Ardennes 1944: Hitler's Last Gamble

  Panzer Lehr Division

  Generalleutnant Fritz Bayerlein

  130th Panzer-Regiment; 901st and 902nd Panzergrenadier-Regiments

  130th Artillery Regiment; 130th Reconnaissance Battalion

  130th Anti-Tank Battalion; 130th Engineer Battalion; 311th Flak Battalion

  559th Anti-Tank Battalion (attached); 243rd Assault Gun Brigade (attached)

  26th Volksgrenadier-Division

  Generalmajor Heinz Kokott

  39th Fusilier Regiment; 77th and 78th Volksgrenadier-Regiments; 26th Artillery Regiment;

  26th Reconnaissance Battalion; 26th Anti-Tank Battalion; 26th Engineer Battalion

  Führer Begleit Brigade

  Oberst Otto Remer

  102nd Panzer Battalion; 100th Panzergrenadier-Regiment; 120th Artillery Regiment

  120th Reconnaissance Battalion; 120th Anti-Tank Battalion; 120th Engineer Battalion

  828th Grenadier Battalion; 673rd Flak-Regiment

  LXVI Corps

  General der Artillerie Walter Lucht

  16th Volkswerfer-Brigade (86th and 87th Werfer-Regiments)

  244th Assault Gun Brigade; 460th Heavy Artillery Battalion

  18th Volksgrenadier-Division

  Oberst Günther Hoffmann-Schönborn

  293rd, 294th and 295th Volksgrenadier-Regiments; 1818th Artillery Regiment

  1818th Anti-Tank Battalion; 1818th Engineer Battalion

  62nd Volksgrenadier-Division

  Oberst Friedrich Kittel

  164th, 190th and 193rd Volksgrenadier-Regiments; 162nd Artillery Regiment

  162nd Anti-Tank Battalion; 162nd Engineer Battalion

  LVIII Panzer Corps

  General der Panzertruppe Walter Krüger

  401st Volksartillerie Corps; 7th Volkswerfer-Brigade (84th and 85th Werfer-Regiments)

  1st Flak-Regiment

  116th Panzer-Division

  Generalmajor Siegfried von Waldenburg

  16th Panzer-Regiment; 60th and 156th Panzergrenadier-Regiments

  146th Artillery Regiment; 146th Reconnaissance Battalion; 226th Anti-Tank Battalion

  675th Engineer Battalion; 281st Flak Battalion

  560th Volksgrenadier-Division

  Oberst Rudolf Langhauser

  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-Regime
nts; 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

  Notes

  ABBREVIATIONS

  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

  1 VICTORY FEVER

  ‘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

&nb
sp; ‘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

  2 ANTWERP AND THE GERMAN FRONTIER

  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