THE TIGERS OF BASTOGNE

On 16 December 1944 at 5.30am in a salient just east of the Belgian/German frontier, dispersed wide along an area known as the Schnee Eifel, green troops of the 106th Golden Lion Division were rudely awakened from their winter sojourn by spectral red, green, amber and white thunder flashes irradiating the misty predawn sky. Moments later they heard the terrifying whine of ‘Screamin meemies’, Nazi ‘Nebelwerfers’ simultaneously belching out multiple mortar shells accompanied by booming artillery that collectively gouged and fractured the frigid earth where they stood. John Schaffner, a scout with 589th Field Artillery Battalion said, “Many rounds exploded real close and showered dirt and tree limbs about, I got down as low as I could and would have crawled into my helmet if my buttons hadn’t gotten in the way.” Shortly after these vulnerable American troops heard the menacing throaty rumble of approaching Tiger and Panther tanks.

“I was in a chateau in Sierck, France, I was told by a runner to return to HQ,” said Clair Bennett, F Company, 90th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (Mechanized). “As we were moving out, we found out that the Germans were attacking Belgium.”

That same day the US 12th Army Group commander General Omar Bradley began to acknowledge fragmentary reports concerning enemy activity in the Ardennes. This didn’t deter him from attending his planned conference with Eisenhower at the Hôtel Trianon Palace in Versailles. The conference was attended by Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder and Generals Walter Bedell Smith, Harold R. Bull (his chief G-3,part of the American military intelligence operations) and Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence British Major General Kenneth Strong. The proceedings were suddenly interrupted when an American deputy G-2 entered the conference room and delivered a message to Strong, who promptly got to his feet and officiously disclosed the subject matter. “Gentleman, your attention please. This morning the enemy counter-attacked at five separate points along Middleton’s VIII Corps boundary in the 1st Army sector.”

The statement was received with hushed exchanges as all officers present began to absorb the news. Bradley displayed his usual incredulity and broke the silence, “Ike this is nothing more than a spoiling attack intended to draw Patton’s troops out of the Saar.” Eisenhower shook his head in disagreement, “This is no spoiling attack Brad.” Then Eisenhower made what was quite possibly one of his most coherent decisions of the whole war when he issued orders to dispatch the 10th and 7th Armored divisions to the Ardennes with all haste. 7th Armored would go to the German speaking Belgian town of St Vith and the 10th Armored were earmarked to get up to Bastogne.

Throughout the ensuing discussion Bradley remained in denial concerning the nature and