouds to illuminate the advance in the winter darkness preceding the dawn. Hitler agreed to these changes.
In planning for the actual attack, Manteuffel had divided his 5th Panzer Army into three corps composed of infantry, tanks, and supporting artillery. The main effort, or schwerpunkt
, would consist of the XLVII Panzer Corps
(47th Armored Corps) and LVIII Panzer Corps (58th Armored Corps) advancing west across the Our River at Ouren from the south or left flank of the German army front. They would then occupy the transportation center of Bastogne
before crossing the Meuse River at Namur
. The third group, the LXVI Corps (66th Infantry Corps) would advance west on either side of the Schnee Eifel
. This northernmost or right flank element would flank and begin an envelopment
of American forces occupying fortifications on the Schnee Eifel and converge on the town of Winterspelt
. From there, the 66th Corps would cross the Our river and occupy St. Vith on the first day of the attack. The 66th Corps was the weakest of the three corps, with no attached tank division or motor transport, but would include a attached assault gun
battalion. The Panzer Lehr Division (Mechanized Warfare Demonstration Division) and the Führer Begleit Brigade
(Leader Escort Brigade) were to be held in reserve
, with the Führer Begleit usable only with Model's express permission. Manteuffel's preference for the "little slam" or limited solution was reflected in the absence of planning beyond reaching the Meuse River.
The 66th Infantry Corps that Manteuffel expected to capture St. Vith was composed of two Volksgrenadier divisions. Of the two, the 18th Volksgrenadier Division had been in the area the longest, since October, and was composed for the most part of a Luftwaffe
field division with additional troops from the Kreigsmarine
(German Navy). This division was commanded by Colonel Hoffman-Schonborn and had been originally formed in Denmark the previous September. The 62nd Volksgrenadier Division was build up from a line infantry division that had been destroyed on the Eastern Front, and was built up from Czeck and Polish conscripts, most of which could not speak German, and was under the command of Colonel Frederich Kittel. Manteuffel regarded the 18th Volksgrenadier as the most reliable of the two, due to it’s familiarity with the local terrain, and it’s German composition. For this reason he trusted the 18th with the most complex components of the plan, and gave it more transport equipment.
The 18th Volksgrenadier Division in turn would have the main role, or represent the Schwerpunkt in a series of envelopments that would cut off the units in the American line and lead to a final convergence of the 18th and 62nd divisions on St. Vith. Manteuffel also made it clear the the 66th Corps advance would depend on what the Germans called Hutier tactics after Oscar von Hutier, a WW I Corps commander on the eastern front. This system of attack emphasized infiltration tactics
lead by special shock companies of 80 men that would utilize the rough terrain of the Ardennes to bypass strong points and seize key bridges, crossroads, and high ground. Manteuffel also set up a special mechanized combat engineer battalion using half tracks and self propelled assault guns to clear road blocks and allow for fast flanking attacks.
. The attack on the critical dams would be made by the 2nd Infantry Division. This veteran organization had fought it’s way across Europe
from Normandy to the Schnee Eifel. In the process it had occupied the German fortifications of the Westwall, and set up fortifications to hold the ridgeline of the Eifel. In order to move the 2nd Division to the northeast for the attack, the 2nd Division would be replaced by the newly arrived 106th Infantry Division.
The 106th Division began replacing the 2nd Infantry Division in the area of St. Vith and the Schnee Eifel on December 10th, 1944. Despite the wishes of Major General Walter Melville Robertson, commander of the 2nd Division, the 106th Division would also be deployed for an attack eastward, with most of its force isolated on the Schnee Eifel. The 106th also could not bring equipment forward, in order not to alert the Germans of the change in divisions. This meant that the 2nd Division would leave equipment in place of items from the 106th. The latter division came out worse in this deal, for the 2nd had picked up extra communications gear, weapons, and vehicles in the course of its travels across Europe for which the 106th had no equivalent, so the 2nd took most of their equipment with them. The 106th had also suffered significant personnel changes, since sixty percent of its troop strength had been used to make up higher than expected losses in units already in Europe. These losses had been made up from troops taken from disbanded small units, air cadets in training, and divisions not moving immediately to Europe. The sum effect of disruptions in organization, training, and equipment made the division relatively ineffective as a combat unit. The American high command believed that the static nature of the Ardenne would allow time for the 106th to correct it’s deficiencies.
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...
which began on December 16, 1944, and represented the right flank
Flanking maneuver
In military tactics, a flanking maneuver, also called a flank attack, is an attack on the sides of an opposing force. If a flanking maneuver succeeds, the opposing force would be surrounded from two or more directions, which significantly reduces the maneuverability of the outflanked force and its...
in the advance of the German center, 5th Panzer-Armee (Armored Army) toward the ultimate objective of Antwerp.
The town of St. Vith, a vital road junction, was close to the boundary between the 5th and Sepp Dietrich’s Sixth Panzer Army, the two strongest units of the attack. St. Vith was also close to the western end of 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 critical valley through the densely forested ridges of the Ardenne Forest
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...
, and the axis of the entire German counteroffensive. Opposing this drive, were units of the U.S. VIII Army 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...
. These defenders, were led by the 7th U.S. Armored Division, included the 424th Infantry (the remaining regiment of the 106th U.S. Infantry Division) with elements of the 9th U.S. Armored Division's Combat Command B and the 112th Infantry of the U.S. 28th Infantry Division. These units operated under the command of General Bruce C. Clarke
Bruce C. Clarke
General Bruce Cooper Clarke was a commander of Continental Army Command from 1958–1960 and Commander, U.S. Army Europe from 1960-1962. He also commanded the U.S...
, and successfully resisted the German attacks, thereby significantly slowing the German advance.
Under orders from Montgomery
Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein
Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO, PC , nicknamed "Monty" and the "Spartan General" was a British Army officer. He saw action in the First World War, when he was seriously wounded, and during the Second World War he commanded the 8th Army from...
, St. Vith was given up by Clarke on December 21, 1944; U.S. troops fell back to positions supported by the 82nd Airborne Division to the west, presenting an imposing obstacle to a successful German advance. By 23 December, as the Germans shattered their flanks, the defenders’ position became untenable, and U.S. troops were ordered to retreat west of the Salm River. As the German plan called for the capture of St. Vith by 18:00 on 17 December, the prolonged action in and around it presented a major blow to their timetable.
German preparations: September 16 to December 15, 1944
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, dictator of the Third Reich, first outlined his plan for a decisive counteroffensive on the Western Front
Western Front
Western Front was a term used during the First and Second World Wars to describe the contested armed frontier between lands controlled by Germany to the east and the Allies to the west...
on September 16, 1944. This assault's goal was to pierce the thinly held lines of the U.S. First Army between Monschau and Wasserbillig with Army Group B commanded by Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
(Generalfeldmarschall
Generalfeldmarschall
Field Marshal or Generalfeldmarschall in German, was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire; in the Austrian Empire, the rank Feldmarschall was used...
) Walter Model
Walter Model
Otto Moritz Walter Model was a German general and later field marshal during World War II. He is noted for his defensive battles in the latter half of the war, mostly on the Eastern Front but also in the west, and for his close association with Adolf Hitler and Nazism...
, cross the Meuse between Liege and Dinant, seize Antwerp and the western bank of the Schelde estuary. The main purpose of the counteroffensive was both political and diplomatic. Hitler contended that the alliance between England and the United States in Western Europe was unnatural and therefore fragile, and would shatter if subjected to a German drive that would place a wedge between the two allied armies. Germany could then make a separate peace with the Western Allies, and concentrate its armies for a successful drive against the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
In the months following the initial pronouncement, Hitler gathered reserves for his plan in great secrecy, realizing such a counterattack would have no success unless it was a complete surprise. His chosen commander for the Western Front and figurehead behind which new armies would rally was Gerd von Rundstedt
Gerd von Rundstedt
Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt was a Generalfeldmarschall of the German Army during World War II. He held some of the highest field commands in all phases of the war....
, an aged Field Marshall of great reputation and respectability. Under his banner was recreated a rebuilt Army Group B
Army Group B
Army Group B was the name of three different German Army Groups that saw action during World War II.-Battle for France:The first was involved in the Western Campaign in 1940 in Belgium and the Netherlands which was to be aimed to conquer the Maas bridges after the German airborne actions in Rotterdam...
consisting of three armies, 6th SS Panzer, 5th Panzer, and 7th Army. These armies would drive west through the Ardennes in a repeat of the great western offensive of 1940, splitting the allied armies. The 6th SS Panzer would be the strong right arm of the offensive, on the northern flank and was tasked with driving through 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...
along the Albert Canal
Albert Canal
The Albert Canal is a canal located in northeastern Belgium, named after King Albert I of Belgium. It connects the major cities Antwerp and Liège and the Meuse and Scheldt rivers. It has a depth of , a free height of and a total length of...
on the most direct route to Antwerp. The 5th Panzer would support the left flank of the 6th, and the less mobile 7th army would block flanking attacks directed against the southern, or left flank of the attacking armies.
The center army of the grand offensive was 5th Panzer. It was not the most politically favored, or the most well equipped, as was 6th SS Panzer. 5th Panzer did have an edge in leadership, under the command of General der Panzertruppen (General of Armored Forces) Hasso Eccard von Manteuffel
Hasso von Manteuffel
Hasso-Eccard Freiherr von Manteuffel was a German soldier and liberal politician of the 20th century.He served in both world wars, and during World War II was a distinguished general...
. An expert in mechanized warfare
Armoured warfare
Armoured warfare or tank warfare is the use of armoured fighting vehicles in modern warfare. It is a major component of modern methods of war....
from the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
, Manteuffel had a reputation for meticulous planning and daring execution, along with a flair for independent thinking that had led to trouble in the past with his superiors. As a technical expert, he still retained enough of a reputation to be trusted with a supporting role in the grand plan. Though second in power to 6th SS Panzer, the 5th Panzer army represented considerable mobile strength. Four Panzer Division
Panzer Division
A panzer division was an armored division in the army and air force branches of the Wehrmacht as well as the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II....
s and one Panzer Brigade were supported by five Volksgrenadier
Volksgrenadier
Volksgrenadier was the name given to a type of German Army division formed in the Autumn of 1944 after the double loss of Army Group Center to the Soviets in Operation Bagration and the Fifth Panzer Army to the Allies in Normandy. The name itself was intended to build morale, appealing at once to...
(People’s Elite) infantry shock troop
Shock troops
Shock troops or assault troops are formations created to lead an attack. "Shock troop" is a loose translation of the German word Stoßtrupp...
divisions.
Supporting these mobile fighting forces were numerous artillery, antiaircraft, and rocket bombardment units.
After being informed of the nature of the offensive in a meeting with Hitler, von Rundstedt, and Model on October 27, 1944, Manteuffel proceeded to place his personal imprint upon the grand plan. At first he supported Model’s and Rundstedt’s attempt to narrow the scope of the operation to the means that Army Group B could bring to bear. The 1944 offensive could not equal the strength of the 1940 invasion of the west
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
. The number of vehicles and particularly the number of supporting aircraft would be lacking. Therefore Manteuffel supported what came to be called the “small solution”, a limited envelopment that would destroy the American First and Ninth armies. Manteuffel referred to this plan as the “little slam”, a title from his love of contract bridge
Contract bridge
Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...
, as opposed to Hitler’s “grand slam” plan for the occupation of Antwerp. Hitler would not hear of any abbreviation of his goals however, so Antwerp remained the official objective, and Manteuffel had to content himself with minor tactical changes.
While detailing the deployment of his forces along the Westwall
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...
opposite the American lines, Manteuffel performed an extensive reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
of the positions on the German 5th Panzer army front. Based on these observations, performed while disguised in a infantry colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
s uniform, Manteuffel suggested the following changes to the attack. These changes involved limiting or eliminating the artillery bombardment
Bombardment
A bombardment is an attack by artillery fire directed against fortifications, troops or towns and buildings.Prior to World War I the term term was only applied to the bombardment of defenceless or undefended objects, houses, public buildings, it was only loosely employed to describe artillery...
in areas where American forces were in the habit of withdrawing for the night, or where they were so widely spaced as to allow German troops to advance around them during the night before the attack. He also suggested using searchlight
Searchlight
A searchlight is an apparatus that combines a bright light source with some form of curved reflector or other optics to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direction, usually constructed so that it can be swiveled about.-Military use:The Royal Navy used...
s reflecting light indirectly from the clouds to illuminate the advance in the winter darkness preceding the dawn. Hitler agreed to these changes.
In planning for the actual attack, Manteuffel had divided his 5th Panzer Army into three corps composed of infantry, tanks, and supporting artillery. The main effort, or schwerpunkt
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,...
, would consist of the XLVII Panzer Corps
XLVII Panzer Corps (Germany)
The XLVII Panzer Corps was a Panzer Corps formed by Field Marshal Günther von Kluge during the Battle for Normandy, and for Operation Lüttich...
(47th Armored Corps) and LVIII Panzer Corps (58th Armored Corps) advancing west across the Our River at Ouren from the south or left flank of the German army front. They would then occupy the transportation center of Bastogne
Bastogne
Bastogne Luxembourgish: Baaschtnech) is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes. The municipality of Bastogne includes the old communes of Longvilly, Noville, Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, and Wardin...
before crossing the Meuse River at Namur
Namur (city)
Namur is a city and municipality in Wallonia, in southern Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia....
. The third group, the LXVI Corps (66th Infantry Corps) would advance west on either side 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...
. This northernmost or right flank element would flank and begin an envelopment
Envelopment
Envelopment is the military tactic of surrounding an enemy in the field so that they are isolated in a pocket. The friendly forces can choose to attack the pocket or invest it and wait for a beleaguered enemy to surrender.To achieve an envelopment several different tactics can be employed:* A...
of American forces occupying fortifications on the Schnee Eifel and converge on the town of Winterspelt
Winterspelt
Winterspelt is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany....
. From there, the 66th Corps would cross the Our river and occupy St. Vith on the first day of the attack. The 66th Corps was the weakest of the three corps, with no attached tank division or motor transport, but would include a attached assault gun
Assault gun
An assault gun is a gun or howitzer mounted on a motor vehicle or armored chassis, designed for use in the direct fire role in support of infantry when attacking other infantry or fortified positions....
battalion. The Panzer Lehr Division (Mechanized Warfare Demonstration Division) and the Führer Begleit Brigade
Führer Begleit Brigade
The Führerbegleitbrigade was a German armoured brigade and later armoured division , in World War II...
(Leader Escort Brigade) were to be held in reserve
Military reserve
A military reserve, tactical reserve, or strategic reserve is a group of military personnel or units which are initially not committed to a battle by their commander so that they are available to address unforeseen situations or exploit suddenly developing...
, with the Führer Begleit usable only with Model's express permission. Manteuffel's preference for the "little slam" or limited solution was reflected in the absence of planning beyond reaching the Meuse River.
The 66th Infantry Corps that Manteuffel expected to capture St. Vith was composed of two Volksgrenadier divisions. Of the two, the 18th Volksgrenadier Division had been in the area the longest, since October, and was composed for the most part of a 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 division with additional troops from the Kreigsmarine
Kriegsmarine
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...
(German Navy). This division was commanded by Colonel Hoffman-Schonborn and had been originally formed in Denmark the previous September. The 62nd Volksgrenadier Division was build up from a line infantry division that had been destroyed on the Eastern Front, and was built up from Czeck and Polish conscripts, most of which could not speak German, and was under the command of Colonel Frederich Kittel. Manteuffel regarded the 18th Volksgrenadier as the most reliable of the two, due to it’s familiarity with the local terrain, and it’s German composition. For this reason he trusted the 18th with the most complex components of the plan, and gave it more transport equipment.
The 18th Volksgrenadier Division in turn would have the main role, or represent the Schwerpunkt in a series of envelopments that would cut off the units in the American line and lead to a final convergence of the 18th and 62nd divisions on St. Vith. Manteuffel also made it clear the the 66th Corps advance would depend on what the Germans called Hutier tactics after Oscar von Hutier, a WW I Corps commander on the eastern front. This system of attack emphasized infiltration tactics
Infiltration tactics
In warfare, infiltration tactics involve small, lightly equipped infantry forces attacking enemy rear areas while bypassing enemy front line strongpoints and isolating them for attack by follow-up troops with heavier weapons.-Development during World War I:...
lead by special shock companies of 80 men that would utilize the rough terrain of the Ardennes to bypass strong points and seize key bridges, crossroads, and high ground. Manteuffel also set up a special mechanized combat engineer battalion using half tracks and self propelled assault guns to clear road blocks and allow for fast flanking attacks.
American deployment and fortifications: October 24 to December 15, 1944
While Manteuffel’s 66th Corps was gathering for the drive west, the American First Army was preparing an attack of it’s own. In order to advance into Germany, the American high command realized it would have to control the dams that regulated water flow in the Roer RiverRUR
The Rur is a river in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.RUR may refer to:* R.U.R. , a science fiction play by Karel Čapek which originated the word "robot"...
. The attack on the critical dams would be made by the 2nd Infantry Division. This veteran organization had fought it’s way across Europe
European Theatre of World War II
The European Theatre of World War II was a huge area of heavy fighting across Europe from Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 until the end of the war with the German unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945...
from Normandy to the Schnee Eifel. In the process it had occupied the German fortifications of the Westwall, and set up fortifications to hold the ridgeline of the Eifel. In order to move the 2nd Division to the northeast for the attack, the 2nd Division would be replaced by the newly arrived 106th Infantry Division.
The 106th Division began replacing the 2nd Infantry Division in the area of St. Vith and the Schnee Eifel on December 10th, 1944. Despite the wishes of Major General Walter Melville Robertson, commander of the 2nd Division, the 106th Division would also be deployed for an attack eastward, with most of its force isolated on the Schnee Eifel. The 106th also could not bring equipment forward, in order not to alert the Germans of the change in divisions. This meant that the 2nd Division would leave equipment in place of items from the 106th. The latter division came out worse in this deal, for the 2nd had picked up extra communications gear, weapons, and vehicles in the course of its travels across Europe for which the 106th had no equivalent, so the 2nd took most of their equipment with them. The 106th had also suffered significant personnel changes, since sixty percent of its troop strength had been used to make up higher than expected losses in units already in Europe. These losses had been made up from troops taken from disbanded small units, air cadets in training, and divisions not moving immediately to Europe. The sum effect of disruptions in organization, training, and equipment made the division relatively ineffective as a combat unit. The American high command believed that the static nature of the Ardenne would allow time for the 106th to correct it’s deficiencies.
External links
- Battle for St. Vith http://stvith.tripod.com/
- St. Vith Is Lost