Tag: Peiper
17 December: Breakthrough
Early in the morning, around 4 o’clock, Peiper, together with 1./FJR 9, launched the attack on Honsfeld, with Panther and M4 Sherman tanks. The latter were part of operation “Greif” in which German soldiers disguised as Americans tried to cause confusion. Although the day before the Fallschirmjäger still objected because of the many fortified positions,…
16 December: At a Snail’s Pace
It is 5:20 in the morning when artillery fire from the 6th Army begins on the forward US positions, 10 minutes before H hour. Infantry of the 3rd Fallschirmjäger-Division and 12th Volksgrenadier-Division precede the Kampfgruppe to break US resistance along the main line of attack. To this end, they would advance through the ‘Losheim Gap’,…
15 December: The Eve of Battle
78 years ago today, marks the eve of Germany’s last major offensive in the west; the Ardennes Offensive. Initially planned as a “Wacht am Rhein” for November, the offensive was postponed until mid-December. By this time, it was renamed Herbstnebel. Now that poor terrain condition on the Eastern front had forced a pause in the…
