St. Vith

Units of the 2nd SS Panzer Divsion crossed the Our river north of St. Vith on the morning of 16 December 1944. American units were completely suprised by the onslaught and scrambled to draw their equipment. The first tank units …

1944-12-16

W03

Units of the 2nd SS Panzer Divsion crossed the Our river north of St. Vith on the morning of 16 December 1944. American units were completely suprised by the onslaught and scrambled to draw their equipment. The first tank units to meet the German attack were ad hoc formations of the 7th Armored Division, thrown together from whatever men and vehicles were available.

Saint-Vith, Belgium

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. The town of St. Vith, a vital road junction, was close to the boundary between the 5th and Sepp Dietrich’s Sixth 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.

Wikipedia: Battle of St. Vith

German

American