December 22nd, 1944 - The Battle of Bastogne

Conflict: World War II

Combatants: Americans vs. Germans

Location: Belgium

Outcome: American victory

In a last ditch effort to push the Allies back, the Germans launched the Ardennes Offensive in December of 1944. The Fifth Panzer Army, however, met stiff resistance by the 101st Airborne at Bastogne, Belgium. From December 20th to the 26th, 18,000 Americans desperately held off the Germans until Allied relief forces and clear weather could break the German offensive. On December 26th, General George S. Patton's Third Army broke through the German lines to reach Bastogne.

Infantrymen of 1st U.S. Army gather in Bastogne, Belgium, to regroup after being cut away from their regiment by Germans in the enemy drive in this area 110 Regt by US Army Signal Corps

Points of Interest:

• As with Stalingrad, Hitler insisted that Bastogne be captured, thus hampering the German advance.

• The Germans launched an 800 plane attack on Allied airfields in the Ardennes on January 2nd of 1945 but were repulsed with heavy losses.

Adolf Hitler by an unknown photographer

George S. Patton by an unknown photographer

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Sources:

Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, & Bongard, David L. (1992). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: Castle Books (HarperCollins).

Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.

Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.