Weapons of the Battle of the Bulge: From the Photographic Archives of the US Army Signal Corps

By Darren Neely

A showcase of all the weaponry used by soldiers during the Battle of the Bulge. Items featured include rifles, machine guns, mortars, artillery, armored cars, artillery, tanks and more.

The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The offensive was carried out from 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945. It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region between Belgium and Luxembourg spearheaded by the feared Tiger tank. Although the Germans managed to begin their offensive with complete surprise and enjoyed some initial successes, they were not able to seize the initiative on the Western Front and would be pushed back to their starting lines as the weather cleared.

Like many engagements of WW2, the Battle of the Bulge was fought and won by the soldier with the rifle, a machine-gun team, a well-coordinated mortar assault and infantry support weapons. This book will showcase all the weapons used by the soldiers in the Bulge. From rifles and heavy machine guns and mortars and artillery, as well as armored cars, self-propelled artillery and tanks. Weapons of the Battle of the Bulge will show how the battle was fought, and ultimately won, by the western Allies which included the British and Canadians in addition to American forces.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pen and Sword
• Release date: Nov 9, 2023
• ISBN: 9781399001069

Darren Neely

Darren Neely is a military researcher and historian from Maryland, USA. Panzerwrecks has published three of Darren’s books; Forgotten Archives 1, Forgotten Archives 2 and Nürnberg’s Panzer Factory.

Book preview

Introduction

Weapons of the Battle of the Bulge: Through the Eyes of the US Army Signal Corps Cameramen

The Battle of the Bulge continues to inspire and draw the interest of the military history community. Yet, and partly due to the success of Band of Brothers, when people hear the words Battle of the Bulge, they immediately think of paratroopers holding Bastogne and then Patton’s tanks riding to the rescue. The fighting in the Ardennes was so much more than that and involved hundreds of thousands of soldiers on each side. In addition, it is forgotten that British and Canadians fought in the Bulge as well on the Northern shoulder. The Bulge battles are well known for the tanks of both sides trudging through the snow but like many engagements of World War II, it was also fought and won by the soldier with the rifle, a machine-gun team, a well-coordinated mortar assault and infantry support weapons. This book is not a summary of the Bulge battles nor a tactical history as there have been numerous excellent accounts already published that capture that theme. This book will showcase all the weapons used by the soldiers in the Bulge. From rifles and heavy machine guns and mortars and artillery, and to include armored cars, self-propelled artillery and tanks this book will show how the battle was won from the M1 rifle of the frozen GI, to the expertly directed artillery strikes and to the whitewashed armored vehicles that were attacking through the snowstorms of the Belgium and Luxembourg countryside. Outside of those German weapons and vehicles captured by the Americans during the battles, the number of pictures presented here tend to favor the Americans. This is also due to the basic fact that the Americans had many more cameramen following the units into battle during these battles as compared to the Germans.

This book is broken down into three chapters. The first chapter will deal with infantry weapons and those in the infantry support role. The second chapter will feature artillery pieces and the third chapter will cover armored fighting vehicles, from armored cars to the massive German Tiger 2 tanks. I used basic reference when referring to American and German tanks and didn’t bother with the exact model of tank as this book is meant to show photos of the weapons involved, not a detailed technical study of armor. When possible, the caption of the official photograph was used with additional relevant information provided by the author to put the photo in context and/or provide interesting background information.

The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The offensive was carried out from 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945. It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region between Belgium and Luxembourg. Although the Germans managed to begin their offensive with complete surprise and enjoyed some initial successes, they were not able to seize the initiative on the Western Front. While the German command did not reach its goals, the Ardennes operation inflicted heavy losses and set back the Allied invasion of Germany by several weeks. However, unlike the Allies, the Germans could not replace the manpower and equipment they lost in the Bulge battles. This failed offensive in addition to the failed offensive in the south under Operation Nordwind by the Germans, were the last times the Germans could field an offensive of any kind on the Western Front. Casualty estimates for the battle vary widely. According to the US Department of Defense, American forces suffered 89,500 casualties including 19,000 killed, 47,500 wounded and 23,000 missing. The Battle of the Bulge was the bloodiest battle for US forces in World War II. British casualties totaled 1,400 with 200 deaths. The German High Command estimated that they lost between 81,834 and 98,024 men in the Bulge between 16 December 1944 and 28 January 1945. The American tank and tank destroyer losses have been put at over 700 while the Germans lost over 550 tanks and self-propelled guns.

Chapter 1

Infantry Weapons

The Battle of the Bulge was fought with the rifle of the infantryman all the way to the massive Tiger II tanks of the Germans. Yet, when the tanks rolled into a town, it was the infantrymen riding on the back armed with rifles and machine guns that jumped off and cleared the houses, trenches and other enemy positions. The artillery would provide smoke, covering fire and counter battery fire, but it was the infantrymen with their weapons and supporting heavy machine guns that were clearing the enemy out.

The weapon most photographed with the American soldier in the Ardennes was the M1 Garand rifle. Other soldiers were armed with carbines and most squads had a Browning Automatic Rifle as support. Machine guns, both .30 and .50 caliber provided additional infantry support and were also mounted on jeeps. In the following photos, you will see how the machine guns were typically positioned at roadblocks, important tactical positions and used in the supporting role for attacking infantrymen. The freezing conditions the soldiers were faced with in the Bulge battles required continuous care and cleaning of their weapons to ensure they remained in working order. The following photos in this chapter cover rifles, carbines, sub-machine guns, light and heavy machine guns and even .50 caliber water cooled machine guns used in the anti-aircraft role.

A soldier from the 106th Infantry Division showcases a new snow cape in Belgium on December 15, 1944. He is armed with a M1 rifle and has added some white material to the barrel for extra camouflage.

This GI from the 324th Combat Engineer Battalion of the 99th Infantry armed with a M1 rifle takes a knee as he communicates on the radio.

Another radioman, this soldier from the 26th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division waits for the next message as his column advances near a blown aqueduct bridge.

A common scene in the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge, MP armed with a M1 rifle checking the identification of a soldier driving a jeep.

These three soldiers of the 28th Infantry Division were actually photographed with the soldiers of Task Force Hogan when they returned to friendly lines after being trapped behind enemy lines for a few days in the beginning days of the battles. Two of the men are armed with M1 rifles while the man on the left has a M3 submachine gun or grease gun.

GI from the 1st Infantry Division cleans his M1 rifle during some spare moments in Nidrum, Belgium in late December 1944.

Infantry of the 4th Armored march across snowy fields on the way towards Bastogne. The man in the front carries an M1 rifle.

A photo from the same series as the one above and maybe one that might be staged a bit. GIs stand and take aim at the enemy with their M1 rifles.

Three soldiers heavily laden with ammo and packs take a rest in a small town past Malmedy in late December 1944. All three are armed with M1 rifles, bandoliers and grenades.

Reviews for Weapons of the Battle of the Bulge

[Henry Lee · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

some good and unpublished photos of US and German forces