Battle of Vianden The Battle of Vianden ( occasionally called the Battle for Vianden Castle ) took place November 19 , 1944 in the small town of Vianden in northern Luxembourg , and was one of the most important battles of the Luxembourgish resistance against Nazi Germany during World War II . The Battle of Vianden remains notable for the heavy losses of the 250 Waffen - SS ( 23 killed ) , with only light casualties ( 1 dead , 6 wounded ) of the 30 Luxembourgish militia members that defended the town . Prelude . While the Grand - Duchy of Luxembourg had been liberated by United States Forces in September 1944 , the German troops pulled back to Germany and took up new defensive positions along the border rivers Moselle , Sauer and Our . As soon as the country was liberated , Luxembourgish resistance members formed a militia across the country who were equipped with arms and ammunitions by the United States Army . Most of the Luxembourgish militia took up positions at the German border and occupied the important observation posts along the Rivers Our and Sauer . One of the most important posts was Vianden Castle from which the Luxembourgers could look deep into German territory and report German troop movements to the Allied Forces . First clash : November 15 . On November 15 , Luxembourgish militia members spotted a German patrol between Wiesen and Bettel and decided to strike . 5 of the 11 German soldiers were killed by the Luxembourgers who themselves suffered no casualties . After this incident the German command decided to recapture once and for all the castle of Vianden , an important observation post from which the Luxembourgish resistance reported German troop movements to the Allied forces . The leader of the resistance , Victor Abens , evacuated the civilians of Vianden but nevertheless decided that his 30 militia men should remain in the town and in the castle to defend it . In the following days , the U . S . Army supported the Luxembourgers in Vianden with weapons and ammunition and left the town afterwards . The attack : November 19 . On Sunday morning , November 19 , the Germans attacked the town with 250 soldiers of the Waffen - SS . After bombing the town and the castle with grenade launchers the German soldiers began to attack the castle itself which was defended and fortified by 4 members of the Luxembourgish militia . ( Philippe Gleis , Misch Schneiders , Will Weyrich and Friedrich Heintzen ) . After heavy fighting around the castle , 6 German soldiers managed to open the gate of the castle and enter it , only to be involved in a house - to - house fighting inside the castle . After conceding several casualties , the Germans withdrew from the castle and concentrated their force on the town , but the strong resistance from the militia made them abandon their plans and withdraw to the other side of the river to Germany . Aftermath . 18 German soldiers were killed during the battle with more being wounded . The 30 men of the Luxembourgish militia suffered only one dead , ( Leon Roger ) with 3 being heavily wounded ( Philippe Gleis , Jean Roger Corring and Michael Schneiders ) and 3 more lightly wounded . When the Germans launched the Battle of the Bulge one month later , the 30 men of the Luxembourgish militia , being hopelessly outnumbered , abandoned Vianden and withdrew to the unoccupied south of the country . Most of them continued their engagement by helping the U . S . Forces during the Battle of the Bulge . References . The data , facts , numbers and the order of events of this article are from the book : " Raths , Aloyse ( 2008 ) . Unheilvolle Jahre für Luxemburg - Années néfastes pour le Grand - Duché . pp . 401 – 403 "