Siege of Bastogne - World War II - Historic photos, documents, and people

Siege of Bastogne World War II

Photo taken by a U.S. Army Signal Corps photographer on 26 December 1944 in Bastogne, Belgium as troops of the 101st Airborne Division watch C-47s drop supplies to them. Jeeps and trucks are parked in a large field in the near distance.

Units Involved

101st Airborne Division

10th Armored Division

158th Armored Field Artillery Battalion

158th Engineer Combat Battalion

35th Engineer Combat Battalion

420th Armored Field Artillery Battalion

52nd Infantry Regiment

705th Tank Destroyer Battalion

755th Field Artillery Battalion

969th Field Artillery Battalion

9th Armored Division

609th Tank Destroyer Battalion

20th Armored Infantry Battalion

21st Tank Battalion

54th Armored Infantry Regiment

501st Parachute Infantry Regiment

502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment

506th Parachute Infantry Regiment

327th Glider Infantry Regiment

1944-12-20 00:00:00 UTC - 1944-12-27 00:00:00 UTC
Attackers:

United States
Defenders:

Nazi Germany
Outcome:

United States victory

The Siege of Bastogne was an engagement in December 1944 between American and German forces at the Belgian town of Bastogne, as part of the larger Battle of the Bulge. The goal of the German offensive was the harbour at Antwerp. In order to reach it before the Allies could regroup and bring their superior air power to bear, German mechanized forces had to seize the roadways through eastern Belgium. Because all seven main roads in the densely wooded Ardennes highlands converged on Bastogne (Bastnach in German), just a few miles away from the border with neighbouring Luxembourg, control of its crossroads was vital to the German attack. The siege was from 20 to 27 December, until the besieged American forces were relieved by elements of General George Patton's Third Army.