Loss and Redemption at St. Vith

395 Pages·2019·9.934 MB·English

by  Gregory Fontenot

LOSS AND REDEMPTION AT ST. VITH

Loss and Redemption
at St. Vith
The 7th Armored Division in the Battle of the Bulge
Gregory Fontenot
Colonel, US Army, Retired
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI PRESS
Columbia
Copyright © 2019 by
The Curators of the University of Missouri
University of Missouri Press, Columbia, Missouri 65211
Printed and bound in the United States of America
All rights reserved. First printing, 2019.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Fontenot, Gregory, 1949- author.
Title: Loss and redemption at St. Vith : the 7th Armored Division in the
Battle of the Bulge / Gregory Fontenot.
Other titles: 7th Armored Division in the Battle of the Bulge
Description: Columbia : University of Missouri Press, [2019] | Series:
American military experience | Includes bibliographical references and
index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019023568 (print) | LCCN 2019023569 (ebook) | ISBN
9780826221926 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780826274359 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Ardennes, Battle of the, 1944-1945. | World War,
1939-1945--Campaigns--Belgium. | World War,
1939-1945--Campaigns--Luxembourg. | United States. Army. Armored
Division, 7th--History. | Germany. Heer--History--World War, 1939-1945.
Classification: LCC D756.5.A7 F66 2019 (print) | LCC D756.5.A7 (ebook) |
DDC 940.54/219348--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019023568
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019023569
This paper meets the requirements of the
American National Standard for Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, Z39.48, 1984.
Typefaces: Armalite Rifle, Acumin, and Minion
THE AMERICAN MILITARY EXPERIENCE SERIES
JOHN C. MCMANUS, SERIES EDITOR
The books in this series portray and analyze the experience of Americans in
military service during war and peacetime from the onset of the twentieth
century to the present. The series emphasizes the profound impact wars have had
on nearly every aspect of recent American history and considers the significant
effects of modern conflict on combatants and noncombatants alike. Titles in
the series include accounts of battles, campaigns, and wars; unit histories;
biographical and autobiographical narratives; investigations of technology
and warfare; studies of the social and economic consequences of war; and in
general, the best recent scholarship on Americans in the modern armed forces.
The books in the series are written and designed for a diverse audience that
encompasses nonspecialists as well as expert readers.
Selected titles from this series:

Military Realism: The Logic and Limits of Force and Innovation in the US Army
Peter Campbell

Omar Nelson Bradley: America’s GI General, 1893–1981
Steven L. Ossad

The First Infantry Division and the US Army Transformed: Road to Victory in
Desert Storm, 1970–1991
Gregory Fontenot

Bataan Survivor: A POW’s Account of Japanese Captivity in World War II
Frank A. Blazich

Dick Cole’s War: Doolittle Raider, Hump Pilot, Air Commando
Dennis R. Okerstrom

Contents
Foreword ix
Author’s Note on Equipment xiii
Formation Symbols xvii
Preface xix
Acknowledgments xxiii
Introduction 3
Chapter One The Lucky Seventh Goes to War 7
Chapter Two Silesia Is Defended in the West 31
Chapter Three The Eve of Battle 55
Chapter Four The Golden Lions at Bay 73
Chapter Five The Lucky Seventh Goes to St. Vith 93
Chapter Six A Thin Olive Drab Line 117
Chapter Seven Stand at St. Vith 145
Chapter Eight Crisis at St. Vith 167
Chapter Nine Decision at St. Vith 187
Chapter Ten They Come Back With All Honor 209
Chapter Eleven Reversal and Reconstitution 239
Chapter Twelve Redemption at St. Vith 263
vii
viii Contents
Epilogue After the Battle 285
Appendix 1 Table of Ranks through Lieutenant Colonel 301
Appendix 2 Troop List—7th Armored Division 303
Appendix 3 German Units in Contact with
7th Armored Division 307
Bibliography 311
Index 339
Foreword
General Frederick M. Franks, Jr.
General, US Army, Retired
I
first met Greg Fontenot during the thick of Operation Desert Storm,
when he was a Lieutenant Colonel commanding TF 2- 34, 1st Brigade, 1st
infantry Division, “Big Red One,” on 18 January 1991. Division Commander
Major General Tom Rhame had assembled his chain of command on a patch
of sand in his tactical assembly area to study just how to breach Iraqi defens-
es as part of our VII Corps attack. I wanted to see their efforts firsthand and
to interact with the chain of command and senior NCOs there. Also pres-
ent were assistant division commander for maneuver Brigadier General Bill
Carter, First Brigade commander, Colonel Bert Maggart, and Greg’s assault
company commander, CPT Bob Burns. This was command face to face and
up front, just as we all had practiced in VII Corps, the same way Brigadier
General Bob Hasbrouck and his team had commanded the Lucky Seventh,
the US 7th Armored Division, seventy- five years ago in defense of St. Vith in
the Battle of the Bulge 1944– 45.
In the ensuing assault, Greg commanded his task force with courage and
distinction. After completing that mission, he moved TF 2- 34 rapidly for-
ward with 1st Brigade and the rest of the Big Red One more than 100 kilo-
meters, then made forward passage of lines at night with 2nd ACR in enemy
contact. Throughout that night and all the next day they fought elements of
the Iraqi Republican Guards until mission complete, at the cease-fi re, some
150 kilometers from that passage of lines.
After Desert Storm, Greg went on to continue a distinguished career as
commander of 1st Brigade 1st Armored Division in the Implementation
Force in Bosnia. He also served as director of the School of Advanced Mili-
tary Studies (SAMS) at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. Prior to that I was fortunate
ix