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The Ardennes Offensive-Today in The Battle of The Bulge

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  • #16
    The skies kept Allied airpower at bay, there was never enough artillery to go around and US AT weapons were sub-optimal. What we did have was the best battle rifle of the war. American troops with m1 Garands wrecked leading German infantry units advancing in Belgium 1945 as thoroughly as the rifle fire of the Old Contempibles did in 1914.

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    • #17
      I don't know how much of the German casualties is accounted by small arms technology rather than American artillery, the superiority of the defensive and the maturation of American skill vs. German decline. The Germans began arming their Volksgrenadiers with submachine guns and assault rifles by the Battle of the Bulge. Certainly assault troops accompanying StuGs were observed to carry those weapons so they were a reasonably common sight on the battlefield.

      The GIs were for the most part well dug in with log overhead protection that neutralized the initial numerical advantage of German artillery, while available American guns were customarily efficient and accurate. Note the 28th ID held their position as long as their batteries were still capable of rendering aid, and the massive firepower the 2d ID was able to throw at the Germans at Krinkelt-Rocherath. By the time the Sixth Army advanced to foot of Elsenborn Ridge, they were being pummeled by about two dozen battalions of howitzers, guns, and chemical mortars.

      Finally, the German infantry did not receive adequate training for offensive tactics, supposedly to preserve secrecy. US Army troops observed many German infantrymen were clumsy and unskillful in the attack, advancing in tightly packed columns that was easy to mow down.
      Last edited by Triple C; 20 Dec 13,, 08:03.
      All those who are merciful with the cruel will come to be cruel to the merciful.
      -Talmud Kohelet Rabbah, 7:16.

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      • #18
        At St Vith Americans continued to blunt the assaults of the 5th Panzer Army by the U.S. 7th Armored Division and included the 424th Infantry (the remaining regiment of the 106th U.S. Infantry Division), elements of the 9th Armored Division's Combat Command B and the 112th Infantry of the U.S. 28th Infantry Division. These units, which operated under the command of General Bruce C. Clarke.

        US forces pull back from Noville and the forces at Bastogne are in place: 101st Airborne Division, CCB of the 10th Armored Division, CCR of the 9th Armored Division, 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion, 35th and 158th Combat Engineer Battalions, 58th and 420th Armored Field Artillery Battalions (105mm), 755th and 969th (Colored) (with remnants of the 303d (Colored FAB) Field Artillery Battalions of 8th Corps (155mm), Team SNAFU (600+ stragglers organized into a reaction force.) There was a shortage in winter gear, machine guns, radio equipment, artillery ammunition, pennicillin and plasma/whole blood. Morale was high.


        Here is the website which tells the tale of 326 Airborne Medical Company fo the 101st Airborne Division. Much of the unit was captured late on 19 DEC/early 20 DEC. It is an interesting read and you can see how the Medical Corps reacted to issues and reorganized on the fly.

        WW2 US Medical Research Centre :: Unit Histories - 326th Airborne Medical Company
        “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
        Mark Twain

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        • #19
          Originally posted by Triple C View Post
          I don't know how much of the German casualties is accounted by small arms technology rather than American artillery, the superiority of the defensive and the maturation of American skill vs. German decline. The Germans began arming their Volksgrenadiers with submachine guns and assault rifles by the Battle of the Bulge. Certainly assault troops accompanying StuGs were observed to carry those weapons so they were a reasonably common sight on the battlefield.
          The Sturmgewehr 44 was just being issued in numbers to the infantry at the time of Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein.
          "There is never enough time to do or say all the things that we would wish. The thing is to try to do as much as you can in the time that you have. Remember Scrooge, time is short, and suddenly, you're not there any more." -Ghost of Christmas Present, Scrooge

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          • #20
            Much of what I read lately reminded me the what the most effective antitank weapons the Allies had...massed field artillery. Whenever the Allies could mass fires German armor died...whether fires from land or sea.
            “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
            Mark Twain

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            • #21
              Originally posted by Albany Rifles View Post
              Much of what I read lately reminded me the what the most effective antitank weapons the Allies had...massed field artillery. Whenever the Allies could mass fires German armor died...whether fires from land or sea.
              Along those lines, I know the majority of the Ersatz M10 (Panthers made up to look like M10 TD's) casualties during Unternehmen Greif were caused by American artillery.
              "There is never enough time to do or say all the things that we would wish. The thing is to try to do as much as you can in the time that you have. Remember Scrooge, time is short, and suddenly, you're not there any more." -Ghost of Christmas Present, Scrooge

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              • #22
                Outside the Enola Gay and Bock's Car a second lieutenant with a field phone was about the deadliest thing in World War 2.
                “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
                Mark Twain

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                • #23
                  Ain't that the truth.

                  Just a question of which side.
                  "This aggression will not stand, man!" Jeff Lebowski
                  "The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool." Lester Bangs

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                  • #24
                    Originally posted by S2 View Post
                    Ain't that the truth.

                    Just a question of which side.
                    LoL!!!!!

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                    • #25
                      Originally posted by Stitch View Post
                      The Sturmgewehr 44 was just being issued in numbers to the infantry at the time of Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein.
                      According to the US Army's official history StG-44 were fairly common for German assault troops accompanying StuGs.

                      Originally posted by Stitch
                      Along those lines, I know the majority of the Ersatz M10 (Panthers made up to look like M10 TD's) casualties during Unternehmen Greif were caused by American artillery.
                      Is it from a field report? Would love to add it to my digital library if you can point me to it. I don't doubt it though; they were the first victims of the PROZIT OTT barrage in western Europe. IIRC, there was an operational research report that was floated on Tanknet a long time ago about how the majority of destroyed tanks in Mortain were killed by HE shells.
                      Last edited by Triple C; 21 Dec 13,, 09:22. Reason: Clarity
                      All those who are merciful with the cruel will come to be cruel to the merciful.
                      -Talmud Kohelet Rabbah, 7:16.

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        The Battle of the Bulge was the first use of the excellent variable time fuze used in land warfare. It's use prior to this had been restricted to use over water in AA roles so no parts of the top secret fuze could fall into enemy hands. Prior to that it was mechanical time fuzes.

                        Covered sheaf time on target would devastate German armored attacks time and again during the war. The reason was the excellent communications the artillery had and the C2 that went with it. If a unit was in trouble every available gun within range was added to the fires....not just the DS 105mm battalion.
                        “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
                        Mark Twain

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                        • #27
                          December 22 saw the last attack on the right of Elsenborn ridge; this was also smothered by heavy American artillery fire, which fired 10,000 rounds in one day. Otto Skorzeny attacks the American forces in the Baugnetz-Malmedy area with this 150 Special Briagde, believing it is lightly defended. His repeated attacks are smashed by massed artillery and the 5 infantry and engineer battalions which hold the area in ewxcellent dug in positions.

                          Bruce Clarke pulls his forces out of ST Vith, saying the town was not worth a plug nickel per acre.

                          The Fifth Panzer has success pushing westward and crosses the Ourthe River. Brisitsh forces begin to close on the Meuse River to act as the stopper in the bottle.

                          Bastogne is surrounded as the Germans leave 2 Volksgrenadier divisions behind to deal with American forces. The holding of the key crossroads badly disrupted the German flow westward.

                          In a bitter pill to Bradley, the Ninth and Firsty Armies, located on the north of the breakthrough, are assigned to Montgomery's 21st Army Group, leaving Bradley with only the Third Army to command.

                          In the south, Pattaon's miraculous reorienting of III Corps northward pays off as the troops of the 26th (Yankee) and 90th (Tough 'Ombres) Division begin their attack northward against the german Seventh Army in earnest.

                          Overcast skies and warm weather keep Allied tactical airpower at bay as heavy fog and rain continue to cover the battlefield.
                          “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
                          Mark Twain

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                          • #28
                            In a word....Nuts. Go look it up if you need to. http://www.army.mil/article/92856


                            The 22nd would be more about weather as an Atlantic Front and a Siberian Front collide over the Ardennes.

                            In the north the Sixth Panzer Army bogs down as temperatures warm and rain and fog prevail. The Fifth Army is hampered by heavy fog and snow. Meanwhile the supply lines to the east are pummeled by heavy, wet snow and resupply efforts grind to a halt.

                            As dark fell Allied air forces ready for battle in the coming day.

                            The Jabos would return.
                            “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
                            Mark Twain

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                            • #29
                              Originally posted by Triple C View Post
                              Is it from a field report? Would love to add it to my digital library if you can point me to it. I don't doubt it though; they were the first victims of the PROZIT OTT barrage in western Europe. IIRC, there was an operational research report that was floated on Tanknet a long time ago about how the majority of destroyed tanks in Mortain were killed by HE shells.
                              It's actually a Polish source, I'll see if I can find the documetation; I know Pennant number B7, B10, and BX (pennant number unknown, probably B6) were destroyed by American artillery fire. The other two casualties, B4 & B5 (there were only five Ersatz M10's), were destroyed by mines and bazookas (respectively).

                              Try this: [email protected]
                              "There is never enough time to do or say all the things that we would wish. The thing is to try to do as much as you can in the time that you have. Remember Scrooge, time is short, and suddenly, you're not there any more." -Ghost of Christmas Present, Scrooge

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                              • #30
                                The morning of 23 December broke clear and cold. "Visibility Unlimited" was what the air control posts happily reported all the way from the United Kingdom to the foxholes on the Ardennes front. To most American soldiers, this was a red-letter day, because the bombers and fighter-bombers would once more be streaming overhead. The Bastogne air drop began with the first of the carriers dropping its six para-packs at 1150. Fighter-bombers under the operational control of Ninth Air Force flew a total of 696 sorties on 23 December. The Luftwaffe also responded that day with over 800 sorties, but over half were defensive in nature covering the German airfields and lines of communications in Germany.

                                The dramatic change of the 23d, brought on by cold, dry winds from the east, stripped the German armies of their immunity to air attack, but this was not the whole story. Because of the winds, snow began to drift in the Eifel hills, bringing traffic on the main supply roads west of the Rhine almost to a standstill. The Germans found that horse drawn snowplows were few and ineffective, and hastily erected snow fences were torn down by troops scrounging for firewood. No gravel was available, and a large number of engineer construction battalions had been moved west for employment as infantry. By the time power snowplows reached the Eifel, the American fighter-bombers were strafing and bombing every large vehicle that moved.

                                The cold weather also caused the ground to freeze giving greater mobility to armored vehicles. This actually helped the Americans more than the Germans as the Americans had more armored vehicles than the Germans and were able to concentrate their forces quicker. A key outcome of this was Ernie Harmon’s 2d Armored Division arriving in one piece and establishing defensive positions near Haid, Belgium, right in the path of the German attack. The lead German element was the 2d Panzer Division.


                                Here are a couple of maps showing the operational situation:

                                Attached Files
                                “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
                                Mark Twain

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