Evening star., 1945-12-25
Generals Recall Christmos Eve
Tension in Ardennes Last Year
By THOMAS r. HENRY.

Never before In history have the
men in command of American
armies, corps and divisions spent
such tense Christmas Day as they
did in the fog blackness Of the
Ardennes and Eifel last year.
Some of the men In command in
the Ardennes now are on duty in
Washington-Gen. Omar N. Brad
ley, 1t. Gen. j. Lawton Collins and
Maj. Gen. Clarence r. Huebner, 1t.
Gen. william s. Simpson, who COM
manded the 9th Army in Holland, ]
also is In Washington. Today they
recalled their experiences Of Christ
mas, 1914.
A year ago the commanding gen.
erals in the Ardennes did not know
what enemies were hidden In the
darkness of the cathedral aisles of
the great evergreen forests which
surrounded them, or from what di-
rectioh would come the black tanks, !,
invisible in the blackness, which
were cropping like the sinewy fingers
Of stranger to find the throat Of
the lst Army, Liege.
At that time Won Rundstedt had
failed In his first, primary objective,
but it was too much to hope that he
would abandon such advantages as
he had gained. The problem was:
From what direction would he try to
exploit them?
Pretense NJ Cheer
BY Christmas Day the tension was
somewhat eased on the 1st Army
front. In the most ideal Christmas
setting imaginable there was even q
pretense at Christmas cheer In some
Of the divisional and regimental
command posts, but it was artificial
cheer in tpe tenseness of the fog
and the atmosphere of melancholy
over the loss Of beloved comrades.
For Gen. Bradley, commander Of
the 18th Army Group, Christmas,
1914, was like any other day"
His primary problem at the time,
he recalls, was the relief Of Bastogne.
Tension was somewhat relaxed. The
German drive had been stopped in
the north. The lst and Sd Armies
held the shoulders of the salient.
Unless he could capture Bastogne,
Won Rundstedt was through.
Army group billets were at the
Alpha Hotel, across the square from
the railroad station in Luxembourg
City. For 10 days the officers had
planned q real Christmas party for
the children Of the city. A lot of
Red Cross girls had been brought in
to entertain the youngsters.
Bradley Confident.
Despite the unexpected situation,
1t was decided to 60 ahead with the
party anyway, although the enemy
was only few miles away. At that
time, Gen. Bradley explains, he had
the fullest confidence in the ability
Of his troops to hold the Germans,
had never contemplated moving his
headquarters, and had not the
slightest fear for the safety Of the
children.
He knew at the time, he empha-
sizes, that there was little chance of
the Germans with Bastogne in our
hands, getting any farther.
For 1t. Gen. Collins. commander
Of the 7th Corps Of the lst Army
last December "a was one Of the
most tense and, he says, "the most
interesting" day of the war.
When the bulge started, the 7th
Corps was in reserve. On Decem-
Der 10 it had been switched from
the vicinity Of Aachen to the town
Of Marche in the Ardennes. Gen
Collins instructions from Gen
Bradley were that he was not to be-
come involved in the fighting at
that time more than was absolutely
necessary. 1t was essential to pre-
serve the strength Of the 7th Corps
for any big counterpunch the
necessity for which might develop
Still, three of its divisions, the S4th,
18th and Sd Armored, had to be
deployed to protect the northern
side of the salient.
Germans Behind Corps.
At about this time the I'd Armored
Division under command of Maj.
Gen. Ernest Harmon had heen