Prayers in the Dark WTO (id:#56466)

Multi-Man Publishing (ASL Journal # 3 ID: KGP CG IV)   [next]   [previous]

Prior Publication: ASL News # 28: CG KGP 4, ASL News Scroungin' : CG KGP 4

Stoumont, Belgium 1944-12-20 (38 others)

Overview:

Silence descended on the Stoumont battlefield. The scars of the previous day's fighting could be seen everywhere in the village and its nearby surroundings. Like animals separated after a fierce fight, both sides were licking their wounds and plotting for the inevitable rematch. To regain the initiative, the U.S. intended to close the net on Kampfgruppe Peiper from the west and north using two different forces. Task Force Jordan, part of 3rd Armored Division's CCB, was hastily dispatched to the Ardennes from the Aachen region to probe the German defense along the northern road leading to Spa. In the west Task Force Harrison, composed mostly of the still-fresh 1/119 of the 30th Infantry Division and supported by the rag-tag tank collection of the 740th Tank Battalion, would trace its way back along the winding road through thick woods leading to Stoumont. The village itself seemed abandoned; indeed, Peiper had withdrawn most of his battered units to La Gleize, leaving only a few defensive strongpoints along the entry roads to delay any U.S. foray. One such strongpoint watched over the western road entry-the St. Edouard Sanatorium, a large brick building used as a rest house for sick children and the elderly. In its cellars, 250 children, nuns, and other civilians waited anxiously, praying all day in the dark.

Defender: German (SS) (Kampfgruppe Peiper)  

Errata (source)