St. Vith
As the trap snapped shut on the "Schnee Eifel" on 17 December, rapid change was occurring at the headquarters of the 106th Division in "St. Vith". Brigadier General Bruce Cooper Clarke, leader of Combat Command-B 7th Armored Division had arrived in the morning, with news that his command was on the road to "St. Vith", but would probably not arrive until later that afternoon. This was bad news for Jones, who was hoping for a quick deliverance from his problems by the arrival of organized reinforcements. The situation was not improved by the appearance of a demoralized Colonel Devine with news that German Tiger tanks were right on his heels. With the appearance of German scouts on the hills east of town, Jones decided he had had enough. “I’ve thrown in my last chips.” He told Clarke, and turned over defense of the area to Clarke. Clarke saw his first task as getting his command into "St. Vith", and proceeded to the traffic jams on the "Rodt" – "St. Vith" road to force his CCB into "St. Vith". By midnight of the 17th, he had managed to set up the beginnings of what was called the “horseshoe defense” of "St. Vith", a line of units to the north, east and south of town. These units came mainly from the 7th and 9th Armored Divisions, but included troops from the 424th Regiment of the 106th Division, and various supporting artillery, tank, and tank destroyer battalions.