Why a US Army Division was Overrun in 1944

Despite the chaos of losing the war, the Germans managed to secretly gather several divisions for a massive attack called the 1944 Ardennes Offensive. They launched this offensive after Allied Generals openly stated the war would be over in a month. The Germans chose a weak point in the Allied line. The forested Ardennes was considered easy to defend so was manned by new units like the US Army’s 106th Division. It mostly consisted of green draftees and young officers with just 90-days of training and no combat experience. Soldiers of the 106th Division were pummeled by a massive artillery barrage as numerous German tanks appeared and attacked. The division had no supporting tanks and just a few anti-tank guns. Terrified American officers took action by fleeing in jeeps as two regiments were quickly surrounded while the third managed to retreat. With no supplies or ability to fight tanks, most of the 106th Division surrendered after putting up a fight for three days. _____________________________ Related Tale: “The Bloody 1944 Crusade in Europe”; “The Largest US Surrender in Europe in WW2”; The Intel Report; YouTube; November 4, 2022; “Tough Stand of the Golden Lions”; Nathan Prefer; Warfare History Network; October 2022; Related Tale: “Roosevelt’s War to Unite the World”; TAGS: 106th Division Ardennes Offensive Battle of the Bulge Paul Fussel Kurt Vonnegut US Army Overrun World War II Europe US Army Surrender