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As you can imagine, any movement in this vicinity, could easily be observed from the German positions in and around Brandscheid, far on the horizon directly south. When the local priest emerged after the initial battle bodies were strewn everywhere, both American and German. If you stay on this small road and get to Meyerode, there in the village outside the school is a German 75mm anti-tank gun. The 7th Armored Division fought a running battle out of St. Vith on December 23, 1944. The town of St. Vith, Belgium, was a vital road and rail center the Germans needed to supply their offensive. Digging or metal detecting is not encouraged, in fact it is forbidden. (John Jamele died May 25, 2011 with a memorial mass was held by Rev. St. Vith lay approximately twelve miles behind the front lines on 16 December. CHAPTER XII. The ground at Rodt, then, overlooked the flank and rear of CCB. They were eventually overrun. Into Schonberg, this is another place that has been rebuilt, even the bridge across the Our River is in a slightly different location. Around 9:30 p.m., Clarke orders American forces to withdraw to the west. LUXEMBOURG TOURS The logging trail used by 3rd Battalion 423rd Infantry Regiment. At the end of the track another will be found running parallel to the Ihrenbach stream, turn right and follow the track until you come across a clearing. Opposite the school is a bar, this was once Dietrich’s Headquarters for a time. Figure 2. POTEAU -VIELSALM – The Battles for Vielsalm, St Vith & the Poteau Crossroads near Recht. Munitions are still lying about and are very dangerous, be careful what you pick-up. St. Vith area and surroundings, Monschau-Habscheid Zone, December 15-19th, 1944. Moving along the Schonberg road towards Heuern (81st Combat Engineers HQ) look out for a decorative wrought iron works on the right, immediately, If you stay on this small road and get to Meyerode, there in the village outside the school is a German 75mm anti-tank gun. About one hundred yards was where the 589th FAB had its outpost on 16 December. This later went on to inspire him to write the classic novel, Drive south-west out of town for about one mile and you will see what used to be Bleialf railway station. First of all, your own transport is a must, there is no real public transport in the area that will go anywhere near the rural areas in which the battles took place. The five 2-D maps are fine (strategic situation, German planned routes, initial attacks of 6th Panzer Army, destruction of the US 106th Division, and defense of St Vith) but the maps do not fully portray the US defense of the Elsenborn Ridge and even Peiper's route is difficult to follow with these maps. By midnight he sets up the beginnings of a “horseshoe defense” of St. Vith, a line of units to the north, east and south of town. A word of warning here. Rejoin your car. He was with Officers, members of this Division, his favourite, whom he tagged along with. It is now a private house. The Battle of St. Vith, which began Dec. 16, 1944, was part of the Battle of the Bulge. As LTG Troy H. Middleton assessed in the foreword to the Armor School’s publication The Battle at St. Vith, Belgium, “Two of the most important tactical localities on the 88-mile front held by the VIII Corps in the Ardennes Forest at the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge … were Bastogne and St. Vith. Down that trail came men from Klinck’s 3rd Battalion, Company L and met the American Sherman tank manned by Germans. They were successful in holding up the 2nd SS Panzer Division and 560th Volksgrenadiers Division long enough to enable the 82nd Airborne to get into position. Americans fall back to a defensive line with 7th Armored Division on the left and 106th’s 424th Regiment on the right. Or, you can stay in any of the numerous ‘Gasthaus’ or smaller hotels scattered around the area. The Germans capture the bridge at Schoenberg by 8:45 a.m., cutting off American artillery units attempting to withdraw west of the Our River. Clarke sees his first task as getting his command into St. Vith. Most of the villages have been rebuilt since the war. There is nothing dangerous lurking, apart from the odd wild boar, who can turn funny if disturbed or upset. The road that goes right leads to Brandscheid, a village held at that time by the Germans. Both St Vith and Prum have railway stations, the line to Bleialf is now closed. Parts of 106th are deployed east, with most of its force isolated on the Schnee Eifel. Just before the large old custom house on the right, is a patch of woods, here was stationed Service Battery of the 589th FAB. Stand in front of the shelter and look forward into the forest; you are viewing the area held by Company B. Return to ‘Skyline Drive’, turn left into the village of Radscheid, Oberlascheid, Halenfeld and Buchet, where Cavender had his headquarters. St. Vith, Belgium, and villages in the Ardennes. Come back to the crossroads and turn right on to the N26. In mid 1995 a new memorial was erected in front of the old. under way in the 7th Armored zone, Rodt was the junction point between CCA, still holding the division north flank, and CCB, raising a new line along the low hill chain that extended south of the village. The 1st and 2nd Battalions were here behind Hill 536 at daybreak on 19 December. A brass plate on the stone has an inscription to the men of the 106th and says, ‘Dedicated to the Men of the 106th Infantry Division who fought and died for their country 1944–45.’. It was one of several battles on December 16, 1944 constituting the opening of Germany's Ardennes counteroffensive (more commonly known as the Battle … Enjoy your break or holiday in this part of the Ardennes, the scenery is breath-taking. At the bottom is the hamlet of Ihrenbruck. The actual front-line foxholes of the infantrymen, are in the woods to the right of the road, about 300 to 400 yards on the forward slope. Company B, 423rd Infantry Regiment positions were in the woods to the right. Drive south-west out of town for about one mile and you will see what used to be Bleialf railway station. After they receive an order from Jones at 2:15 a.m. to break out to the west along the Bleialf-Schoenberg-St. Vith road (Jones told them to “clear the area of Germans in the process”), they begin the breakout at 10 a.m., with COL Charles Cavender leading the attack (commander, 423rd Infantry). Turn right for Bleialf. It’s quite a walk! On leaving St Vith the road twists and starts to climb into the forest. Above all try and cast your mind back to that terrible December in 1944 and give your respect to those brave soldiers of both sides. This has the effect of breaking the defense into isolated positions, and denies corps and army commands information on events at the front line. In the centre is the Church, it was around this, that there was particularly vicious fighting those first few days. Winterspelt falls early in the day. The Ardennes is otherwise relatively sparsely populated, with few of the cities exceeding 10,000 inhabitants – with a few exceptions like Eupen or Bastogne. The First Attacks at St. Vith. The region is typified by steep-sided valleys carved by swift-flowing rivers, the most prominent of which is the Meuse River. These units come mainly from 7th and 9th Armored Divisions but include troops from 424th Regiment of 106th Division, and various supporting artillery, tank and tank-destroyer battalions. When the local priest emerged after the initial battle bodies were strewn everywhere, both American and German. Msgr George J. Ryan at St Anastasia Roman Catholic Church in Douglaston, NY, with military and NYFD firefighters as pallbearers.) By Dec. 23, as the Germans shattered their flanks, the defenders’ position became untenable, and U.S. troops were ordered to retreat west of the Salm River. A Miracle at St Vith After leaving Easton, Pennsylvania for basic training at Fort Eustus Virginia, I was sent to England with the 1st Army, 634th AAA Battalion. The other museum is at La Roche-en-Ardenne, dedicated to the Battle of the Bulge. In Andler there is the inevitable bar, Gasthaus Kessler. Also available: The Armor School’s publication, The Battle at St. Vith, Belgium Dec. 17-23, 1944. Jones had given the troops east of the Our River permission to withdraw at 9:45 a.m., but it was too late to organize an orderly withdrawal by that time. First published on Warfare History Network, the article “The Battle of the Bulge: Avenging St. Vith” by our historian Kevin M. Hymel, recounts one of the critical battles fought during the Battle of the Bulge in the winter of 1944. The 3rd Battalion, what was left of it, was pulled back up the trail to the top. After the mass surrender the majority of American prisoners spent their first night in the ground of this Church, before being marched off deeper into Germany. Holding St. Vith has become more of a liability to the Americans than an asset. Looking up the road, there is a logging trail up on the left. Just after Wereth, on the left at the edge of a field is a newly erected monument, this was erected in honour of the eleven black soldiers of the 333rd Field Artillery Battalion, a Corps artillery battalion attached to the 106th, who were murdered by the SS. A “Russian High” begins blowing – a cold wind from the northeast and clear weather – freezing the ground and allowing free movement of tracked vehicles and the use of Allied air superiority. The ‘Battle of the Bulge’ or the ‘Ardennes Offensive’ was the single biggest and bloodiest battle American soldiers have ever fought. As you come out of the woods there is a, Here there are still some original old buildings dotted about, but, as with the rest of the area, it took its share of destruction. The Battle of the Bulge was the name given to a major German counter-attack launched against US forces in Belgium. Come back to the crossroads and turn right on to the N26. Typical of the sort of rusting artifacts to be discovered throughout the area of the Battle of the Bulge. Through these localities were the road nets that, if held, would disrupt the plan of any aggressor. This area is the Prumerberg heights, scene of the desperate defence by Colonel Riggs and his Engineers. This goes for the entire battleground. It is where Cavender gave the orders to attack Schonberg and was immediately hit by an artillery bombardment. Ridgway is still willing to consider holding positions in the area, but interviews with commanders change his mind. The 106th Infantry Division took over position for position. The Ardennes’ most populous cities are Verviers in Belgium and Charleville-Mézières in France, both exceeding 50,000 inhabitants. Though Armor was not designed primarily for the role of the defensive, the operation of CCB was nevertheless a good example of how it can assume such [a] role in an emergency. And St. Vith was the only place along the entire front where a railroad line crossed from Germany into the battle area. This track was used by the 423rd Regiment and 590th FAB on their way to attack Schonberg. The author, Michael Tolhurst, with his two sons Stuart and Stevie in 1992 on the border bridge over the River Our, which marks the boundary between Belgium and Germany. Later as a prisoner of war he witnessed the destruction of Dresden by Allied bombers. Here, they hold the village for the day; after dark, they destroy their vehicles and abandon their positions, withdrawing to St. Vith. Bastogne was an important communications center and was worth the gamble made for its defense. The Battle of St. Vith was part of the Battle of the Bulge, which began on December 16, 1944, and represented the r Arriving in Europe in late 1944, they were immediately, and with very little battle experience, thrust into battle at St Vith. and head off up the hill. Left is ‘Skyline Drive’, right and down the hill is Bleialf. The American attack on Schoenberg launches at 10 a.m. as scheduled, but comes under German assault-gun and anti-aircraft gunfire from armored fighting vehicles on the ridge to their front and from German troops firing small-arms fire. In other villages, the cavalry troops are forced to withdraw earlier in the day to avoid being surrounded and cut off. This is an official U.S. Army Website sponsored by U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence (MCoE). This area was being held by Company A, 423rd Infantry, on the morning of 16 December. The German attack on St. Vith begins at 3 p.m. with a heavy artillery barrage. It was in this area by the Ihrenbach Stream that vehicles of 423rd Infantry Regiment and the 590th Field Artillery Battalion finally ended up. This marks the most extensive defeat suffered by American forces in the European Theater of Operations. 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