Joint Operation Siege of Bastogne

DATE: 13/12/2025

TIME (GMT): 19:00

ERA: WW2

MAP(S): Bastogne 1944

TYPE: COOP

TEAMSPEAK: ts1.biaarma.com

GAME: Arma 3

EVENT: Official

AUTHOR(S): Aris,Lord and Vuk for Brothers in Arms

SLOTS: 80 / 159

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RATING: (49)

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The siege of Bastogne was an engagement in December 1944 between American and German forces at the Belgian town of Bastogne, as part of the larger Battle of the Bulge. The goal of the German offensive was the harbor at Antwerp. In order to reach it before the Allies could regroup and bring their superior air power to bear, German mechanized forces had to seize the roadways through eastern Belgium. Because all seven main roads in the densely wooded Ardennes highlands converged on Bastogne, just a few miles away from the border with neighboring Luxembourg, control of its crossroads was vital to the German attack.

The German offensive began on 16 December. Although outnumbered, the regiments of the 28th Infantry Division delayed the German advance towards Bastogne, allowing American units, including the 101st Airborne Division, to reach Bastogne before the German forces surrounded the town and isolated it on 20 December. Until 23 December, the weather prevented Allied aircraft from attempting to resupply Bastogne or from performing ground attack missions against German forces. The siege was lifted on 26 December, when a spearhead of the 4th Armored Division and other elements of General George Patton s Third Army opened a corridor to Bastogne and American victory at Battle of The Bulge.

Hasso von Manteuffel—commanding the 5th Panzer Army—gave Heinrich Freiherr von Luttwitz XLVII Panzer Corps responsibility for capturing Bastogne, before crossing the Meuse near Namur. Luttwitz planned to attack a 11 km front with three divisions,the 26th Volksgrenadier and the 2nd Panzer would lead the assault, with the Panzer-Lehr-Division behind them.

 

The Allied forces were gathered into small groups at major Luxembourgish villages, with outposts along the river manned only during the daytime. Being too thin to maintain an even battle line, the defenders focused their attention on the four roads that crossed the Our.

 On the evening of 15 December, the 26th Volksgrenadier established an outpost line on the west bank of the Our, something they did routinely during the nighttime. At 03.00, engineers began ferrying men and equipment over the river where they began assembling at the departure point, quite close to the American garrisons. At 05.30, the German artillery began bombarding the American positions, knocking out telephone lines, as the infantry started to advance. The Germans attacked swiftly, their advances made possible by sheer weight of numbers. In the Luxembourgish village of Weiler, one American company, supported by some mortars and a platoon of anti-tank guns, lasted until nightfall against repeated attacks from multiple German battalions. German engineers completed bridges over the Our before dark, and armor began moving to the front, adding to the Germans vast numerical superiority. But in the end, the Germans were significantly delayed by the American defenders—their plan to cross the Clerf River by nightfall on the first day was delayed by three days.

On 19 December, the 28th Division command post transferred to Bastogne from Wiltz, a large Luxembourgish town to the southeast. At Wiltz, the division put up its last stand 3rd Battalion of the 110^th supported by armor and artillery—arrived at the town around noon of that day. The 44th Engineer Battalion was set up north of the town, but they were soon overwhelmed and retreated into the town, blowing up a bridge behind them.

This small force numbering no more than 500 in total held out until the evening, when their position became completely untenable and they retreated to the west. With the 110th Infantry completely destroyed as an effective combat unit, it would be up to the rest of the Allied army to defend Bastogne.

The 101st Airborne formed an all-round perimeter using the 502nd PIR on the northwest shoulder to block the 26th Volksgrenadier, the 506th PIR to block entry from Noville, the 501st PIR defending the eastern approach, and the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment scattered from Marvie in the southeast to Champs in the west along the southern perimeter, augmented by engineer and artillery units plugging gaps in the line. The division service area to the west of Bastogne had been raided the first night, causing the loss of almost its entire medical company, and numerous service troops were used as infantry to reinforce the thin lines. CCB of the 10th Armored Division, severely weakened by losses to its Team Desobry, Team Cherry and Team OHara in delaying the Germans, formed a mobile fire brigade of 40 light and medium tanks.

Three artillery battalions were commandeered and formed a temporary artillery group. Each had twelve 155 mm howitzers, providing the division with heavy firepower in all directions restricted only by its limited ammunition supply. Col. Roberts, commanding CCB, also rounded up 600 stragglers from the rout of VIII Corps and formed Team SNAFU as a further stopgap force.

Many of the artillery guns were used in a direct fire role against enemy armor, with over 2000 rounds used for this purpose on December 20. The division s anti aircraft batteries were also moved into the front lines to fire against enemy armor to augment their 57mm anti-tank guns

As a result of the powerful American defense to the north and east, XLVII Panzer Corps commander Gen. von Luttwitz decided to encircle Bastogne and strike from the south and southwest, beginning on the winter solstice, the night of 20 21 December. German Panzer reconnaissance units had initial success, nearly overrunning the American artillery positions southwest of Bastogne before being stopped by a makeshift force.

All seven highways leading to Bastogne were cut by German forces by noon on 21 December, and by nightfall the conglomeration of airborne and armored infantry forces were recognized by both sides as being surrounded.

The American soldiers were outnumbered approximately 5 to 1 and were lacking in cold-weather gear, ammunition, food, medical supplies, and senior leadership.Due to the worst winter weather in memory, the surrounded U.S. forces could not be resupplied by air nor was tactical air support available due to cloudy weather.

However, the two Panzer divisions of the XLVII Panzer Corpsafter using their mobility to isolate Bastogne, continued their mission towards the Meuse on 22 December, rather than attacking Bastogne with a single large force. They left just one regiment behind to assist the 26th Volksgrenadier Division in capturing the crossroads. The XLVII Panzer Corps probed different points of the southern and western defensive perimeter in echelon, where Bastogne was defended by just a single airborne regiment and support units doubling as infantry. This played into the American advantage of interior lines the defenders were able to shift artillery fire and move their limited ad hoc armored forces to meet each successive assault.

It is the morning of December 20, 1944. The great German offensive in the Ardennes is in its 4th day.The weather remains bad, meaning the Air Force cannot operate.The 101st Airborne Division was far from the front where it rests,however, since the day before yesterday, it began moving with whatever vehicles were available towards Bastogne to reinforce its defense.Bastogne has been attacked by 3 German Divisions: from the North the 2.Panzer Division, from the East the 26.Volksgrenadier Division and from the South the Panzer Lehr Division.Fortunately, they

have not managed to completely surround the city since the resistance of parts of the 28th Infantry Division and the 10th Armored Division is strong and has caused them heavy losses.