The attack on the Schnee Eiffel sector, under Hasso von Manteuffel, fared certainly better than the North, over the thinly spread 28th and 106th Infantry. Meanwhile, a junction n the center of the town of St. Vith was the main challenge for Manteuffel and Deitrich. 7th Armored and 106th Infantry division, and they success fully slowed the German advance through their counterattack. At Montgomery's orders, St. Vith was evacuated on 21 December; U.S. troops fell back to entrenched positions in the area, 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.Since the German plan called for the capture of St. Vith by 18:00 on 17 December, the prolonged action in and around it dealt a major setback.To protect the river crossings on the Meuse at Givet, Dinant and Namur, Montgomery ordered those few units available to hold the bridges on 19 December. This led to a hastily assembled force including rear-echelon troops, military police and Army Air Force personnel. British 29th Armored and the XXX corps began moving in on the Meuse.
The 16th Panzerlehr came up from the south as reinforcement for the 2nd Panzer division. The Ourthe river was taken on 21st December around midday. After a one-day delay due to lack of fuel, the Fifth Panzer Army moved on to the town of Marschell and Hargimont. Hagimont was taken hours later, but Marschell was held strongly by the US 84th Division. Leaving a small force at Marsche, the 47th Panzer Corps turned west toward the Meuse as ordered by their commander Heinrich Luttwitz.
Heinrich Luttwitz,An Allied blockade was hastily assembled, consisting units from the British 29th armoured, US 101 Airborne, and others. This force prevented the Panzer units from moving forward.
Allied flanks had now also begun posing a threat to the narrow corridor held by the 2nd Panzer Div. (Main) and hence, the attack in this sector also came to an end.
Excellent work Varun, maybe if you could also have a nice bibliography or a table of lexicons somewhere in your blog, it would help people to have a general idea of things. For eg - what a Panzer Div is, in terms of size and equipment, what was the organization of a typical British or American Infantry and Armoured Div and compare it with a German, Japanese and Italian formation. Similarly, organization of the Luftwaffe compared with that of the Allied Air Forces. I also think that a lot has been written about Germans and Europeans or Americans,, what is not covered is the Japanese front and the wonderful accounts of the 14th Army. similarly, the Russian Invasion and the Eastern Front gives out many a lesson especially from leaders like Field Marshal Zhukov.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much. It has been really helpful. Whenever I have time now, I shall begin posting again, and I'll soon move to East Europe and the Pacific Theatre
Delete