Battle of Clervaux The Battle of Clervaux or the Battle for Clervaux ( in English sources , Clervaux is occasionally called by the German name Clerf ) was part of the Battle of the Bulge and took place in the town of Clervaux in northern Luxembourg . It lasted from December 16 to 18 , 1944 . German forces encircled numerically inferior American forces , primarily from the 110th Regiment and the 109th Field Artillery Battalion , and , after heavy fighting , forced them to surrender . The battle has been referred to as the Luxembourg " Alamo " . Background . Striking at 5 : 30 a . m . on Saturday , 16 December , the Germans achieved almost total surprise in breaking through Allied lines , beginning what is commonly called the Battle of the Bulge . Four years earlier , the Germans had launched their great attack of 1940 through the same region , with Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt in command , as he was once again in this campaign . His goal was to separate the American forces from the British and Canadian forces , and take the important port city of Antwerp . By late afternoon the Germans had 14 divisions operating in the Ardennes , but the number would swell to an estimated 25 divisions with 600 tanks and 1 , 000 aircraft . The U . S . 106th Division , located in the most exposed positions along the corps line , and the 28th Division took the brunt of the attack . The 106th was later described as being " newly arrived and unpracticed " , while the 28th had recently suffered heavy casualties in fighting to clear enemy forces from the Hürtgen Forest . For their part , the German forces were hampered by a lack of adequate preparatory reconnaissance . There was also a mismatch between the quality of their armored and SS formations , which fought well , and that of their regular infantry units , which consisted largely of poorly trained and poorly motivated replacements . Major General Troy H . Middleton , headquartered in Bastogne , was awakened by a guard and could hear the guns from there . Throughout the day , the 106th was able to hold its position , but additional German units poured in during the night . Much of the 106th was on the German side of the Our River in an area known as the Schnee Eifel . The division ' s commander , Major General Alan Jones , concerned about his two regiments east of the river , called Middleton . The conversation was interrupted by another call and then resumed . At the end of the conversation Middleton told an aide that he had given his approval to have the two regiments pull back to the west side of the river . Jones , on the other hand was convinced that Middleton had directed these units to stay and was further convinced of this by a written order from earlier in the day but just received . As a result of the miscommunication , the pullback did not occur and the two regiments were ultimately surrounded with most of the men captured on 17 December . While two of the 28th Division ' s regiments survived the German onslaught intact , and were able to inflict significant losses on German infantry formations , the 110th Regiment , commanded by Colonel Hurley Fuller , was directly in the path of the massive advance . Battle . German forces of the Fifth Panzer Army under Hasso von Manteuffel ' s command , primarily from the 2nd Panzer Division , 116th Panzer Division and the 126th Infantry Division ( another account suggests the 2nd Panzer , Panzer Lehr Division and the 26th Volksgrenadier Division ) attacked the American 110th Regiment from the 28th Division on December 16 . The 110th ' s regimental headquarters , and most of its strength , were in the town of Clervaux . The unit also received support from a tank company from the 9th Armored Division as well from the 103rd Engineer Battalion under Captain Parrett , and 109th Field Artillery Battalion under Lt . Col . Robert E . Ewing . Despite this support , German forces had significant superiority in the region , and the engagement was described as a " couple of infantry companies and one company of light tanks versus substantial elements of an entire panzer corps . " Fuller described the opposing forces as " two Panzer divisions and one infantry division . " On the 17th , the Germans invaded the town from multiple directions and Fuller requested permission to withdraw , but he was denied it . Eventually , the American troops found themselves encircled . The Americans refused to surrender and bloody street combat ensued . Organized resistance in the town ceased by the evening of the 17th , but the American defenders still held Clervaux Castle . Finally , on the morning of the 18th , the American troops under Captain Clark Mackey , commander of the 110th ' s Headquarters Company , and Captain John Aiken , out of ammunition and with the castle on fire , surrendered to the Germans as the German tanks broke into the castle compound . Some troops made it out of Clervaux but many , like Colonel Fuller , were taken prisoner before they reached the Allied lines . Though the 110th Regiment and the 109th Field Artillery Battalion were shattered , the stubborn resistance offered by them and other VIII Corps units greatly slowed the German timetable .