The Battle of the Bulge Chapters Forces Units Bibliography EN/FR
01
Day 17 of the Offensive

Monday, 1 January 1945

Clear enough to permit visual targeting for air operations; clearing weather facilitated German air operations but also permitted Allied tactical air support.

New Year’s Day 1945 marked the start of the Allied counter-offensive in the Northern Sector, with the US First Army attacking to push back the German salient and link up with Third Army near Houffalize. The Luftwaffe launched Operation Bodenplatte against fifteen Allied airfields, achieving tactical surprise but suffering catastrophic losses of 277 aircraft and 60 experienced pilots. The Germans also launched Operation Nordwind against the US Seventh Army in northern Alsace, forcing the thinly-stretched army to fall back.

The Front Line — Monday, 1 January 1945
Traced from: U.S. 12th Army Group, Situation Maps, 1200 hrs daily, 16 Dec 1944 – 25 Jan 1945. Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division, G5701.S5 (LoC ict21195–ict21235). Approximate positions; interpolated between key dates.

VII Corps launched its offensive eastward toward Houffalize, with XVIII Airborne Corps protecting its left flank. Near Chenogne, American forces committed a reprisal killing of German prisoners, reflecting the brutalisation of combat following German atrocities during the offensive.

Northern Shoulder
Elsenborn Ridge
The front along the Elsenborn Ridge remained static. The 6. SS-Panzerarmee was considered strategically defeated. Eleven hostile aircraft strafed and bombed the 2nd Infantry Division area during Operation Bodenplatte; several were shot down by 462nd Anti-Aircraft Battalion gunners.
Bra and the Salm
The 82nd Airborne Division regrouped in preparation for the counter-offensive, with the 504th, 508th, and 517th Parachute Infantry assuming the entire division front. The 628th Tank Destroyer Battalion was attached to the division, and the 14th Cavalry Group advanced eastward toward the Siegfried Line.
Stoumont
The 30th Infantry Division maintained its positions in the Stoumont sector. The front in this area remained quiet.
Central Sector
Hotton–Houffalize Axis
The US First Army began its attack to push back the northern flank of the German salient. VII Corps launched its offensive eastward toward Houffalize, with XVIII Airborne Corps assigned to protect its left flank. The British XXX Corps was scheduled to relieve the 84th Infantry Division.
Southern Shoulder
Chenogne
American soldiers from B Company, 21st Armored Infantry Battalion, 11th Armored Division, lined up German prisoners of war in a field and machine-gunned them. The victims were members of the Führerbegleitbrigade and the 3. Panzergrenadier-Division. No one was ever prosecuted for the killings.
Bastogne–Moircy Front
The 87th Infantry Division took Moircy and Jenneville. The 11th Armored Division attacked toward Hubermont while CCB cleared Chenogne. The 6th Armored Division took Neffe, Bizory, and Mageret but then lost Mageret. The 35th Infantry Division partially cleared Lutrebois.
Allied Command
Operation Bodenplatte
The Luftwaffe launched its last major air operation on the Western Front, a massive coordinated attack against fifteen Allied airfields. Of 1,035 serviceable aircraft, 277 were lost along with 60 experienced pilots—losses the Luftwaffe training system could no longer replace. German Flak units, not advised of the operation, engaged their own aircraft.
Operation Nordwind
The Germans launched Operation Nordwind against the US Seventh Army in northern Alsace. A two-pronged enemy thrust forced the 106th Cavalry Group, 44th Infantry Division, and 100th Infantry Division to give ground. The 44th Infantry Division bore the brunt of the attack, which penetrated positions north-west of Rimling.