The Battle of the Bulge: From Calumet to Bullingen in 725 Words
On December 16, 1944, 200 hours ahead of Christmas, the Germans launched their last major offensive of WW2, Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein, and so the Battle of the Bulge was on. The offensive was intended to halt Allied use of the Belgian port of Antwerp and split the Allied lines, allowing the Germans to encircle and destroy four Allied armies, thus forcing a negotiated peace treaty in the Axis powers’ favor.
After the brilliant, daring and deadly invasion of Normandy in June 1944, the Allies moved across northern France into Belgium during the summer but lost momentum in the autumn. Apart from an abortive thrust to Arnhem, Netherlands, in Operation Market Garden, the efforts of the Allied armies in western Europe during September and October 1944 amounted to little more than a process of nibbling.
Meanwhile, the German defense was being continuously reinforced with such reserves as could be relocated from elsewhere, joined by the freshly raised forces of the Volkssturm (“home guard”). German numbers were also bolstered by those troops who had managed to safely withdraw from France. A general offensive launched in mid-November by all six Allied armies on the Western Front gained little ground at great costs; continued efforts merely exhausted the attacking troops.
The Germans’ initial counter-attack involved 406,000 men, 1,214 tanks, tank destroyers, assault guns and 4,224 artillery pieces. First overwhelming an 80-mile section of the American lines held by 80,000 or so men, the Huns stormed westward, making quick work of the Americans hampered by poor supply, ill and fatigued troops, Allied air power grounded by fog and plain old complacency.
The Germans also deployed English-speaking commandos who infiltrated American lines sowing havoc and suspicion among the American troops as to the identity of fellow soldiers; General Omar Bradley himself had to prove his identity three times by answering questions about football and Betty Grable.
Turning to another snowy, forested region dotted with tall pines, the mining town of Calumet, Michigan was well represented at the BOTB. The 107th Engineers Battalion, originally known as the Calument Light Guard, was folded into the 254th Engineers and saw significant action. Less than 24 hours into the attack, the Battalion was stripped of its heavy machinery and ordered to dig in near the town of Bullingen, Belgium.
As part of the larger contingent of B Company, at 0600 on December 17 these young Yoopers, among others, witnessed four flares shot into the bluish sky over the Siegfried Line; they were colored red, white and blue. Within minutes, the sound of tracked vehicles began to move toward B Company’s lines. Were these friends or foes?
Hampered by twilight visibility, personnel could not determine the identity of the hulking, approaching armor until commands shouted in German were heard in the chilly air. A single Panzer and six half-tracks offloaded their infantry, and pushed to within 15 yards of the B Company line; despite the Yank’s light armament and absence of anti-tank weaponry, the Germans were repelled, taking heavy losses.
Failing a second time, on their third attempt to overtake the Americans near Bullingen, with dawn turning to day, the Germans came on again with 12 panzers and swarms of Huns. Rolling over B Company’s fox-holed men, the Germans failed yet again to overrun B Company’s position. The Americans were ordered to fall back, and while many troops of the Company were ultimately captured, their near-irrational bravery slowed the advance along that line long enough for airpower and artillery to eventually do their worst to the German columns.
Returning to the full action, the Wermarcht was ultimately repulsed, which is perhaps why you’re not reading this account in German, rather than English. The Axis advance was blunted and beaten at great cost; US Department of Defense estimates show American forces suffered 89,500 casualties including 19,000 killed, 47,500 wounded and 23,000 missing. The German official figure for all their losses on the Western Front during the battle was 81,834 casualties, and other estimates range between 60,000 and 125,000.
Their last Wehrmarcht reserves were now gone, the Luftwaffe had been shattered, and remaining forces throughout the West were being pushed back to defend the Siegfried Line; but for four more months of death and destruction, their war was over.
So, dear reader, if you think you’re having a difficult holiday season, please think again, and here endeth the lesson.
