CHAPTER 30

Counterattack

Close-in fighting raged in Bergstein. As one exhausted, German NCO described: “Tank against tank, hand-to-hand combat, tanks burning… [One of my men] shot a Sherman with a Panzerfaust (antitank weapon), but the warhead fell off in midair, rendering it useless. [During the attack he] was immediately killed by the tank. Loud noise of duels between men armed with Panzerfausts and tanks… Burning and exploding tanks, men falling everywhere. My people shot up [another] Sherman, which started to burn. One of the crew members staggered out and stumbled to the side of the burning tank. I screamed, ‘Don’t shoot, he’s defenseless!’ Then I ordered someone to bring him to safety before the tank exploded. They brought him to me and he appeared unwounded, although he was blinded.”

Directing Germany’s counterattack at the strategic level was one of her greatest field marshals and the Reich’s best defensive tactician, Field Marshal Walter Model. Known for recovering from desperate situations, Model could turn the tide of war.

To recapture Bergstein, Field Marshal Model released his only available reserve, the 272nd Volksgrenadier Division.²⁶ Volks-grenadier divisions, including the 272nd, carried the latest German small arms, in particular the MP-44, the forerunner to the Soviet AK-47. In single-shot mode, the MP-44 had an effective range of 400 meters, but more significantly, when on full auto, the weapon was deadly. With its thirty-round magazine, the MP-44 provided firepower far surpassing the bolt-action Mauser 98K, the rifle carried by most German soldiers.

Volksgrenadiers received a strong dose of Nazi propaganda that their leaders hoped would inspire courage, initiative, and leadership in battle: “A brave heart is the prerequisite for troop leadership. One must bring this talent with him. It cannot be given to him through training or professional development. . . . The Führer wants soldiers who distinguish themselves by their courage, their willingness to assume responsibility, and whose worthiness as leaders has been tested and further developed [in combat].”

At this time the Volksgrenadiers were highly motivated—the recent Allied advance had crossed onto German soil, so the men of the 272nd were fighting to protect their homeland. In preparation for Hitler’s counteroffensive in the Ardennes, the 272nd created special assault companies within each regiment. As described by a pamphlet, which included instructions for the unit’s combat leaders, “Assault companies are to be set up, armed, and trained under the command of the best-suited leaders. They are to be reinforced by the addition of mine clearing, tank destruction, and flamethrower teams, as well as by the addition of artillery forward observers. . . . Their mission is to overcome, take out, or cut off the enemy’s forward outpost line and individual strong points.”

At precisely 6:34 A.M. on December 6, a massive German artillery bombardment rained down on Bergstein. A few minutes later, the Germans’ only armored reserve in the area spearheaded a counterattack with orders to retake the town at all costs. Ten tank destroyers—four StuG IIIs and six Jagdpanzers—rolled around the serpentine road at the bottom of Hill 400 and linked up with 520 men from Germany’s 1st Battalion of Grenadier Regiment 980. With the self-propelled guns in the woods near the hill, the Germans would have to cross an open field to make their way toward a church and into the heart of Bergstein.

The men of CCR who were manning positions in Bergstein waited for the Volksgrenadiers to come within twenty-five yards before they opened up with everything they had. The battle became a slaughter as .30- and .50-caliber machine gun bullets cut down the grenadiers. Nevertheless, the German armor pressed on and penetrated the village. The fighting in Bergstein resembled the battle for Stalingrad as German infantry and tanks counterattacked in the blackened rubble. The fighting raged house to house as American tanks found themselves hunted by Panzerfaust-wielding German infantry. Despite taking heavy losses, the Volksgrenadiers recaptured portions of the eastern and southern sections of the hamlet.

The Germans counterattacked the Allied-held town repeatedly. Tank destroyers took on tanks at point-blank range, just fifty to seventy-five yards apart. Most of the American M-4 Sherman tanks were armed with low-velocity 75 mm main guns, whose shells bounced off the sloped armor of the German tank destroyers. As one American soldier vividly remembered, “My eye could see the shells hit the German tanks and glance off into the air. My heart sank.”

CCR was barely holding on to its foothold in Bergstein. Company A alone lost twelve of its seventeen tanks. All the armored infantry companies had been reduced to platoon strength. Only one each of the unit’s twelve M-10 and M-36 tank destroyers were still serviceable. Exhausted, CCR appeared to be on the brink of annihilation.

In desperation, CCR called on the walking wounded in the aid station. Unarmed and feeble, the men scrounged for weapons from their dead comrades. Their efforts were largely ineffective; many were too weak even to hold a rifle.

“Virtually all the men in the CCR were in a state of shock,” wrote one eyewitness from CCR. “Their nerves were shot; their physical energy had long since disappeared. They crouched dazedly in their foxholes and basements, loading their guns and waiting for the Germans to come back. They could never hold another counterattack like the last one. There simply were not enough men left.” Another survivor recalled, “Had daylight arrived fifteen minutes later, they would never have been able to hold Bergstein.”

The German assault force, however, had suffered grievously as well. By 12:40 P.M., the German commander, Captain Rhein, who started out with 520 men, could only muster 150. In addition, the Allies had destroyed seven of the priceless German tank destroyers—what was left of the German assault force was forced to move back toward Hill 400.

With CCR barely able to hold its own, the only unit available to take the rest of Bergstein and Hill 400 was the 2^nd Ranger Battalion. Under V Corps’ control and attached to the 8th Division, its commanding officer, Major General William G. Weaver petitioned Lieutenant General Leonard Gerow’s V Corps to release the Rangers from corps reserve.