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158
Close Combat
American tank rolls past wrecked tanks from both armies
reacts quickly,
sending the Seventh
Armored and 101st
Airborne Divisions
to hold the road
junctions at Saint
Vith and Bastogne.
The Germans capture
Saint Vith, but not
before determined
American resistance
further slows the
German attack. The
Germans surround
Bastogne, and the
German commander
sends a demand for surrender. American General McAuliffe sends back a one-
word answer
“Nuts”and the paratroopers settle in to hold Bastogne until they
are relieved.
By Christmas Eve, the German advance is stopped. Fuel supplies are low, and the
fuel dumps they hoped to capture remain out of reach. The Allies begin counter-
attacking on Christmas Day; the next day Patton’s Third Army relieves Bastogne.
Montgomery attacks from the north, cutting off the retreat of many German units.
Finally, the weather clears and Allied fighters and fighter bombers take to the
skies.
Allied aircraft prey on German formations from
the clear winter skies; the Luftwaffe is no longer a
factor. Fighters ravage armored columns and, as
in the disaster at Falaise, they attack anything
with wheels.
While the Germans manage to withdraw some
troops back into Germany, they lose 100,000 men
and 600 tanks. Allied casualties exceed 75,000,
but the last blitzkrieg has been stopped. For his
losses, Hitler has delayed the Allied advance by
six weeks, but his last remaining armored
divisions are destroyed.
American tanks on
the move in Germany