20.12.1944 Siege of Bastogne begins

An important success was scored by the American army at Bastogne in Belgium. They were able to break through the German defenses, even while battling illness and frostbite. The weather helped, and by December 26, 1944, it had calmed down.

When the first snow fell on December 20, 1944, the siege of Bastogne began. It was one of the most important engagements of the Battle of the Bulge. German guns began to shell Bastogne, and they also targeted the surrounding woods. That's where the American paratroopers were dug in. The German army cut off American supplies when one of the airborne divisions was surrounded and had nowhere to run.

The next day, snowfall complicated the situation. German tanks could not move forward, but shelling of Bostogne continued. The American soldiers suffered as the walls of their bunkers were covered with ice. They had no way to keep warm and many of them became ill. In addition, they fought frostbite. Yet the 101st Airborne Division continued to repel the Nazi attack, even sending out reconnaissance and combat patrols.

The local command of the German troops asked for a withdrawal from the Ardennes. They did not have the strength to continue the campaign, but Hitler insisted on further deployment of reserves. "At Bastogne, the situation remained critical. Repeated attacks forced the defenders to retreat, but never defeated them. On 22 December, Lüttwitz sent parliamentarians with a white flag and called on the besieged garrison to surrender on honorable terms. But he got a legendary reply from General Anthony McAuliffe - Bullshit. The sector commander under him tried to explain it in a way that the Germans would understand, but he could only translate it as - Go to hell," writes B. H. Liddell in his book Hart's History of World War II.

The next day, the expected fine weather arrived, allowing the first supplies to be flown in and many Allied air raids on German positions to take place. Patton's troops, meanwhile, were moving out of the yin. Even so, the situation continued to be desperate, for on Christmas Day, 24 December, the perimeter lines had been reduced to 26 kilometers.

Even Lüttwitz's troops were receiving small reinforcements and supplies while they were increasingly being crushed by the Allied air force. On Christmas Day the Germans tried hard, but their tanks, which had recently arrived, suffered heavy losses and did not break through the defenses. In addition, the U.S. 4th Armored Division of Patton's 3rd Army fought its way in from the south and joined the garrison at 4:45 p.m. on 26 December. The siege was broken. All the defenders of Bastogne were eventually decorated by General Eisenhower.

Sources: https://historycollection.com/, B. H. Liddell, History of World War II, www.wikipedia.org