Siege of Bastogne

Siege of Bastogne
	Part of the Battle of the Bulge (World War II)
	; 101st Airborne Division troops watch as C-47s drop supplies over Bastogne, 26 December 1944
Date	20–26 December 1944
Location	Bastogne, Wallonia, Belgium50°00′00″N 5°43′17″E / 50.0°N 5.7214°E
Result	American victory
Belligerents
United States	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Anthony McAuliffe (101st Airborne); William L. Roberts (Combat Command B (CCB), 10th Armored Division); Creighton Abrams (37th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division); George S. Patton (Third Army);	Hasso von Manteuffel (5th Panzer Army); Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz (XLVII Panzer Corps); Wilhelm Mohnke (I SS Panzer Corps);
Units involved
Initially parts of: 101st Airborne Division; CCB of the 10th Armored Division; CCR of the 9th Armored Division; 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion; 35th and 158th Combat Engineer Battalions; 58th and 420th Armored Field Artillery Battalions; 755th and 969th Field Artillery Battalions of VIII Corps; Team SNAFU;	Initially parts of: 26th Volksgrenadier Division; Panzer Lehr Division; 2nd Panzer Division;
Strength
101st: 11,000 enlisted + 800 officers; Remaining units: 11,000+; Total: 22,800+ men (initially);	54,000 men
Casualties and losses
3,000+ total casualties (2,000 in the 101st)	Unknown
	class=notpageimage\| Location within Belgium

The siege of Bastogne (French pronunciation: [bas.tɔɲ] ^ⓘ) 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.

^ Bando p. 188
^ John C. Fredriksen (2011). Fighting Elites: A History of U.S. Special Forces. ABC-CLIO. p. 91. ISBN 978-1-59884-810-6.
^ Hatfield, Ken (2003). Heartland Heroes: Remembering World War II. University of Missouri Press. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-8262-6335-3.
^ Bando, Mark (2011). 101st Airborne: The Screaming Eagles at Normandy. Zenith Imprint. p. 188. ISBN 978-1-61060-256-3.
^ Avery, Derek; Lloyd, Mark (1989). History of the United States fighting forces. Chevprime. p. 103. ISBN 978-1-85361-107-0.

[Bando_p._188-1] Bando p. 188

[2] John C. Fredriksen (2011). Fighting Elites: A History of U.S. Special Forces. ABC-CLIO. p. 91. ISBN 978-1-59884-810-6.

[3] Hatfield, Ken (2003). Heartland Heroes: Remembering World War II. University of Missouri Press. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-8262-6335-3.

[google188-4] Bando, Mark (2011). 101st Airborne: The Screaming Eagles at Normandy. Zenith Imprint. p. 188. ISBN 978-1-61060-256-3.

[5] Avery, Derek; Lloyd, Mark (1989). History of the United States fighting forces. Chevprime. p. 103. ISBN 978-1-85361-107-0.

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