Cover, Bastogne: The First Eight Days
 
U.S. ARMY IN ACTION SERIES

 

BASTOGNE
The Story of the First Eight Days
In Which the 101st Airborne Division Was
Closed Within the Ring of German Forces

 

By
COLONEL S. L. A. MARSHALL
Assisted by
CAPTAIN JOHN G. WESTOVER
AND LIEUTENANT A. JOSEPH WEBBER
(DRAWINGS BY TECHNICAL SERGEANT OLIN DOWS)



Reprinted by permission of Mrs. S. L. A. Marshall and the Association of the United States Army (originally copyrighted by the Infantry Journal, Inc.)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Marshall, S. L. A. (Samuel Lyman Atwood), 1900-1977.
Bastogne: the story of the first eight days in which the 101st Airborne Division was closed within

the ring of German forces. (U.S. Army in action series) Reprint. Originally published: Washington, D.C. Infantry journal Press, 1946.

Supt. Docs. no.: D 114.7/4:B29

1. Ardennes, Battle of the, 1944-1945. 2. United

States. Army. Airborne Division, 101st-History.

I. Westover, John Glendower, 1917- . II. Webber,

A. Joseph. III. Title. IV. Series.

D756.5.A7M3 1987 950.54'21 88-600068

Facsimilie Reprint, 1988
CMH Pub 22-2
Center of Military History
United States Army
Washington, D.C.

 


CONTENTS
 
 
PAGE
FOREWORD
UNITS, COMMANDERS, STAFF MEMBERS, AND MEMBERS OF UNITS MENTIONED IN THIS NARRATIVE
Chapter I     THE SITUATION
Chapter 2    THE CONCENTRATION ON BASTOGNE
Chapter 3    TEAM CHERRY
Chapter 4    FIRST MEETING WITH THE ENEMY
Chapter 5    EAST OF BASTOGNE
Chapter 6    HOLDING THE CHÂTEAU
Chapter 7    TEAM DESOBRY AT NOVILLE
Chapter 8    ATTACK AND WITHDRAWAL
Chapter 9    DOUBTS AND DECISIONS
Chapter 10  THE REPULSE
iii
CONTENTS-Continued
 
 
PAGE
Chapter 11      RUNNING BATTLE
Chapter 12      FIRST ACTION AT MARVIE
Chapter 13      THE RESPITE
Chapter 14      "NUTS!"
Chapter 15      THE SECOND MARVIE ATTACK 
Chapter 16      LOW EBB OF SUPPLY
Chapter 17      SUPPLIES ARRIVE
Chapter 18      THE SITUATION IMPROVES
Chapter 19      WEST OF BASTOGNE
Chapter 20      CHRISTMAS EVE
Chapter 21      THE RELIEF
APPENDIX:    THE ENEMY STORY
KEY TO NOTES
PLATES
215
iv
 

 

FOREWORD

The Center of Military History is pleased to present the second volume in the U.S. Army in Action series, a facsimile reprint of Brigadier General S. L. A. Marshall's Bastogne: The First Eight Days. Originally published in 1946, this brief study provides a combat history of a critical battle during the Allied liberation of Europe in World War II. Outnumbered and surrounded for five days, a U.S. Army combined arms force of airborne infantry, armor, engineers, tank destroyers, and artillery conducted a successful defense of the Belgian crossroads town of Bastogne in late December 1944. They separated the German combined arms formations and destroyed the pieces, halting the offensive. The outcome of this battle was critical to the successful Allied defense against the German Ardennes offensive.

Bastogne offers unique insights, capturing the immediate impressions of the soldiers who fought in this harsh winter engagement. The author penetrates the "fog of war" with a coherent narrative that clearly captures the strategy, tactics, and leadership of the battle. This action strangled the German logistical flow to their forward assault divisions, disrupting their offensive tempo and slowing their advance. What emerges is a vivid case study of how decisive leadership and incidents of individual heroism can contribute to overcoming enemy forces and weather.

Historians and professional soldiers will find Bastogne a valuable addition to their reading list. The Center of Military History recommends it highly for use in conjunction with Staff Rides. Although later studies provide more depth of research and detailed analysis concerning the Battle of Bastogne, Marshall's book, with its excellent maps, provides a superb one-volume narrative which can be utilized as a guide for officers and noncommissioned officers when visiting the Ardennes battlefield.

The Center wishes to thank Mrs. S.L.A. Marshall for her kind assistance with our efforts to reprint Bastogne as well as her continued support of the U.S. Army Historical Programs.
 
WASHINGTON, D.C.
      WILLIAM A. STOFFT 
      Brigadier General,. U.S. Army 
      Chief of Military History
 

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