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The Globe At War |
On December 16, 1944 German armor and infantry slammed into American lines beginning the infamous Battle of the Bulge. The Germans had massed three full armies hoping to surprise thinly spread American forces in the rugged Ardennes Forest and then drive to the sea at Antwerp Belgium thereby trapping the bulk of the Anglo-American led armies in northwest Europe. The German plan would end in failure but not before causing tremendous Allied casualties, completely disrupting Allied plans for driving further into Germany during the winter of 1944-45 and creating several anxious moments at Eisenhower's headquarters. Just over one week after the German attack had begun it reached its climax only a few miles east of the Meuse River - the critical defensive barrier separating the Germans from the relatively open and easily traversable terrain to the river's west. Near the town of Celles the German 2nd Panzer Division, a formidable force that had begun the campaign with 92 tanks and assault guns, was stopped and then decimated by relentless Allied air attacks, decreased mobility caused by an acute lack of fuel and the aggressive use of the American 2nd Armored Division. In December of 1944 the American 2nd Armored Division ranked as one of the most powerful armored divisions in the world. During 1942 it had been organized as a "heavy armored division" and on December 15, 1944 the 2nd Armored fielded 203 medium tanks while operating 13% under the division's TO&E. Attached tank destroyers only made the division more potent. As a result, the American 2nd Armored Division would lose only 27 M4 and M5A1 tanks during the fighting around Celles while the German 2nd Panzer Division lost over 80 tanks. By January 1, 1945 the 2nd Panzer Division could put only 26 medium tanks into the field; having been destroyed as an effective fighting division during its encounter with the American 2nd Armored Division. The fighting near Celles ranks among the largest armored battles the US Army fought during the Second World War. Picture Courtesy of US National Archives (111-SC-197925) |
M36 Jackson Tank Destroyer from Btry C, 702nd Tank Destroyer Battalion, 2nd Armored Division (on dug-in ramp used to provide elevation for hurling shells at long range enemy targets - in this case across the Roer River on December 16, 1944). |