Waffen-SS: Defeat of the 6th Panzer Army, 1944

Background

By the end of December 1944, the German offensive in the Ardennes had ground to a halt and the Americans had relieved Bastogne. But Hitler insisted on a fresh attack by the Sixth Panzer Army. This resulted in a futile effort to retake Bastogne, which only served to wear down the armoured strength of the Waffen-SS panzer divisions fighting in Belgium.

Hitler orders a renewal of the offensive

A week after the start of Operation Autumn Mist, the German offensive had well and truly run out of steam. Dietrich's Sixth Panzer Army had been held in check along the Ambléve River. To the south, the Fifth Panzer Army had advanced to within 15km (9.3 miles) of the Meuse at Dinant before being turned back by British tanks and Allied fighter-bombers. General of Panzer Troops Hasso von Manteuffel had managed to surround the American 101st Airborne Division in the town of Bastogne. However, a relief column from Lieutenant-General George Patton's Third Army punched through from Luxembourg to lift the siege on 26 December 1944.

Hitler wanted a renewed offensive to defeat the Americans, by cutting off Bastogne again to open a new route for further westward offensives. I SS Panzer Corps was to be sent south to close off the narrow 1km- (0.6-mile-) wide corridor linking Bastogne to Patton's army. The Leibstandarte did not reach its jumping-off position until late on 28 December, and was not ready to attack until late the following day.

The Leibstandarte's attack

The Leibstandarte's westward attack was planned to coincide with an eastward push by the 3rd Panzergrenadier Division and Führer Begleit Brigade, to cut the Bastogne corridor. First to attack were some 30 of Poetsche's panzers, striking out just before dawn on 30 December. They headed out through morning gloom and, helped by panzergrenadiers, easily cleared out two frontline villages. American tank destroyers then made an appearance, hitting several of the panzers.

As the panzers approached the main road south out of Bastogne across open fields, the Americans mobilized two companies of Shermans to block their path. Now the clouds cleared to allow the intervention of Allied fighter-bombers. For more than two hours, the Thunderbolts worked over the panzer column, claiming seven kills and delaying the advance as the tanks took cover in woods. The American tanks had now taken up ambush positions ahead of the panzers, and were waiting when Poetsche at last got his forces moving again.

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