Wacht Am Rhein: The Planning and Preparation for Operation Christrose

By Timothy J. Thompson M.A.

At 5:30 AM, Saturday morning, December 16, 1944, more than 286,000 German soldiers, supported by 970 tanks and assault guns, and augmented by 1,900 artillery pieces, ferociously assaulted a small number of resting and recuperating American divisions along an 85 mile front of the Ardennes Forest in Southern Belgium. The resulting campaign would be one of the most dynamic, spectacular and brutal ever fought in the history of warfare.

The Americans would forever refer to it as: The Battle Of The Bulge. The Germans called it: The Great Ardennes Counter Offensive.

In order to launch such an audacious attach in the first place, Nazi Germany had to draw upon every available means and resource they had left. And, they did. Beginning in the second week of September 1944, manpower, weapons, and supplies from all over the Reich were gathered up and secretly massed together in the Eifel, just opposite the Ardennes.

Considering the tremendous shellacking the Germans had taken throughout the summer of 1944, this was nothing less than a feat of astronomical proportions. In the Book, Wacht Am Rhein, author Timothy J. Thompson, describes in detail exactly how this entire process unfolded. He takes the reader through Hitlers stunning announcement in the Wolfs Lair on September 16, all the way up through the final preparations for the great attack. It is spell-binding and spine tingling.

There are 50 excellent photographs for the readers enjoyment, along with a full and comprehensive index that makes it quite easy to locate little bits of information at the drop of a hat. It is a book that you wont be able to put down.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 17, 2008
• ISBN: 9781469111094

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Copyright © 2008 by Timothy J. Thompson M.A.

ISBN:   Hardcover   978-1-4363-6018-0

Softcover   978-1-4363-6017-3

ISBN:   ebook   978-1-4691-1109-4

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Contents

AUTHOR’S NOTE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

FOREWARD

ABSOLUTE DEVASTATION

THE SEPTEMBER MIRACLE

GERMANY’S REPRIEVE

ALLIED SUPPLY DILEMMA

HITLER’S GRANDIOSE SCHEME

DECOYS AND DECEPTION

THE GERMAN

FORCES ASSEMBLE

THE FIFTH, SIXTH,

AND SEVENTH

GERMAN INFANTRY

SUPER WEAPONS

HITLER EXHORTS

HIS SUBORDINATES

FINALIZING

THE PREPARATIONS

U.S. FORCES IN

THE ARDENNES

THE BACKBONE OF

AMERICAN ARMOR

AMERICAN SMALL

ARM MASTERPIECE

THE DARING

GERMAN BATTLE PLAN

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ENDNOTES

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I HAVE JUST MADE A MOMENTOUS DECISION. I SHALL GO OVER TO THE COUNTERATTACK. HERE, OUT OF THE ARDENNES, ACROSS THE MEUSE, WITH THE OBJECTIVE; ANTWERP.

ADOLF HITLER

SEPTEMBER 16 1944

WOLF’S LAIR HEADQUARTERS

THIS BATTLE IS TO DECIDE WHETHER WE SHALL LIVE OR DIE. I WANT ALL OF MY SOLDIERS TO FIGHT HARD AND WITHOUT PITY. THE BATTLE MUST BE FOUGHT WITH BRUTALITY, AND ALL RESISTANCE MUST BE BROKEN IN A WAVE OF TERROR. IN THIS MOST SERIOUS HOUR OF THE FATHERLAND, I EXPECT EVERY ONE OF MY SOLDIERS TO BE COURAGEOUS AND AGAIN COURAGEOUS. THE ENEMY MUST BE BEATEN NOW OR NEVER! THUS LIVES OUR GERMANY!

ADOLF HITLER

DECEMBER 12 1944

THE EAGLE’S NEST

TO: MY MOTHER AND FATHER, WHO ALWAYS TAUGHT ME THE VALUE OF A GOOD EDUCATION VERY EARLY ON IN LIFE. THIS BOOK IS GREATFULLY DEDICATED TO BOTH OF THEM-CHARLES JAMES AND CAROLYN JEAN THOMPSON

AUTHOR’S NOTE

I have always been a tremendous admirer of the United States military. Without question, I fervently believe that it is the greatest fighting force on the face of the earth; always has been, always will be.

During my tenure as a Graduate Student at the University of Missouri St. Louis, I wrote for the school newspaper, THE CURRENT. In addition to my many duties there, I produced my own weekly column entitled: THIS WEEK IN HISTORY. I wrote on many subjects to be sure. However, one of my major focuses was upon military history and the greatness of the American soldier in combat, and the greatness of the American nation with regard to military history as well.

One of my chief goals was to show my readers just how important their nation was to world history, and what a profound military past it possessed. This was especially true when it comes to the Second World War. That magnanimous conflict was one of America’s finest hours. The way we closed ranks, came together, rose up as one and crushed the evil forces of Imperial Japan, Fascist Italy, and Nazi Germany was truly mesmerizing.

Yes, we had Allies, and they had enormous contributions toward final victory as well. There is absolutely no doubt about it. However, without the industrial might and massive numbers of American soldiers, the Axis forces would have emerged from the conflict victorious. In many ways, Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany was one step from total European domination. And the Unites States was that one final step. Ultimately, it was our nation and its remarkable citizenry who stopped that deranged lunatic.

Throughout my life, I have published many fine works that I am so very proud of. They are on a variety of intriguing subjects. Having accomplished this, now, I am determined to produce some major works on the greatness of the American fighting soldier, as well as the unmatched and unequaled sacrifices the United States of America has made toward the cause of freedom in this world. This book will serve as the beginning of that endeavor. It will be followed by many more.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In order to produce a work such as this, a person must have an insatiable appetite for history. That is the number one prerequisite. And, I have just that. The reason lay in my upbringing. Very early on in my life, my parents instilled in me the importance of studying, appreciating, and understanding the past. Whether it be leaders, nations, social movements, or world conflicts, my parents wanted me to be aware of it all.

Every Sunday morning at our home on Aldon Road in Boulder Hill, Illinois, we would all sit around in the living room reading Time Life History Books. My favorite one will always be on the Alamo. I was so intrigued by that incredible battle.

So, first and foremost, I would like to thank my parents, Charles James and Carolyn Jean Thompson for teaching me the importance of history.

Secondly, I would like to thank the many sources I utilized during the production of this work. Without question, this includes information from both American and German archives.

Lastly, I would like to thank the American fighting soldier in particular. He was, still is, and will always be the greatest warrior in the history of camobat. There is absolutely no comparison or substitute.

FOREWARD

By September 1 1944, the, once invincible, armies of the Third Reich were very near total collapse. They were being massacred on the Eastern Front by the Soviets, and on the Western Front by the Americans as well.

The year 1944 saw the Nazi Empire shrink by 600 miles in the East, and 540 more in the West. The Romanian Oil Fields at Ploesti had been over run, and the Atlantic Wall smashed. Most of Italy had been liberated, along with the entire Soviet Union.

Berlin, the capital of Hitler’s Germany, had literally been bombed back into the Stone Age. Many other German cities had suffered similar fates. Most German citizens found themselves living in conditions that resembled those of the Middle Ages. Their Fatherland was bobbing and weaving, and teetering on the brink of destruction.

Yet, by mid-December 1944, Nazi Germany was back on its feet again. Miraculously, their, once shattered, forces held the Soviets at East Prussia, Warsaw, and Budapest. In Italy, their hastily assembled Gothic Defense Line stood firm and repelled repeated assaults by both American and British divisions. And, in the West, the Germans had smashed the British 6th Airborne Division at Arnhem and Operation Market Garden right along with it.

They wore down the, once confident, Western Allies in grueling battles of attrition all along the famed Siegfried defense line. They stood fast in the Hurtgen Forest, inflicting massive casualties upon the Americans in the process. They did the same to the Canadians in and around the Schelde Estuary.

Everywhere, the Germans had rebuilt, reformed, and regrouped. Everywhere, they had stopped the Allies. Nowhere was this miraculous turnaround more incredible than on the Western Front.

Since September 1, almost 30 divisions had either been raised from scratch or been refitted to alrming proportions. The vast majority of these were being massed together in a thickly wooded region just opposite of the Ardennes Forest in souther Belgium called, the Eifel.

At dawn on December 16 1944, this entire mammoth force barreled across the Siegfried Line and assaulted a much smaller force of Americans. The resulting engagement would come to be known as, The Battle of the Bulge.

The following work, Wacht Am Rhein, details exactly how the Germans were able to recover from their appalling military disasters during the summer of 1944, assemble an entire army group of nearly 300,000 men, 1000 tanks, and 2000 artillery pieces, and do so in almost complete secrecy.

ABSOLUTE DEVASTATION

The German Army of the Second World War was a very astute fighting force. Back in 1939, they had knocked Poland out in just 27 days of fighting.¹ They had conquered all of Norway in 40 days², and Holland