Fällt Bastogne?
Also in Noville impenetrable fog reigned. Suddenly it cleared at 10.00 and German tanks appeared. Major Desobry and his men destroyed 14 of them and prepared for a counterattack. Bayerlein, who also was in contact with the U.S. task force O'Hara, thought to have fallen into a trap and and turned north. First Longvilly ought to be taken, then Bastogne. Bayerlein set for the attack at 14.00. At the same time without the ones involved knowing, the 26. Volksgrenadier Division attacked the town. A little later a 88 mm battery which actually intended to go round Longvilly joined in. This concentric attack was too much for the U.S. units. Along the entire length of the road Bastogne -- Margaret all 200 tanks and vehicles were destroyed by 15.30. The survivors fled to Bastogne. Only task force Cherry held out.
During that time Eisenhower had called for a meeting at headquarters. He called upon Patton to swing his army to the north and to cut off the German wedge. On the question how fast he could carry out the turn he answered "within 48 hours". This was impossible in the eyes of many general staff officers under the given circumstances. But Patton had provided by having drawn up three plans to solve the Ardennes problem and assigned code words to each of these solutions with his chief of staff General Gay. Because of this code word it was possible for Gay to start the turn within minutes.
Jochen Peiper was already surrounded in Stoumont at this time. His combat group was attacked from three sides. From the north tanks of the 3. U.S. Armoured Division approached his positions, the 82 Airborn Division already in Cheneux, pushed from the south and from the west infantry of the 30. Division and tanks under order of Captain Berry closed in.
December 20, the 18.Volksgrenadier Division and the "Führerbegleitbrigade" attacked St Vith from the east and the 62. Volksgrenadier Division from the south.Two fresh Panzer division, 2.and 9. SS Panzer Divisions closed the ring around St. Vith. German infantry managed to penetrate to the town on December 21. The Americans gave up the town and built a new defence line behind St. Vith.
On December 22, Peiper and his task force held Stoumont and clung to the sanatorium Saint Edourd already shot to pieces. 250 children, nuns, priests and refugees were in the cellars and like a miracle nothing had happened to them till now. In the evening 20 surviving SS soldiers had left the ruin to the Americans when they were attacked with tanks over the right wing. They retreated to La Gleize.
By that time Sepp Dietrich tried to break through the lines of the 99. US Division near the Elsenborner hills into a northern direction. Heavy artillery fire with 88 mm and 105 mm guns as well as multiple rocket launchers prepared the attack. Then Tigers and Panthers went for the lines of the 99.and 2. Division supported by infantry, destroyed the U.S. rearguards in Bütgenbach and opened up a 800 m wide gap. This one, however, was closed by soldiers of the 1. U.S. Division again. Dietrich lost over 100 tanks and thousands of his soldiers but the American front did not collapse. Finally, Dietrich gave up.
Bastogne was encircled by December 22. About five kilometres south of Bastogne four Germans with a flag of truce approached the American lines by 11.30. They had a message for McAuliffe which culminated in the demand to surrender the town. MacAuliffs answer: "Nuts ". The reply did not take too long. German bombers bomb-carpeted Bastogne.
December 23 was the first clear day since the beginning of the battle. The U.S. Air Force seized the opportunity and used every available fighter-bomber to stop the German troops from the air. Also Bastogne gained from the weather and was supplied with ammunition and reinforcements from the air for the first time since the siege.
Jochen Peipers situation in La Gleize got more and more dangerous. No fuel, hardly any ammunition and the non-stop artillery fire tugged at the nerves of his soldiers. He had called for an escape approval already the day before. It was finally granted that evening. Almost at the same time six B 26 of the 322. Bomber Group approached the city Malmedy. They had mistaken Malmedy for Lommersum and dropped their bombs on a target cramped with civilians and US soldiers.
