Evening star., 1944-12-31
Capture of Liege by Germans
Miqht Have Added Years to War
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carried only the names of five
worn-out infantry divisions in the
area from the Monschau Forest to
Trier.
This failure was one of the great
contributing factors to German sue
cess. Another was an attitude which
had grown up among Allied officers,
from the field to the high command,
that the Germans were beaten and
were incapable of a great offensive
This feeling led to carelessness in
professional defensive measures such
as laying extensive minefields be-
hind their own lines, preparing pos
sible road blocks and planning a
complete defensive system.
Allied Defenses Weak.
The armies as whole were only
offensive minded and gave little or
no thought to defense. One whole
sector of the American front was
regarded as a rest" area, for new
or battle worn divisions.
1t is easy to note the change now,
where every sector has been pre-
pared feverishly for a defense in
| depth
Meanwhile, the American Of
fensive to the north was making
little progress in the Aachen area,
and Won Rundstedt was able to
fend off this attack easily while
preparing to snatch the initiative
| farther south for the first time
since the Normandy landings.
That the Germans were fully
informed on the American attitude
has been revealed by prisoners and
captured notices to commanders
One of these German advices to
lower commanders read:
In view of his (American) inten-
tions east of Aachen and heavy
losses there the enemy has occupied
the Eiffel front only very weakly
These units are only capable of
strong resistance If the enemy sue
ceeds in bringing reserves from the
north quickly at risks. AS learned
from experience, it is assumed that
the enemy will not quickly recover
from his unexpected reverses."
Part of Report Correct.
While the first part of this report
cannot be denied, it turned out that
Gen. Eisenhower was not as slow
as expected.
On the morning of December 16
the Germans struck. They sent out
two spearheads. one led by the 1st
SIS Adolf Hitler Panzer Division
south of St With, the other by the
18th SIS Hitler Jugen Panzer Divi-
sion north of st. With. These were
what the Germans called recon-
naissance in force" They were
heavily armored combat teams de-
signed to hit terrific punch on a
narrow front and go as far as they
could
At the same time the Germans
ordered local attacks all the way
from Monschau to Trier to divert
attention from the main blow.
These two combat teams of two
Panzer divisions met with uneXpect-
ed success. They burst through the
thin American defenses and in the
first "a hours the spearhead to the
north had made salient 10 miles
wide and miles deep. The one to
the south of st. With, executing a
pincers move to the north, had gone
almost as well, penetrating 5 miles
on a smile front.
Local Attacks Succeed.
Local attacks north of Trier also
found soft spot in the American
lines in the direction of Bastogne.
Through these three gaps Won
Rundstedt put on the pressure. The
next day the north and south spear
heads Joined just east of St. With.
making one salient II miles deep
and 20 miles wide.
The road junction of St. With was
vital to the Germans, who made a
determined effort to take it, but the
combat command of the 7th Armor-
ed Division under Brig. Gen. Bruce
Clarke, Syracuse, N. Y, had reached
that Belgian town in an -all-night
race, and put up fierce resistance
with the aid of regiments which
had been overrun by the Nazi
thrust
This was the first of the famous
stands Of sheer courage that de-
layed the Nazi rush and, in the
long run, saved the situation.
The LIST and 18th Nazi SIS Di-
visions had other and bigger fish in
the fire, however, and bypassed st.
With to the north in their rush to-
wards Liege.
Drive Toward Liege.
The 18th headed northwest to
drive through Bullingen to Buten-
bach and then, on secondary roads,
towards Spa and Liege. The first
headed west toward Malmedy, |
Stavelot and st. Oumont in three
forked drive with the same OBJ
jectiye.
At the same time in the south, |
through a weak spot north Of Trier,
another German force drove Z miles
toward Bastogne through an ever
larger hole in the American lines.
The third day, December Is, was
the first of the critical days.
The 18th, plunging northwest on
he shortest route to Liege, ran head
on with the veteran American lst /
Infantry rushing south. The meet
ing came just south Of Butenbach,
and the 1st with another American !
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