Order of Battle
The progressive commitment of forces to the Ardennes, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945.
Germany attacked with twenty divisions against six. Over forty-one days, both sides fed reinforcements into the battle. The Allies, drawing on deeper reserves and shorter supply lines, gradually reversed the numerical balance. This timeline tracks each division-level formation as it entered the fight.
German
American
British
Phase I: The German Offensive
6. Panzerarmee — Dietrich
1. SS-Pz-Div LSSAH
12. SS-Pz-Div HJ
3. FJD
12. VGD
277. VGD
272. VGD
326. VGD
3. PzGren-Div
150. Pz-Bde Skorzeny
5. Panzerarmee — Manteuffel
2. Pz-Div
Pz-Lehr-Div
116. Pz-Div
18. VGD
26. VGD
62. VGD
560. VGD
7. Armee — Brandenberger
5. FJD
352. VGD
276. VGD
212. VGD
16 Dec
Day 1
20
6
V Corps
2nd Infantry Division
99th Infantry Division
VIII Corps
106th Infantry Division
28th Infantry Division
4th Infantry Division
9th Armored Division
05:30 — Three German armies attack along an 80-mile front. Total surprise.
Kampfgruppe Peiper breaks through Losheim Gap. Malmedy massacre at Baugnez.
17 Dec
Day 2
20
9
ARM
7th Armored Division
→ St. Vith
INF
1st Infantry Division
→ Elsenborn Ridge
INF
30th Infantry Division
→ Malmedy–Stavelot
Peiper forces the Stavelot bridge. Stopped at Trois-Ponts.
18 Dec
Day 3
20
13
ABN
82nd Airborne Division
→ Werbomont
ABN
101st Airborne Division
→ Bastogne
ARM
10th Armored Division (Combat Command B)
→ Bastogne
ABN
517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team
→ Ardennes
PZ
2. SS-Panzer-Division Das Reich
II. SS-Pz.Korps second wave
PZ
9. SS-Panzer-Division Hohenstaufen
II. SS-Pz.Korps second wave
19 Dec
Day 4
22
14
ARM
3rd Armored Division
→ XVIII Abn Corps
Eisenhower meets commanders at Verdun. Patton promises to attack in 48 hours.
Bastogne encircled. 116. Pz.Div reaches Houffalize.
20 Dec
Day 5
22
15
BRI
British XXX Corps
→ Meuse line backstop
Montgomery takes command of US First and Ninth Armies north of the salient.
PZ
Führer-Begleit-Brigade
→ St. Vith sector
“Nuts!” — McAuliffe rejects German surrender demand at Bastogne.
22 Dec
Day 7
23
19
ARM
2nd Armored Division
→ VII Corps, Celles
ARM
4th Armored Division
→ III Corps, Bastogne relief
INF
26th Infantry Division
→ III Corps offensive
INF
80th Infantry Division
→ III Corps offensive
Patton’s III Corps attacks northward toward Bastogne.
2. Panzer-Division three miles from the Meuse at Celles. German high-water mark in the west.
23 Dec
Day 8
23
21
INF
84th Infantry Division
→ Rochefort–Hargimont
INF
75th Infantry Division
→ Manhay sector (RCT)
Weather clears. First Allied air support in six days. C-47s resupply Bastogne.
PG
Führer-Grenadier-Brigade
→ Bastogne perimeter
24 Dec
Day 9
24
21
Peiper abandons vehicles, breaks out of La Gleize on foot with 800 survivors. 2nd Armored destroys Celles pocket.
German armour attacks Bastogne on Christmas morning from multiple directions. All attacks repulsed. The offensive has failed to reach the Meuse.
25–26 Dec
Days 10–11
24
21
4th Armored Division breaks through to Bastogne from the south. The siege is lifted.
Phase II: Containing the Bulge
VG
9. Volksgrenadier-Division
→ Bastogne perimeter
VG
167. Volksgrenadier-Division
→ southern shoulder
27–28 Dec
Days 12–13
26
22
ABN
17th Airborne Division
→ Meuse sector
Patton widens Bastogne corridor. German counterattacks on the corridor.
5. Panzerarmee launches final attempt to take Bastogne from the south-east. German New Year’s Eve attacks.
29–31 Dec
Days 14–16
26
25
ARM
11th Armored Division
→ VIII Corps, Bastogne
INF
87th Infantry Division
→ VIII Corps flank
ARM
6th Armored Division
→ III Corps, Bastogne
Operation Bodenplatte: Luftwaffe attacks Allied airfields, destroying 300+ aircraft but losing 280 irreplaceable pilots.
1 Jan
Day 17
26
25
Temperatures fall below −20°C. Frostbite casualties mount on both sides.
Last significant attacks around Bastogne. Offensive capability of 5. Panzerarmee is spent.
3–7 Jan
Days 19–23
26
27
INF
83rd Infantry Division
→ VII Corps attack
ABN
551st Parachute Infantry Battalion
→ attached 82nd Abn
First Army launches limited counter-attacks. Allied force strength overtakes German.
Phase III: Reducing the Bulge
Hitler authorises limited withdrawal. Model pulls forces back from the western tip. The first German retreat of the campaign.
8–12 Jan
Days 24–28
26
29
INF
35th Infantry Division
→ III Corps, Bastogne
INF
90th Infantry Division
→ III Corps
Soviet winter offensive begins on the Eastern Front. German reserves can no longer be shifted west.
German withdrawal accelerates. 2. SS-Panzer-Division withdrawn from combat, operationally spent.
13–15 Jan
Days 29–31
24
31
BRI
British XXX Corps
attacks from the west
INF
75th Infantry Division
→ Grand Halleux (full commitment)
First Army attacks southward from Elsenborn and Malmedy.
German forces in full retreat toward the Siegfried Line.
16 Jan
Day 32
22
31
First and Third Armies link up at Houffalize. The Bulge is cut in half.
Surviving divisions withdraw behind the Siegfried Line. Germany’s last strategic reserve in the west is spent.
Saint-Vith recaptured (18 Jan). American units regain the original front line of 16 December. The battle ends 25 January 1945.
Over forty-one days, the Ardennes became the largest and bloodiest battle fought by the United States Army in the Second World War. An estimated 190,000 casualties on each side. The German Army never recovered the initiative in the west.
~30
German divisions committed
~31
Allied divisions committed