St. Vith
The final attack on "St. Vith" was belatedly launched on 21 December, but by then "St. Vith" had become more of a liability than an asset. Attacks from the 1st SS Panzer Division had cut the Rodt – "St. Vith" road, and the advance of the LVIII Panzer Corps south of "St. Vith" threatened to close a pincer around the entire "St. Vith" salient at "Vielsalm", eleven miles west of "St. Vith", trapping most of the First Army. The German attack began at 3 PM with a heavy artillery barrage. The climax of the attack was, once again, the wandering German 506th Heavy Panzer Battalion. Six of these titans attacked from the "Schoenberg" – "St. Vith" road against American positions on the "Prumberg". Attacking after dark at 5 PM the Tiger tanks fired star shells into American positions, blinding the defenders, and followed up with armor-piercing shell, destroying all the American defending vehicles. Around 9:30 PM, Clarke, who had earlier stated, “This terrain is not worth a nickel an acre to me.” ordered American forces to withdraw to the west. German forces poured into the town, happily looting the remaining American supplies and equipment, in the process creating another traffic jam that prevented pursuit of the American forces.