The Battle of the Bulge — Notebook Chapters Order of Battle People Places Units Bibliography EN/FR

The Battle of the Bulge

A Research Notebook

A personal notebook for understanding the German Ardennes offensive and the Allied response, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945. Browse the battle day by day, follow individual units across the front, locate the fighting on maps, and see how forty-one days of combat unfolded across the three sectors of the Ardennes.

This is a work in progress. Daily pages are added as research develops. Narrative chapters will follow.

Day by Day

41 days, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945. Click any day to read more.
Phase I: The German Offensive 16–26 December 1944
Day 1
16
Sat
Wacht am Rhein
05:30. Three German armies attack along an 80-mile front. Total surprise. The Schnee Eifel is penetrated; the Losheim Gap is breached. American units fight isolated delaying actions across the Ardennes.
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Day 2
17
Sun
Peiper Breaks Through
Kampfgruppe Peiper breaks through at Buchholz, overruns Honsfeld, captures fuel at Büllingen, reaches Baugnez. The Malmedy massacre. 7th Armored Division races toward Saint-Vith. 101st Airborne alerted for Bastogne.
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Day 3
18
Mon
Bridges Blown at Trois-Ponts
Peiper forces the Stavelot bridge, is stopped at Trois-Ponts (bridges blown), turns north to La Gleize. Eisenhower releases SHAEF reserve. 82nd and 101st Airborne move by truck to the Ardennes.
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Day 4
19
Tue
Peiper attacks Stoumont, the westernmost point of his advance. Saint-Vith perimeter under heavy pressure. 101st Airborne reaches Bastogne just ahead of the German encirclement. Eisenhower meets commanders at Verdun.
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Day 5
20
Wed
504th PIR attacks at Cheneux, sealing the Amblève valley. Bastogne is surrounded. German pressure intensifies on the Saint-Vith horseshoe.
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Day 6
21
Thu
Saint-Vith falls. Defenders withdraw westward through Commanster. Bastogne garrison refuses German ultimatum: “Nuts!” La Gleize pocket tightens around Kampfgruppe Peiper.
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Day 7
22
Fri
Weather clears. First Allied air support in six days. Patton’s Third Army begins wheeling north toward Bastogne. Peiper confined to La Gleize, fuel and ammunition critically low.
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Day 8
23
Sat
The High-Water Mark
Clear skies. Massive Allied air strikes. C-47s resupply Bastogne by parachute. 2nd Armored Division engages 2. Panzer-Division at Celles, three miles from the Meuse. The German high-water mark in the west.
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Day 9
24
Sun
Peiper abandons his vehicles and breaks out of La Gleize on foot with 800 survivors. 2nd Armored Division destroys the Celles pocket. Luftwaffe bombs Bastogne on Christmas Eve.
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Day 10
25
Mon
Christmas at Bastogne
German armour attacks Bastogne from multiple directions on Christmas morning. All attacks repulsed. 2. Panzer-Division destroyed at Celles. The offensive has failed to reach the Meuse.
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Day 11
26
Tue
Bastogne Relieved
4th Armored Division breaks through to Bastogne from the south. The siege is lifted, though the corridor remains narrow and under fire.
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Phase II: Containing the Bulge 27 December 1944 – 7 January 1945
Day 12
27
Wed
Patton widens the Bastogne corridor. 6. Panzerarmee shifts to defensive operations on the northern shoulder.
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Day 13
28
Thu
German counterattacks on the Bastogne corridor. Montgomery consolidates the northern shoulder and prepares for a counter-offensive.
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Day 14
29
Fri
Continued fighting around Bastogne. German attacks on the Elsenborn Ridge repulsed.
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Day 15
30
Sat
5. Panzerarmee launches a final attempt to take Bastogne from the south-east. Heavy fighting in freezing conditions.
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Day 16
31
Sun
German New Year’s Eve attacks around Bastogne. The year ends with the offensive stalled on all fronts.
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Day 17
1
Mon
Bodenplatte
Operation Bodenplatte: Luftwaffe attacks Allied airfields at dawn, destroying 300+ aircraft but losing 280 irreplaceable pilots. Nordwind launched in Alsace.
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Day 18
2
Tue
German forces make a final push on Bastogne from the east. Temperatures plunge below −20°C.
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Day 19
3
Wed
First Army launches a limited counter-attack in the Manhay sector. Frostbite casualties mount on both sides.
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Day 20
4
Thu
Fighting around Bastogne continues. Infantry fights in deep snow and whiteout conditions.
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Day 21
5
Fri
German attacks on Bastogne weaken. OKW begins considering withdrawal.
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Day 22
6
Sat
Churchill asks Stalin to accelerate the Soviet winter offensive to relieve pressure in the west.
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Day 23
7
Sun
Last significant German attacks around Bastogne. The offensive capability of 5. Panzerarmee is spent.
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Phase III: Reducing the Bulge 8–25 January 1945
Day 24
8
Mon
First Retreat
Hitler authorises limited withdrawal. Model pulls forces back from the western tip of the Bulge. The first German retreat of the campaign.
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Day 25
9
Tue
Allied forces attack from north and south to pinch off the salient. Slow progress through frozen terrain and minefields.
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Day 26
10
Wed
Third Army and First Army converge on Houffalize. German rearguards fight tenaciously in fortified villages.
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Day 27
11
Thu
Parker’s Crossroads. Task Force Grubin fights a desperate stand at Baraque de Fraiture.
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Day 28
12
Fri
Soviet winter offensive begins on the Eastern Front. German reserves can no longer be shifted west.
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Day 29
13
Sat
Continued Allied pressure on the northern and southern flanks of the Bulge.
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Day 30
14
Sun
German withdrawal accelerates. Demolitions and booby traps slow Allied pursuit.
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Day 31
15
Mon
Main Attack
First Army launches its main attack southward from the Elsenborn and Malmedy area. British XXX Corps attacks from the west.
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Day 32
16
Tue
Houffalize
First and Third Armies link up at Houffalize. The Bulge is cut in half.
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Day 33
17
Wed
Methodical reduction of the remaining salient. German forces withdraw toward the Siegfried Line.
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Day 34
18
Thu
Saint-Vith recaptured by the 7th Armored Division.
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Day 35
19
Fri
Allied advance continues eastward. Villages change hands in sub-zero conditions.
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Day 36
20
Sat
German forces fall back to pre-offensive positions along the Our and Sauer rivers.
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Day 37
21
Sun
Fighting withdrawal continues. Last pockets of German resistance west of the Siegfried Line.
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Day 38
22
Mon
Allied forces close on the German border. Scattered rearguard actions.
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Day 39
23
Tue
Final clearing operations in the Ardennes. American units reach the original front line of 16 December.
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Day 40
24
Wed
Isolated fighting along the Our river. The salient is effectively eliminated.
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Day 41
25
Thu
End
The Battle of the Bulge officially ends. Allied forces have regained all lost ground. Estimated 190,000 casualties on each side. Germany’s last strategic reserve in the west is spent.
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Order of Battle
The forces committed to the Ardennes: who attacked, who defended, and when reinforcements arrived.
Units
Division and regiment profiles: composition, strength, commanders, and where they fought.
Chapters
Narrative accounts of specific engagements, drawn from primary and secondary sources.