Ardennes 1944: Hitler's Last Gamble (54 page)

1128th, 1129th and 1130th Volksgrenadier-Regiments; 1560th Artillery Regiment

1560th Anti-Tank Battalion; 1560th Engineer Battalion

XXXIX Panzer Corps

Generalleutnant Karl Decker

167th Volksgrenadier-Division

Generalleutnant Hans-Kurt Höcker

331st, 339th and 387th Volksgrenadier-Regiments; 167th Artillery Regiment

167th Anti-Tank Battalion; 167th Engineer Battalion

Sixth Panzer Army

SS-Oberstgruppenführer Josef Dietrich

506th Heavy Panzer Battalion; 683rd Heavy Anti-Tank Battalion

217th Assault Panzer Battalion; 394th, 667th and 902nd Assault Gun Battalions

741st Anti-Tank Battalion; 1098th, 1110th and 1120th Heavy Howitzer Batteries

428th Heavy Mortar Battery; 2nd Flak-Division (41st and 43rd Regiments)

Kampfgruppe Heydte

I SS Panzer Corps

SS-Gruppenführer Hermann Priess

14th, 51st, 53rd and 54th Werfer-Regiments; 501st SS Artillery Battalion

388th Volksartillerie Corps; 402nd Volksartillerie Corps

1st SS Panzer-Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler

SS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke

1st SS Panzer-Regiment; 1st and 2nd SS Panzergrenadier-Regiments

1st SS Artillery Regiment; 1st SS Reconnaissance Battalion; 1st SS Anti-Tank Battalion

1st SS Engineer Battalion; 1st SS Flak Battalion; 501st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion (attached); 84th Luftwaffe Flak Battalion (attached)

3rd Fallschirmjäger-Division

Generalmajor Walther Wadehn

5th, 8th and 9th Fallschirmjäger-Regiments; 3rd Artillery Regiment;

3rd Reconnaissance Battalion; 3rd Anti-Tank Battalion; 3rd Engineer Battalion

12th SS Panzer-Division Hitler Jugend

SS-Standartenführer Hugo Kraas

12th SS Panzer-Regiment; 25th and 26th SS Panzergrenadier-Regiments

12th SS Artillery Regiment; 12th SS Reconnaissance Battalion

12th SS Anti-Tank Battalion; 12th SS Engineer Battalion; 12th SS Flak Battalion

560th Heavy Anti-Tank Battalion (attached)

12th Volksgrenadier-Division

Generalmajor Gerhard Engel

27th Fusilier Regiment; 48th and 89th Volksgrenadier-Regiments; 12th Fusilier Battalion

12th Artillery Regiment; 12th Anti-Tank Battalion; 12th Engineer Battalion

277th Volksgrenadier-Division

Oberst Wilhelm Viebig

289th, 990th and 991st Volksgrenadier-Regiments; 277th Artillery Regiment

277th Anti-Tank Battalion; 277th Engineer Battalion

150th Panzer-Brigade

SS-Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny

Two Panzer companies; two Panzergrenadier companies; two anti-tank companies

A heavy mortar battalion (two batteries); 600th SS Parachute Battalion Kampfgruppe 200

II SS Panzer Corps

SS-Obergruppenführer Willi Bittrich

410th Volksartillerie Corps; 502nd SS Heavy Artillery Battalion

2nd SS Panzer-Division Das Reich

SS-Brigadeführer Heinz Lammerding

2nd SS Panzer-Regiment; 3rd and 4th SS Panzergrenadier-Regiments; 2nd SS Artillery Regiment; 2nd SS Reconnaissance Battalion; 2nd SS Engineer Battalion; 2nd SS Flak Battalion

9th SS Panzer-Division Hohenstaufen

SS-Oberführer Sylvester Stadler

9th SS Panzer-Regiment; 19th and 20th SS Panzergrenadier-Regiments

9th SS Artillery Regiment; 9th SS Reconnaissance Battalion; 9th SS Anti-Tank Battalion

9th SS Engineer Battalion; 9th SS Flak Battalion; 519th Heavy Anti-Tank Battalion (attached)

LXVII Corps

Generalleutnant Otto Hitzfeld

17th Volkswerfer-Brigade (88th and 89th Werfer-Regiments)

405th Volksartillerie Corps; 1001st Heavy Assault Gun Company

3rd Panzergrenadier-Division

Generalmajor Walter Denkert

8th and 29th Panzergrenadier-Regiments; 103rd Panzer Battalion; 3rd Artillery Regiment

103rd Reconnaissance Battalion; 3rd Anti-Tank Battalion; 3rd Engineer Battalion

3rd Flak Battalion

246th Volksgrenadier-Division

Oberst Peter Körte

352nd, 404th and 689th Volksgrenadier-Regiments; 246th Artillery Regiment

246th Anti-Tank Battalion; 246th Engineer Battalion

272nd Volksgrenadier-Division

Generalmajor Eugen König

980th, 981st and 982nd Volksgrenadier-Regiments; 272nd Artillery Regiment

272nd Anti-Tank Battalion; 272nd Engineer Battalion

326th Volksgrenadier-Division

751st, 752nd and 753rd Volksgrenadier-Regiments; 326th Artillery Regiment

326th Anti-Tank Battalion; 326th Engineer Battalion

Seventh Army

General der Panzertruppe Erich Brandenberger

657th and 668th Heavy Anti-Tank Battalions; 501st Fortress Anti-Tank Battalion

47th Engineer Battalion; 1092nd, 1093rd, 1124th and 1125th Heavy Howitzer Batteries

660th Heavy Artillery Battery; 1029th, 1039th and 1122nd Heavy Mortar Batteries

999th Penal Battalion; 44th Machine-Gun Battalion; 15th Flak-Regiment

LIII Corps

General der Kavallerie Edwin von Rothkirch

9th Volksgrenadier-Division

Oberst Werner Kolb

36th, 57th and 116th Volksgrenadier-Regiments; 9th Artillery Regiment

9th Anti-Tank Battalion; 9th Engineer Battalion

15th Panzergrenadier-Division

Oberst Hans Joachim Deckert

104th and 115th Panzergrenadier-Regiments; 115th Panzer Battalion; 115th Artillery Regiment

115th Reconnaissance Battalion; 33rd Anti-Tank Battalion; 33rd Engineer Battalion

33rd Flak Battalion

Führer Grenadier Brigade

Oberst Hans-Joachim Kahler

99th Panzergrenadier-Regiment; 101st Panzer Battalion; 911th Assault Gun Brigade

124th Anti-Tank Battalion; 124th Engineer Battalion; 124th Flak Battalion

124th Artillery Regiment

LXXX Corps

General der Infanterie Franz Beyer

408th Volksartillerie Corps; 8th Volkswerfer-Brigade; 2nd and
Lehr
Werfer-Regiments

212th Volksgrenadier-Division

Generalmajor Franz Sensfuss

316th, 320th and 423rd Volksgrenadier-Regiments; 212th Artillery Regiment

212th Anti-Tank Battalion; 212th Engineer Battalion

276th Volksgrenadier-Division

Generalmajor Kurt Möhring (later Oberst Hugo Dempwolff)

986th, 987th and 988th Volksgrenadier-Regiments; 276th Artillery Regiment;

276th Anti-Tank Battalion; 276th Engineer Battalion

340th Volksgrenadier-Division

Oberst Theodor Tolsdorff

694th, 695th and 696th Volksgrenadier-Regiments; 340th Artillery Regiment

340th Anti-Tank Battalion; 340th Engineer Battalion

LXXXV Corps

General der Infanterie Baptist Kniess

406th Volksartillerie Corps; 18th Volkswerfer-Brigade (21st and 22nd Werfer-Regiments)

5th Fallschirmjäger-Division

Generalmajor Ludwig Heilmann

13th, 14th and 15th Fallschirmjäger-Regiments; 5th Artillery Regiment; 5th Reconnaissance Battalion; 5th Engineer Battalion; 5th Flak Battalion; 11th Assault Gun Brigade

352nd Volksgrenadier-Division

Oberst Erich-Otto Schmidt

914th, 915th and 916th Volksgrenadier-Regiments; 352nd Artillery Regiment; 352nd Anti-Tank Battalion; 352nd Engineer Battalion

79th Volksgrenadier-Division

Oberst Alois Weber

208th, 212th and 226th Volksgrenadier-Regiments; 179th Artillery Regiment; 179th Anti-Tank Battalion; 179th Engineer Battalion

BA-MA Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv, Freiburg-im-Breisgau

BfZ-SS Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Sammlung Sterz, Stuttgart

CARL Combined Arms Research Library, Fort Leavenworth, KS

CBHD Chester B. Hansen Diaries, Chester B. Hansen Collection, Box 5, USAMHI

CBMP Charles B. MacDonald Papers, USAMHI

CEOH US Army Corps of Engineers, Office of History, Fort Belvoir, VA

CMH Center of Military History, Fort McNair, Washington, DC

CMH
Ardennes
Center of Military History, Hugh M. Cole,
United States Army in World War II: The European Theater of Operations: The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge
, Washington, DC, 1988

CMH
Medical
Center of Military History, Graham A. Cosmas and Albert E. Cowdrey,
United States Army in World War II: The European Theater of Operations: Medical Service in the European Theater of Operations
, Washington, DC, 1992

CMH
SC
Center of Military History, Forrest C. Pogue,
United States Army in World War II: The European Theater of Operations: The Supreme Command
, Washington, DC, 1954

CSDIC Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre

CSI Combat Studies Institute, Fort Leavenworth, KS

DCD Duff Cooper Diaries (private collection)

DDE Lib Dwight D. Eisenhower Library, Abilene, KS

DRZW
Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweiten Weltkrieg
, vols. 6–10, Munich, 2004–8

ETHINT European Theater Historical Interrogations, 1945, OCMH, USAMHI

FCP
SC
Forrest C. Pogue, background interviews for
The Supreme Command
, USAMHI

FDRL MR Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, NY, Map Room documents

FMS Foreign Military Studies, USAMHI

GBP Godfrey Blunden Papers (private collection)

HLB
Hitlers Lagebesprechungen: Die Protokollfragmente seiner militärischen Konferenzen 1942–1945
, Munich, 1984 (Helmut Heiber and David M. Glantz (eds.),
Hitler and his Generals: Military Conferences, 1942–1945
, London, 2002)

IWM Documents Collection, Imperial War Museum, London

LHC-DP Liddell Hart Centre – Dempsey Papers

LHCMA Liddell Hart Centre of Military Archives, King’s College London

MFF MFF Armed Forces Oral Histories, LHCMA

NARA National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD

OCMH Office of the Chief of Military History, USAMHI

PDDE
The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower
, ed. Alfred D. Chandler, 21 vols., Baltimore, MA, 1970–2001

PP
The Patton Papers
, ed. Martin Blumenson, New York, 1974

PWS Papers of William Sylvan, OCMH, USAMHI

RWHP Robert W. Hasbrouck Papers, USAMHI

SHD-DAT Service Historique de la Défense, Département de l’Armée de Terre, Vincennes

SOOHP Senior Officers Oral History Program, US Army War College, USAMHI

TBJG
Die Tagebücher von Joseph Goebbels
, ed. Elke Fröhlich, 29 vols., Munich, 1992–2005

TNA The National Archives, Kew

USAMHI The United States Army Military History Institute at US Army Heritage and Education Center, Carlisle, PA

‘It’s Sunday’
, Omar N. Bradley,
A Soldier’s Story
, New York, 1964, 389–90; also Dwight D. Eisenhower,
Crusade in Europe
, New York, 1948, 325

‘informal visit’
, NARA 407/427/24235

Gerow and Leclerc;
‘continue on present mission’
, SHD-DAT 11 P 218; also NARA 407/427/24235

‘a field of rubble’
, BA-MA RH19 IX/7 40, quoted Joachim Ludewig,
Rückzug: The German Retreat from France, 1944
, Lexington, KY, 2012, 133

‘Pire que les boches’
, Forrest C. Pogue,
Pogue’s War: Diaries of a WWII Combat Historian
, Lexington, KY, 2001, 214

‘a show of force’
,
‘to establish …’
, Eisenhower,
Crusade in Europe
, 326; and Bradley, 391

‘From what I heard at SHAEF …’
, Arthur Tedder,
With Prejudice
, London, 1966, 586

28th Division in Paris, see Uzal W. Ent (ed.),
The First Century: A History of the 28th Infantry Division
, Harrisburg, PA, 1979, 165

‘Une armée de mécanos’
, Jean Galtier-Boissière,
Mon journal pendant l’Occupation
, Paris, 1944, 288

‘It was one of the most …’
, 1.2.45, CBHD

‘The August battles …’
, CMH
SC
, 245

‘The West Front is finished …’
, diary Oberstleutnant Fritz Fullriede,
Hermann Göring
Division, 2 September 1944, quoted Robert Kershaw,
It Never Snows in September
, London, 2008, 63

‘We want peace …’
, prisoner-of-war interview, CSDIC, TNA WO 208/3616

Wehrmacht losses, Rüdiger Overmans,
Deutsche militärische Verluste im Zweiten Weltkrieg
, Munich, 2000, 238 and 278

For the German retreat from France see: Ludewig, 108/ff.; and David Wingeate Pike, ‘Oberbefehl West: Armeegruppe G: Les Armées allemandes dans le Midi de la France’,
Guerres Mondiales et Conflits Contemporains
, Nos. 152, 164, 174, 181

‘You are fish’
, Generaloberst Student, CSDIC, TNA WO 208/4177

‘a club of intellectuals’
, Generaloberst Halder, CSDIC, TNA WO 208/4366 GRGG 332

‘Now I know why …’
, Albert Speer,
Inside the Third Reich
, London, 1971, 525

‘There will be moments …’
,
HLB
, 466 and 468

‘It is certain that the political conflicts …’
, CMH
SC
, 249

‘In the evening …’
, Kreipe diary, 31.8.44, FMS P-069

‘By now a huge …’
, Traudl Junge,
Until the Final Hour: Hitler’s Last Secretary
, London, 2002, 146

‘an air landing …’
,
‘unusual array’
, Generalmajor Otto Ernst Remer,
Führer Begleit
Brigade, FMS B-592

‘typing out whole reams …’
, Junge, 144

For German civilian morale, see Richard J. Evans,
The Third Reich at War
, London, 2008, 650–3

‘a military statesman …’
, Chester Wilmot,
The Struggle for Europe
, London, 1952, 496

‘Ike said that Monty …’
,
‘Ike did not thank …’
,
PP
, 533, 537

‘what with champagne …’
, Brian Horrocks,
Corps Commander
, London, 1977, 79

‘The captives sat on the straw …’
, Caroline Moorehead,
Martha Gellhorn
, London, 2003, 269

‘You had barely crossed …’
, interrogation, General der Artillerie Walter Warlimont, Deputy Chief of the Wehrmachtführungsstab, CSDIC, TNA WO 208/3151

‘We would let …’
, VII Corps, NARA RG 498 290/56/2/3, Box 1459

‘with practically no maintenance’
, ibid.

‘We employed …’
, VII Corps, ibid.

‘The pace of the retreat …’
, Maurice Delvenne, 1.9.44, cited Jean-Michel Delvaux,
La Bataille des Ardennes autour de Rochefort
, 2 vols., Hubaille, 2004–5, ii, 159–60

‘Their looks are hard …’
, ibid.

‘a sad platoon of Dutch …’
, Fullriede diary, 13 September 1944, quoted Kershaw,
It Never Snows in September
, 38

‘a picture that is unworthy …’
, BA-MA RH24-89/10, quoted Ludewig, 191

‘the world situation …’
,
‘OKW Feldjäger’
etc., Obergefreiter Gogl, Abt. V, Feldjäger Regiment (mot.) 3., OKW Streifendienst, TNA WO 208/3610

‘malingerers and cowardly shirkers …’
, BA-MA RW4/vol. 494

‘the only reinforcements …’
, NARA RG 498 290/56/2/3, Box 1466

‘as much use to us …’
, Stephen Roskill,
Churchill and the Admirals
, London, 1977, 245, quoted Rick Atkinson,
The Guns at Last Light
, New York, 2013, 233

‘Napoleon, no doubt …’
, Horrocks, 81

‘Newspapers reported …’
, Pogue,
Pogue’s War
, 208

Montgomery and Rhine crossing at expense of Scheldt estuary, LHCMA, Alanbrooke 6/2/31

Montgomery to Brooke, 3.9.44; IWM LMD 62/12, Montgomery diary, 3.9.44; see John Buckley,
Monty’s Men: The British Army and the Liberation of Europe
, London, 2013, 206

‘In order to attack’
,
PP
, 538

‘with [the] compliments …’
, Forrest C. Pogue,
Pogue’s War: Diaries of a WWII Combat Historian
, Lexington, KY, 2001, 215–16

50,000 cases of champagne, Patton letter,
PP
, 549

‘Even if all our allies …’
, Uffz. Alfred Lehmann, 11.9.44, BA-MA RH13/49, 5

Cancelled airborne operations, Headquarters Allied Airborne Army, NARA RG 498 290/56/2/3, Box 1466

‘The damn airborne …’
,
PP
, 540

Versailles and Paris, Com Z, see Rick Atkinson,
The Guns at Last Light
, New York, 2013, 236

Letter of 21 September, CMH
SC
, 293

‘The whole point …’
, CSDIC, TNA WO 208/4177

‘narrow front’
,
‘single knife-like drive …’
, CMH
SC
, 292

‘dagger-thrust …’
, Patton diary,
PP
, 550

‘The problem was …’
, Buckley, 203

‘overwhelming egotism’
, Forrest C. Pogue,
George C. Marshall: Organizer of Victory
, New York, 1973, 475, quoted Atkinson, 304

‘If you, as the …’
,
‘You will hear … ’
,
PDDE
, iii, 2224

‘We took enough prisoners’
, XX Corps, NARA RG 498 290/56/2/3, Box 1465

‘kept breaking down …’
, Obersturmbannführer Loenholdt, 17 SS PzGr-Div, CSDIC, TNA WO 208/4140 SRM 1254

‘Relations between officers and men …’
, First Army report to the OKW, 1.10.44, BA-MA RH13/49, 9

‘The war has reached …’
, O.Gefr. Ankenbeil, 22.9.44, BA-MA RH13/49, 10

‘He doesn’t attack …’
, O.Gefr. M. Kriebel, 18.9.44, BA-MA RH13/49, 11

‘The American infantryman …’
, O.Gefr. Hans Büscher, 20.9.44, BA-MA RH13/49, 11

‘Whoever has air …’
, O.Gefr. G. Riegler, 21.9.44, BA-MA RH13/49, 11

‘Why sacrifice more and more …’
, O.Gefr. Hans Hoes, 15.9.44, BA-MA RH13/49, 12

‘Führer interrupts Jodl …’
, diary of General der Flieger Kreipe, FMS P-069

‘OKH [Army High Command] has serious doubts …’
, 18.9.44, ibid.

Rundstedt’s drinking, CSDIC, TNA WO 208/4364 GRGG 208

‘The [Nazi Party] Kreisleiter of Reutlingen …’
, Hauptmann Delica, II Battalion, 19th Fallschirmjäger-Regiment, CSDIC, TNA WO 208/4140 SRM 1227

‘We have been lied to …’
, CSDIC, TNA WO 208/4139 SRM 968

‘As we pass a pillbox …’
, PFC Richard Lowe Ballou, 117th Infantry, 30th Infantry Division, MFF-7, C1-97 (3)

‘The wounded come out …’
, V Corps, NARA RG 498 290/56/2/3, Box 1455

‘When the doors …’
, MFF-7, C1-97(2)

‘After a second charge of TNT …’
, ibid.

‘The Führer wanted to defend …’
, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, ETHINT 30

‘The sight of the Luftwaffe …’
, Generalmajor Rudolf Freiherr von Gersdorff, ETHINT 53

‘We were reduced …’
, Gardner Botsford,
A Life of Privilege, Mostly
, New York, 2003, 47

Rumours of bacteriological weapons, CSDIC, TNA WO 208/4140 SRM 1245

‘You should have seen …’
, CSDIC, TNA WO 208/4139 SRM 983

‘And when the houses …’
, ibid.

Fear of foreign workers, CSDIC, TNA WO 208/4139 SRM 1103

‘The Allied Forces serving …’
, CMH
SC
, 357

‘American officers [are] using …’
, TNA WO 208/3654 PWIS H/LDC/631

‘the troops were indignant …’
, ibid.

‘former proud regiment …’
, letter of 26.9.44 to Hauptmann Knapp, NARA RG 498 290/56/5/3, Box 1463

‘I had the most excellent …’
, CSDIC, TNA WO 208/4139 SRM 982