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“Peiper must be stopped!” Lieutenant General Courtney M. Hodges, commanding the U.S. First Army, looked up from his maps and saw chaos everywhere. All across the Ardennes Forest, American forces were reeling from a surprise German counterattack that struck on the morning of December 16, 1944. While some frontline units stubbornly held their ground, others simply disappeared—annihilated by the Nazi juggernaut. One marauding enemy column particularly worried General Hodges. This was Kampfgruppe Peiper, the spearhead of the German 1st SS Panzer Division. Named for its commander, SS Lt. Col...

Hitler's Last Gamble: The Battle of the Bulge Ended Nazi Germany In the Bulge, the Germans underrated the tenacity, logistical capability, and courage of the GIs. “When all is said and done,” observed General Montgomery, “I shall always feel that Rundstedt was really beaten by the good fighting qualities of the American soldier.” Shivering and stamping their feet in the snow, three American soldiers warmed their hands over a small fire at an observation post. They were weary, dirty, and hungry, and a long way from home. Three other GIs shuffled along to relieve them after a while, an...

FILE - In this Dec. 27, 1944, file photo, American infantrymen of the 4th Armored Division fire at German troops, in an advance to relieve pressure on surrounded U.S. airborne units, near Bastogne, Belgium. In 2020, the world marked the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. Sterling Publishing, in cooperation with The Associated Press, released an illustrated book called “Victory: World War II In Real Time,” filled with original AP dispatches from the time to mark the occasion and scores of original news photos. (U.S. Army via AP) Monday, December 21, ...

2020/12/22 03:19 FILE - In this Dec. 27, 1944, file photo, American infantrymen of the 4th Armored Division fire at German troops, in an advance to relieve pressure on... FILE - In this Dec. 27, 1944, file photo, American infantrymen of the 4th Armored Division fire at German troops, in an advance to relieve pressure on surrounded U.S. airborne units, near Bastogne, Belgium. In 2020, the world marked the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. Sterling Publishing, in cooperation with The Associated Press, released an illustrated book called “Victory: World ...

15 December 1944 was one of the coldest winters Europe had seen in nearly 20 years, one of many factors slowing the Allied armies in their drive across the continent. This temporary pause gave the German army time to complete their planning and preparation for a massive counter attack code named “Wacht am Rhein” or Watch on the Rhine, an operation that that was Hitler’s brainchild. His stated goal was to pierce the thinly held First Army, VIII Corps line between Monschau and Wasserbillig with Army Group B, commanded by Field Marshall Model. Hitler had ambitious goals ...