Battle of St. Vith

Battle of St. Vith
Part of the Battle of the Bulge, World War II
St. Vith, Belgium
Date 16–21 December 1944 Location St. Vith, Belgium 50°16′55″N 6°7′36″E / 50.28194°N 6.12667°E / 50.28194; 6.12667 Result German victory
Belligerents
United States	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Bernard Montgomery Bruce C. Clarke	Walter Model Hasso von Manteuffel Sepp Dietrich
Units involved
U.S. VIII Corps 7th Armored Division 9th Armored Division 28th Infantry Division 106th Infantry Division	5th Panzer Army 116th Panzer Division Führer Begleit Brigade 18th Volksgrenadier Division 62nd Volksgrenadier Division 6th Panzer Army 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
Strength
22,000 men[1]	100,000+ men[2][3] 500 tanks[3]
Casualties and losses
12,500 KIA, WIA, POW, or MIA[4] 88 tanks, 25 armored cars[1]	Unknown

The Battle of St. Vith was an engagement in Belgium fought during the Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine in World War II. It was one of several battles on December 16, 1944 constituting the opening of Germany's Ardennes counteroffensive (more commonly known as the "Battle of the Bulge").

The town of St. Vith, a vital road junction, was close to the boundary between the 5th and Sepp Dietrich’s Sixth Panzer Army, the two strongest units of the attack. St. Vith was also close to the western end of the Losheim Gap, a critical valley through the densely forested ridges of the Ardennes Forest and the axis of the entire German counteroffensive. Opposing this drive were units of the U.S. VIII Corps. These defenders were led by the U.S. 7th Armored Division and included the 424th Infantry (the remaining regiment of the 106th U.S. Infantry Division), elements of the 9th Armored Division's Combat Command B and the 112th Infantry of the U.S. 28th Infantry Division. These units, which operated under the command of Generals Robert W. Hasbrouck (7th Armored) and Alan W. Jones (106th Infantry), successfully resisted the German attacks, thereby significantly slowing the German advance.^{[4]: 26–32, 310–21, 374}

Under orders from Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, Brigadier General Bruce Cooper Clarke, leader of Combat Command-B 7th Armored Division, gave up St. Vith on 21 December 1944; U.S. troops fell back to positions supported by the 82nd Airborne Division to the west, presenting an imposing obstacle to a successful German advance. By 23 December, as the Germans shattered their flanks, the defenders’ position became untenable and U.S. troops were ordered to retreat west of the Salm River. As the German plan called for the capture of St. Vith by 18:00 on 17 December, the prolonged action in and around it presented a major blow to their timetable.^[4]: 468