Reflections of My Life by JL Byars – page 20

After we were on the move again the resistance got very heavy.  In one battle one company lost seven tanks, and a large group of men.  As I have said before you fight hard to take a town, you take it, then find yourself in retreat as the Germans are pushing you back again.  Then we would reorganize and take it back again, hoping we could hold it this time. 

One week before Christmas it looked like it was going to be a quiet, white Christmas, when we got the news that German soldiers had penetrated our lines in great force.  That is the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge, which lasted from December 16, 1944 to January 25, 1945.  It was one of the largest battles in the history of World War II.

All of this conflict was fought under heavy fog, rain, mud and snow.  Some of the snow was 16 to 24 inches deep.  Before the breakthrough the Germans had pulled back their best men from the battlefront.  They had the best equipment to start this battle with.  Hitler knew if he lost this push it was all over.  I will tell you a small part of this battle, the best I can remember it.  They had the advantage over us.  They had fresh troops (their best we heard), new equipment, plenty of fuel, men and food.  Their men knew it was now or never.  If they lost, it was over.  Our first contact was against the SS Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler panzer Division.  Our unit had met this group once before in the first part of the battle in France.  After a fierce battle their units were losing ground.  There was so much ground to try to regain and we were not equipped to cover all of the hot spots quick enough to stop them.  You never knew just where or what was going to happen next.  The Germans took no prisoners alive, they also killed anyone who got in their way, including women, children and old men.