The Ardennes, 1944-1945: Hitler's Winter Offensive

1478 Pages·2014·29.24 MB·English

by  Christer Bergstrom

Previous books by Christer Bergström Luftstrid över Kanalen, 1983
Mot avgrunden: spelet som ledde till andra världskriget, 1991
Luftwaffe Fighter Aircraft in Profile, 1997
Deutsche Jagdflugzeuge, 1999
Black Cross/Red Star: the Air War over the Eastern Front, Vol. 1, 2000
Black Cross/Red Star: the Air War over the Eastern Front, Vol. 2, 2001
More Luftwaffe Fighter Aircraft in Profile, 2002
Graf & Grislawski: a Pair of Aces, 2003
Jagdwaffe: Barbarossa - the Invasion of Russia, 2003
Jagdwaffe: The War in Russia January-October 1942, 2003
Jagdwaffe: The War in Russia November 1942-December 1943, 2004
Jagdwaffe: War in the East 1944-1945, 2005
Black Cross/Red Star: the Air War over the Eastern Front, Vol. 3, 2006
Luftstrid över Kanalen, 2006
Barbarossa: The Air Battle, 2007
Stalingrad: The Air Battle, 2007
Kursk: The Air Battle, 2008
Hans-Ekkehard Bob, 2008
Max-Hellmuth Ostermann, 2008
Bagration to Berlin, 2008
Andra världskriget sä alla förstär –nya rön om andra världskriget, 2009
Hitlers underhuggare, 2010
Copyright © 2014 Christer Bergström All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or
by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author. Requests
for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be mailed to [email protected]
This edition of The Ardennes 1944-1945: Hitler’s Winter Offensive first published 2014
First published in Swedish by Vaktel Förlag 2013.
Original Swedish edition: Ardennerna 1944-1945: Hitlers vinteroffensiv © 2013 and 2014 Christer
Bergström English translation copyright © 2014 Christer Bergström Cover design: Claes Sundin,
[email protected]
Color illustrations: Claes Sundin, [email protected]
Layout: Rocco Gustafsson, [email protected]
Maps: Samuel Svärd, [email protected]
Cover photo: NARA, 111-SC-199509, NARA, III-SC-197561
Printing: Printon Publishing House, Estonia.
ISBN 978-1-61200-277-4
eISBN 9781612003153
Vaktel Förlag
Box 3027, S-630 03 Eskilstuna
Sweden
www.vaktelforlag.se
[email protected]
Casemate Publishers
908 Darby Road, Havertown,
PA 19083, USA
www.casematepublishers.com
Casemate UK
10 Hythe Bridge Street, Oxford,
OX1 2EW, United Kingdom
www.casematepublishers.co.uk
This book is dedicated to the Allied soldiers who liberated Belgium and Luxembourg a second time in the
winter of 1944/1945, and all victims of the Ardennes Battle.
Contents
Glossary and Guide to Abbreviations
Military ranks
Heading for the Meuse
Chapter 1
The Road to the Ardennes Offensive: Towards the Abyss
Chapter 2
The Attack Plan: ’A Momentous Decision!’
Chapter 3
The Opponents: Countdown to the Great Battle
Chapter 4
5. Panzerarmee: Panzer March Towards the Meuse!
Chapter 5
7. Armee: Secure the flank!
Chapter 6
6. SS-Panzerarmee: Ruthlessly Forward!
Chapter 7
The Allied Aviation Intervenes: Jabos!
Chapter 8
Bastogne: ‘Nuts!’
Chapter 9
New Year’s Day 1945: New Blows against the Allies
Chapter 10
January 1945: Renewed German Attacks
Chapter 11
The Bloody Final Battle
The Ardennes Offensive: Final Conclusions and Results
Maps
Overview of the Battlefield – cover inside
The German Ardennes Offensive
The German Attack Plan
The March Towards Sankt Vith 16-20 December 1944
German 5. Panzerarmee towards the Meuse 16-20 December 1944
German 7. Armee 16-20 December 1944
German 6. SS-Panzerarmee 16-20 December 1944
German 6. SS-Panzerarmee is Halted
The Attack in the Center
The German Spearhead is Crushed
Bastogne 24-25 December 1944
Patton’s Offensive
The Combat Zone West of Bastogne
Montgomery’s Combat Zone
The Last German Attack Northeast of Bastogne
Acknowledgments
Appendices
Appendix 1 German and U.S. military unit structures in December 1944
Appendix 2 Color profiles of Military Vehicles and Aircraft during the
Ardennes Battle
Appendix 3 Tanks and Anti-tank Guns in the Ardennes Battle
Appendix 4 Order of Battle, the Ardennes Battle
Sources
Chapter Notes
GLOSSARY AND GUIDE TO ABBREVIATIONS
Ia, German operations officer.
Ic, German intelligence officer.
2nd Tactical Air Force, British tactical air corps, comprised of around 1,500
aircraft.
2nd TAF, abbreviation of 2nd Tactical Air Force.
3èmé Regiments de Chasseurs Parachutistes, French 3rd Paratroop Regiment.
4e Bataillon d’Infanterie de l’Air de l’Armee de l’Air, French 4th Airborne
Battalion.
9th Air Force, U.S. tactical air corps comprised of around 2,000 aircraft.
IX Troop Carrier Command, U.S. airborne troop transport command on the
Western Front.
A 4 (Aggregat 4), German ballistic flying bomb, also called V 2.
A-20 Havoc, U.S. twin-engine Douglas attack bomber.
A-26 Invader, U.S. twin-engine Douglas attack bomber.
Abteilung, battalion in German cavalry, armored troops, antitank troops,
artillery and signal units.
Adlerhorst, (Eagle’s Nest), Hitler’s headquarters on the Western Front, in
Schloss Ziegenberg near Bad Nauheim.
Air Chief Marshal, military rank in the Royal Air Force, the equivalence of the
German Generaloberst.
Air Division, unit in the US Air Force, comprised of several Groups.
Air Vice Marshal, military rank in the Royal Air Force, the equivalence of the
German Generalleutnant.
APCBC (Armour Piercing, Capped, Ballistic Capped), British armorpiercing
shell.
APDS (Armour-piercing discarding sabot), British armorpiercing shell.
Ar 234, German twin-engine jet-propelled Arado bomber and reconnaissance
aircraft.
Armé, military unit comprised of two or more corps.
Armee, army (German).
Armeegruppe, army group (German).