The Battle of St. Vith was an engagement in Belgium fought during the Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine in World War II. It was one of several battles on December 16, 1944 constituting the opening of Germany's Ardennes counteroffensive (more commonly known as the "Battle of the Bulge").
The town of St. Vith, a vital road junction, was close to the boundary between the 5th Panzer Army and Sepp Dietrich’s 6th Panzer Army, the two strongest units of the attack. St. Vith was also close to the western end of the Losheim Gap, a critical valley through the densely forested ridges of the Ardennes Forest and the axis of the entire German counteroffensive. Opposing this drive were units of the U.S. VIII Corps. These defenders were led by the U.S. 7th Armored Division and included the 424th Infantry (the remaining regiment of the 106th U.S. Infantry Division), elements of the 9th Armored Division's Combat Command B and the 112th Infantry of the U.S. 28th Infantry Division. These units, which operated under the command of Generals Robert W. Hasbrouck (7th Armored) and Alan W. Jones (106th Infantry), successfully resisted the German attacks, thereby significantly slowing the German advance.
Under orders from Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, Brigadier General Bruce Cooper Clarke, leader of Combat Command-B 7th Armored Division, gave up St. Vith on 21 December 1944; U.S. troops fell back to positions supported by the 82nd Airborne Division to the west, 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. As the German plan called for the capture of St. Vith by 18:00 on 17 December, the prolonged action in and around it presented a major blow to their timetable.
Background and movement to battle
German preparations: 15 September to 16 December 1944
Adolf Hitler, dictator of the Third Reich, first outlined his plan for a decisive counteroffensive on the Western Front on 16 September 1944. This assault's goal was to pierce the thinly held lines of the U.S. First Army between Monschau and Wasserbillig with Army Group B commanded by Field Marshal (Generalfeldmarschall) Walter Model, cross the Meuse between Liege and Dinant, seize Antwerp and the western bank of the Scheldt Estuary. The main purpose of the counteroffensive was both political and diplomatic. Hitler contended that the alliance between the United Kingdom and the United States in Western Europe was unnatural and therefore fragile, and would shatter if subjected to a German drive that would place a wedge between the two nations. Germany could then make a separate peace with the Western Allies, and concentrate its armies for a successful drive against the Soviet Union.
In the months following the initial pronouncement, Hitler gathered reserves for his plan in great secrecy, realizing such a counterattack would have no success unless it was a complete surprise. His chosen commander for the Western Front and figurehead behind which new armies would rally was Gerd von Rundstedt, an aged field marshal of great reputation and respectability. Under his banner was recreated a rebuilt Army Group B consisting of three armies, 6th SS Panzer, 5th Panzer and 7th Army. These armies would drive west through the Ardennes in a repeat of the great western offensive of 1940, splitting the allied armies. The 6th SS Panzer Army would be the strong right arm of the offensive, on the northern flank and was tasked with driving through Elsenborn Ridge along the Albert Canal on the most direct route to Antwerp. The 5th Panzer Army would support the left flank of the 6th, and the less mobile 7th Army would block flanking attacks directed against the southern, or left flank, of the attacking armies.
The center army for the grand offensive was the 5th Panzer Army. It was neither as politically favored nor as well equipped as the 6th SS Panzer Army. However, the 5th Panzer Army did have an edge in leadership as it was under the command of General der Panzertruppen (General of Armored Forces) Hasso von Manteuffel, who was an expert in mechanized warfare from the Eastern Front. Manteuffel had a reputation for meticulous planning and daring execution, along with a flair for independent thinking that had led to trouble in the past with his superiors. As a technical expert, he still retained enough of a reputation to be trusted with a supporting role in the grand plan. Though second in power to 6th SS Panzer Army, the 5th Panzer Army still represented considerable mobile strength. Four Panzer Divisions and one Panzer Brigade were supported by five Volksgrenadier (People's Grenadier) divisions. Supporting these mobile fighting forces were numerous artillery, antiaircraft, and rocket bombardment units.
After being informed of the nature of the offensive in a meeting with Hitler, von Rundstedt and Model on 27 October 1944, Manteuffel proceeded to place his personal imprint on the grand plan. At first he supported Model's and Rundstedt's attempt to narrow the scope of the operation to the means that Army Group B could bring to bear. The offensive could not equal the strength of the 1940 invasion of the west. The number of vehicles and particularly the number of supporting aircraft would be lacking. Therefore, Manteuffel supported what came to be called the “small solution”, a limited envelopment that would destroy the American First and Ninth armies. Manteuffel referred to this plan as the “little slam”, a title from his love of contract bridge, as opposed to Hitler's “grand slam” plan for the occupation of Antwerp. However, Hitler would not hear of any abbreviation of his goals, so Antwerp remained the official objective, and Manteuffel had to content himself with minor tactical changes.
While detailing the deployment of his forces along the Westwall opposite the American lines, Manteuffel performed an extensive reconnaissance of the positions on the German 5th Panzer army front. Based on these observations, performed while disguised in an infantry colonel's uniform, Manteuffel suggested some changes to the attack plan. These changes involved limiting or eliminating the artillery bombardment in areas where American forces were in the habit of withdrawing for the night, or where they were so widely spaced as to allow German troops to advance around them during the night before the attack. He also suggested using searchlights reflecting light indirectly from the clouds to illuminate the advance in the winter darkness preceding the dawn. Hitler agreed to these changes.
In planning for the actual attack, Manteuffel had divided his 5th Panzer Army into three corps composed of infantry, tanks, and supporting artillery. The main effort, or schwerpunkt, would consist of XLVII Panzer Corps and LVIII Panzer Corps advancing west across the River Our at Ouren from the south or left flank of the German army front. They would then occupy the transportation center of Bastogne, before crossing the Meuse river at Namur. The third group, LXVI Corps, would advance west on either side of the Schnee Eifel. This northernmost, or right wing, element would flank and begin an envelopment of the American forces occupying fortifications on the Schnee Eifel and then converge on the town of Winterspelt. From there, LXVI Corps would cross the Our river and occupy St. Vith on the first day of the attack. LXVI Corps was the weakest of the three corps, with no attached tank division or motor transport, but did include an attached assault gun battalion. The Panzer Lehr Division (Armor Demonstration Division) and the Führer Begleit Brigade (Führer Escort Brigade) were to be held in reserve, with the Führer Begleit only usable with Model's express permission. Manteuffel's preference for the "little slam", or limited solution, was reflected in the absence of planning beyond reaching the Meuse River.
LXVI Corps comprised two Volksgrenadier divisions. Of the two, the 18th Volksgrenadier Division had been in the area the longest, since October, and was composed for the most part of a Luftwaffe (German Air Force) field division with additional troops from the Kriegsmarine (German Navy). This division was commanded by Colonel Hoffman-Schönborn and had been formed in Denmark in September. The 62nd Volksgrenadier Division, which was under the command of Colonel Friedrich Kittel, was formed from the remnants of the 62nd Infantry division, which had been destroyed on the Eastern Front, supplemented by Czech and Polish conscripts, most of whom could not speak German. General der Artillerie Walter Lucht, commander of LXVI Corps, regarded the 18th Volksgrenadier as the more reliable of the two, due to its familiarity with the local terrain, and its German composition. For this reason he trusted the 18th with the most complex components of the plan, and gave it more transport equipment.
The 18th Volksgrenadier Division would have the main role, the Schwerpunkt, in a series of envelopments that would cut off the units in the American line and lead to a final convergence of the 18th and 62nd Divisions on St. Vith. Manteuffel also made it clear that LXVI Corps's advance would depend on what the Germans called Stoßtrupptaktik (thrust troop tactics). This system of attack relied on special shock companies of 80 men that would utilize the rough terrain of the Ardennes to bypass strongpoints and seize key bridges, crossroads, and high ground. Manteuffel also set up a special mechanized combat engineer battalion using halftracks and self-propelled assault guns to clear road blocks and allow for fast flanking attacks.
American deployment and fortifications: 24 October to 15 December 1944
While Manteuffel's LXVI Corps was gathering for the drive west, the U.S. 1st Army was preparing an attack of its own. In order to advance into Germany, the American high command realized it would have to control the dams that regulated water flow in the Roer River. The attack on the critical dams would be made by the 2nd Infantry Division. This veteran organization had fought its way across Europe from Normandy to the Schnee Eifel. In the process, it had occupied the German fortifications of the Westwall and set up fortifications to hold the ridgeline of the Eifel. In order to free-up the 2nd Division for the attack, its place in the defensive line was to be taken over by the newly arrived 106th Infantry Division.
The 106th Division began replacing the 2nd Infantry Division in the area of St. Vith and the Schnee Eifel on 10 December 1944. Despite the wishes of Major General Walter M. Robertson, commander of the 2nd Division, the 106th Division would also be deployed for an attack eastward, with most of its force isolated on the Schnee Eifel. In addition, in order not to alert the Germans of the change in divisions, the 106th could not bring any equipment forward and had to rely on equipment left behind by the 2nd Division. The 106th Division came out worse in this deal, for the 2nd had picked up extra communications gear, weapons, and vehicles in the course of its travels across Europe for which the 106th had no equivalent, so the 2nd took most of their equipment with them. The 106th had also suffered significant personnel changes, since sixty percent of its troop strength had been used to make up for higher than expected losses in units already in Europe. These losses had been made up from troops taken from disbanded small units, air cadets in training, and divisions not moving immediately to Europe. The effect of disruptions in organization, training, and equipment made the division relatively ineffective as a combat unit. The American high command believed that the static nature of the Ardennes area would allow time for the 106th to correct its deficiencies.
The 106th Division did have supporting units on its flanks and the area of the Losheim Gap to the north. After many requests from Robertson, the headquarters of the 14th Cavalry Group, commanded by Colonel Mark A. Devine, Jr., was moved into the area. Supporting the 14th were the 820th Tank Destroyer Battalion, with twelve 3” towed anti-tank guns, and the 275th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, with 18 M7 Priest Self-Propelled Howitzers. The headquarters group also brought with it a second cavalry squadron to screen the Losheim Gap, which was on the left flank of the 106th Division. While the two cavalry squadrons, the 14th and 18th, did not represent a lot of firepower, they did set up fortifications in small villages in the area. This transformed them into isolated strong points guarding road intersections. Most of the supporting firepower came from General Middleton, commander of the American VIII Corps, who arranged for eight of his thirteen reserve artillery battalions to support the area of the Schnee Eifel and the Losheim Gap, the central area of his front line. In late October, the 9th Armored Division had also been added to VIII Corps as a reserve, and part of the division had been moved up to support the 2nd Infantry Division's attack on the Roer River dams.