Diary Entry

1962 DECLASSIFIED DOD DIR. 5200.9, Sept. 27, 1958 NE by Muo Date 8/18/67 SHAEF MAIN - 14 January. After some three weeks' experience of the offensive in the ARDENNES, RUNDSTEDT has decided that he has had enough and that he would withdraw. Favored by heavy snows, he is managing to do this in good order, though with serious losses. Already these amount to the total destruction of one quarter of the men and well over half of the armored fighting vehicles staked on the venture. Reserves which would have been available in case of success, were withheld and diverted toward ALSACE, where tentative incursions from three sides, converging into the plain, were judged to have met with sufficient success to deserve exploitation. & 3 The pressure of the Allied counter-attacks on the Northern flank of the ARDENNES salient soon became severe enough to compel the withdrawal of armor from around BASTOGNE. First the important lateral road from LAROCHE to VIELSALM was cut and overrun and soon the vital lateral from HOUFFALIZE to ST VITH was threatened and taken under Allied fire. Meantime pressure was also beginning against the snout, from the Northwest and Southwest. Here the enemy (116th Panzer in the North and the two panzer grenadiers in the South) fought back vigorously, while the three panzer divisions in danger of being cut off withdrew as quickly as the bad and congested road conditions would allow, leaving only rearguards in contact. Allied attacks on the South of the salient were also unremitting, and made steady progress, though the enemy counter-attacked at times successfully. BASTOGNE finally ceased to be a pocket, and 5th Parachute Division lost over 2,000 prisoners in withdrawing from the salient to the Southeast of the town. Ineffectual counter-attacks further to the East failed to relieve the pressure. In ALSACE, the enemy's armor was at last committed, in the chosen spot -- the plain East of the HARDT ridge. It advanced up to the Allied positions based on the MAGINOT Line and pro- ceeded to attack. Severe losses were incurred, but no great progress was made. More enter- prising advances, but not in great strength, were made from the GAMBSHEIM bridgehead North of STRASBOURG, and from the COLMAR pocket South of it. The remainder of the sector was