BFT 2013 Ardennes

Thanx for sharing the photos,pistol!!

 

Wow.!
An amazing tour.
Sorry if I missed it.....Did you see/photo The Wereth Memorial.?
Thanks

 

Denny - no, we did't move further south than Lanzerath and Buchholz Station.

 

Krinkelt-Rocherath:

There was so much to tell about the battle for the 'Twin villages' of Krinkelt and Rocherath (17 - 20 December 44), that we almost forgot to take pictures. BTW the same accounts for the battle fought by the 99th Div along the Belgian-German border. Since that was my part of the program, I prepared some maps for the sectors of the 393rd and 394th Infantry, but they are too large to post them here.


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In the town center next to the church is a panel with information about the battle for Krinkelt-Rocherath. Looking again at the picture, I now see that the info is given in Dutch, French and German (the three languages spoken in Belgium), but not in English. This is my translation of the text:

Krinkelt-Rocherath, which was re-incorporated into Germany on 10 Mai 1940 [eastern Belgium, roughly the area Eupen - Malmédy - St.Vith was taken from Germany after WW1; hence the people still speak German in this part of the country], was taken on 13 September 1944 by the Americans. Since then the front was very close-by and on 6 October 1944 the civilian population was evacuated to Malmédy.

When the Ardennes Offensive started on 16 December 1944, the villages lay in the path of two German divisions: the 277 VG Div and the 12th SS Pz Div. These had to achieve a breakthrough to Elsenborn and Liège. The soldiers of the 2nd and 99th US Divs held on to Krinkelt and Rocherath till, on 20 December 1944, a new defense had been established at Elsenborn. Both sides suffered heavy losses during the fighting in the woods near Rocherath. The battle then moved into the villages. Each crossroads, every single house and especially the area around the church was bitterly contested. On the road between the water-tower and the church many a knocked out and burned out armored vehicle was left behind.

As the US troops retook Krinkelt and Rocherath on 30 January 1945, the villages were almost entirely destroyed by heavy shellfire.

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Second part of the info panel

 

Krinkelt - Rocherath

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Diagonally opposite the church is the spot of the photograph on the panel. Looking in the direction of Wahlerscheid. Somewhat further up the road is a road fork, where a secondary road leads up to the watertower.

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At the end of January the US troops re-entered the Twin Villages. A film-reel containing shots of Krinkelt can be found here (warning: film contains graphic images of burned crew- members of the 12th SS Panther-tank): http://www.britishpathe.com/video/invasion-scenes-europe-56/query/wildcard

 

Across the road from the church are the memorials of the 99th and 2nd US Inf Divisions:

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Lausdell:

Approximately halfway between Ruppenvenn and the village of Rocherath, along the main track leading from the woods to the village, at Lausdell stands a sturdy farm complex, called the Palm farmhouse. In this area the 2nd US Infantry Division (the 1st Bn, 9th Infantry), made a desperate stand against the German onslaught. After breaking through the defense of the 3rd/23rd in the afternoon of the 17th, the German battlegroup Müller, consisting of the bulk of the SS-Pz Gren Regt 25, supported by the SS-Pz Jg Abt 12, tried to penetrate into Rocherath. The 2nd Division needed the place for its withdrawal towards the Elsenborn Ridge. The only available road led through the villages. At that moment elements of three Infantry Regiments, including the 395th Regt CT, still stood north of the Twin Villages. Having heard of the German penetration in the Krinkelter Wald, Robertson, GOC 2nd Infantry Division, who was closely monitoring the withdrawal of his units just north of Rocherath (at Rocherather Barracken), in late afternoon of the 17th personally directed the 1st Bn, 9th Infantry, under Lt.Col. William D. Mc Kinley, towards Lausdell. Lt.Col. McKinley was to defend the area of Lausdell and hold it at all costs.

In the evening of 17 Dec the 1st Bn, 9th Infantry, was heavily attacked by the KG Müller. With the aid of heavy artillery support the 1st Bn succeeded in repelling all attacks, though the leading enemy contingent - a couple of Pz Jg IV and about a platoon of SS-Pz Grenadiers - slipped past the defense unseen and penetrated into Rocherath. Here it raised havoc all through the night, while the 38th Infantry attempted to set up a defense in the villages. The bulk of KG Müller however was staved off. The Germans realized that a major effort was required by the 12th SS to break through. Since access to Losheimergraben (Panzerrollbahn C)still was denied, the 12th SS decided to exploit the 'breakthrough' in the Krinkelterwald. During the night KG Müller was reinforced by the armored element of the 12th SS: the I./SS-Pz Abt 12, which had to be relinquished by KG Kuhlmann. The tank battalion had a mixed composition of two companies of Pz Mk IV's and Pz Mk V (Panthers), with each 17 tanks. After plodding all night over muddy fire breaks in the Krinkelter Wald, the tank battalion formed up in the Ruppenvenn area in the early hours of the 18th, for a coordinated tank & infantry assault on Rocherath. This formidable force hit the thin infantry line of the 1st Bn at 0645, in hazy and drizzling weather with poor visibility.


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Map of the US positions taken up around Lausdell

 

Lausdell:

Forward positions of 1st Bn at Lausdell. B Co was positioned along the small hedgerow to the right of the track, while A Co extended the line towards the left on the other side of the track. In early morning of the 18th, Panthers and MK IVs of the 12th SS rumbled up through the foggy fields on either side of the track in an effort crack the US lines and finally break loose the 12th SS armored thrust to the Meuse (Please note that by this time KG Peiper, the running mate of the 12th SS, already had reached Stavelot, deep in the American rear).

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The Palm farmhouse at Lausdell today (with courtesy of Street View):
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Stavelot - La Corniche

That brings me to Stavelot: Late in the evening of the 17th, it was already dark, KG Peiper approached a rocky outcropping above the village, known as 'La Corniche'. Here the leading element of the KG Peiper, a Panther tank accompanied by some infantry, was challenged by Pte Goldstein. He was on sentry duty, guarding the roadblock his unit, the 202nd Engineer Bn, had just established in the bend of the road behind 'La Corniche'.


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This is a picture of the spot where Goldstein stood guard (looking west). When he heard a tank silently approaching, with its engine in low gear, and slowly rolling downhill, Goldstein stepped out into the road and shouted: "Halt". The Engineer road block - a couple of AT mines, a bazooka and a light machine-gun - was established just around the corner in the road at the far end of the picture.

 

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The 'La Corniche' was and still is a real bottleneck in the southeastern approach of Stavelot. To the right of the road the ground drops steeply off toward the river Amblève.

 

View of the La Croniche from Stavelot:

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The chemin du chateau is the main road leading to the bridge site. This route was taken on the morning of the 18th by KG Peiper in the attack on Stavelot.

 

Did you go into Stavelot and beyond?

 

KB - Yes, we did. But unfortunately we took only a few pictures, as again we came under time pressure. The material you've send me was very useful.

Attached a picture of the Town square in Stavelot:

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Same spot view to the NW:
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Killed German soldier at the market place:
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Memorial stone in the SW corner of the town square. The stone is also visible on the picture in the forelast post. This is just one of many of these kind of marker stones, which are placed all around the limits of the German salient in the Ardennes. This one marks the limit of the advance of the 1st SS in Stavelot on the 18th. The Market Place was retaken by the 1st Bn, 117th Infantry (Lt.Col.Ernest Frankland). From here the 1st Bn and its tanks went to work and reclaimed all of the town down to the Ambleve River.

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An halftrack (Hummel) of the 1st SS knocked out at the same corner.

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When Peiper learned about the fiasco at Stavelot, he hurriedly despatched his reconnaissance battalion (KG Knittel) back to the town. Moving along the road leading from Trois Ponts, Knittel ran into Co A, 117th Infantry on the western outskirts of Stavelot. From then on he could make no further progress.

Knittel established his CP at the Fme Antoinne along the road to Stavelot. The war damage is still visible on the gable that faces to Stavelot.
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Truly a brilliant thread Pistol!!! Thank you very much for sharing

 

Skyline Drive: Do you know the story of these (Belgian) stone markers in # 36. I've searched for them on the internet, but couldn't find anything.

 

See ATB Battle of the Bulge page 493.
Set up by Touring Club of Belgium , started to promote idea of marker stones in 1948 & established a fund for it.
First stone (stone number 6) erected May 8th 1949 near Stourmont, last stone on June 26th 1953.

Gimme 5 minutes to scan page & I'll add it here for you to read.

pages 494 & 495 have all the stones on a map.too big to scan.