T/Sgt. Chris Christensen
Co. G 505 Parachute Infantry Regiment
82nd Airborne Division

This story will begin Dec. 16,1944, while not over in the Ardennes where the Battle of the Bulge had just begun, but in England. Here some of us troopers who had been wounded in Holland (Market Garden) had been evacuated to. On my release from the hospital where I had been treated, I would return back to Quorn, where part of our rear echelon still were. The main body of the 505P1R had by now been relieved after continuous fighting in Holland (63 days). They would now be quartered at Suippes, France, in Army Reserve.

The next day being a Sunday and with the day off, I had ventured out into town to visit my favorite pub. Here I hadn’t much more than got settled in when some 505 officer enters with the instructions that all passes had been canceled and to report back to camp. Here we were told to get packed, as we would be moving out that evening.

Later about 50 of us veterans along with about the same number of rear echelon service troops would take a train down to Southampton. There we would board a LCT (Landing Craft Tank) for our journey across the channel. From there we would be trucked down to Suippes. About now we would being hearing some rumors about the German break through. On arriving at the camp it was only to find the regiment had pulled out a couple of days prior, heading for the Ardennes. None of us had any equipment, so the rest of the day and into the night was spent being resupplied from the meager supplies available.

Early the next morning would find us boarding trucks again and heading out to rejoin our regiment, Much later in the day we finally reached our destination where we would be split up and join our companies.

On reporting in to my company where I was a Squad Leader (S/Sgt) I was finally able to find out what was happening. It seemed the Germans had mounted a huge offensive along a broad front in this lightly defended area. The 505 would be in a defensive position and dug in along the Salm River. G Company had the responsibility of guarding the bridge separating Petite and Grand Halleux. No way was this small wooden bridge to fall intact into the enemies hands. Of course these two villages were also our responsibility also if possible. The entire regiment would be stretched out very thin. Mostly where it was thought the enemy might be crossing were we able to guard.

The deployment of the company would be, one platoon across the river in Grand Halleux with an outpost further up the hill, in the outskirts of town on the road leading toward Wanne. The other two platoons would be dug in on the Petite side of the river. As a safeguard, some of the 307 Engineers had placed charges to blow the bridge. On taking over my squad, I would find it dug in a line running parallel and about 50 yards above the railroad leaving town. Further back up the hill would be the mortar squad and off to the left would be an machine gun section from the 3rd Battalion Hdq. Co. Also attached to the company would be a TD (tank destroyer) set up to fire down the road and over into Grand Halleux if the enemy got this far.

The Salm River, although narrow and shallow was a natural barrier for bath tanks and vehicular traffic with its steep banks and questionable ground being solid enough to support the weight. Furthermore, most roads somewhere would be going through dense forests, so to move the Germans would have to control the roads.

For the next couple of days things were relatively quiet. You could hear the big guns in the distance and at night the muzzle flashes. These you could see were moving ever closer to your position, also when you began hearing small arms fire, you knew Jerry wasn’t too far off.

A little after dark on the night of Dec 23-24 we begin to take a few small caliber mortar shells into our position. This is telling me a couple of things. He knows where we are dug in and that infantry is close by and get ready as an attack is about to happen.

Shortly afterward this shelling would let up and there can be heard rifle fire in the vicinity of where our outpost is. When only Jerry’s weapons can be heard, you knew the outpost had been overrun.

Earlier in the day I have reminded my squad about our troops across the river over in Grand Halleux, so don’t fire until I give the signal. About now it is hard to withhold your firing as Jerry has made a charge into town as you can tell by the intense firing and them screaming to the top of their lungs as they advanced. They were out to take this bridge at all costs. While all this was going on we were still holding our fire until by prearranged plans the platoon in Grand Halleux would pull back across the river. When the bridge was blown, it was the signal to open up. The ones who hadn’t made it back by now probably wouldn’t be coming. When we finally opened up, I think everything started firing at the same time. I had never seen anything before or after that could equal such a concentrated wall of fire that we laid down on them that evening. There was fire coming from support groups I wasn’t even aware we had. After awhile the firing stopped almost as quickly as it had started. At this time there was a hush that fell over the valley that was real eerie. There wasn’t a sound from either side for a few moments. When the silence was broken you could hear them screaming in pain, begging for help, moaning, pleading, some I even remember cussing us in English. We must have massacred them. I can’t believe Jerry would make such stupid mistakes as he has made tonight. Over the years, I have given this a lot of thought and the only solution I have come up with was, he thought he was facing some green troops and this would scare them into breaking and running.

Shortly after the fighting had stopped, I was given orders to move my squad out of my present position and set up a defensive line between the railroad track and the river running parallel in between. I had the men dig in about 50 foot apart and I stayed in the center with my assistant down on the far end. We hadn’t much more than got dug in when our artillery starts shelling. Luckily this doesn’t last too long as I am not too sure we aren’t getting as much as Jerry. Anyway, things quieted down for the rest of the night. You can still hear them on the other side of the river tending to their wounded and carting them out. A lot of vehicular traffic also. In this present position, it feels like you can darn near reach out and touch them. To make things more eerie, there is now a fog beginning to settle in. I can’t see much, but sound sure travels. All night I am thinking about this exposed position and the trouble we will be in come daylight, but I am sure we will be pulled out before then. As things start to get a little lighter, I begin to get concerned. The Jerry’s on the hill at Grand Halleux are going to be looking right down our throat. If not picking us off, he could at least keep us pinned down. The fog is beginning to lift and I realize it is now or never. I send word, passing it down the line from man to man for them to stay down. I am going to try and break out and get help. My hope is Jerry will get caught napping. My luck runs out just about two thirds the way from where there is some cover. One guy opens up on me, but his aim is off and I am able to jump in a hole with one of my men who is dug in there. I stay here in this position as long as I dare and I try to make it the rest of the way. Either luck was with me or he was a bad shot, because I made it to cover without getting hit.

Alex Jones in the next hole sees me make it out, so he tries the same stunt. He doesn’t go ten steps before he is hit and is down. I crawl back as close as my cover allows and call out to him. Getting no response, I do not know if he is alive or dead. About this time I look over to the railroad embankment and I see one of our medics “Chris Perry” standing on top holding a Red Cross Flag. One man starts firing at him, but his aim is off and the bullets kick up dust at Chris’s feet. He stands perfectly still and the guy quits firing. Chris then walks down off the embankment and over to Jones. He rolls him over and patches him up. He then precedes to get Jones to his feet and helps him off the field into the house where the platoon C.P. is. I can’t believe the Germans letting him get away with this. I suppose we let them get their wounded out last night, so maybe they were returning the favor. About this time I made it up to the C.P. Col. Kaiser, the battalion commander is on his way. He no more than comes in when he sees and understands my predicament. He will call in some smoke. I was told to go back and alert the men what to expect and to get ready. I hadn’t much more then gotten back when I could hear the shells coming. It was a perfect drop. Anyway, that was the night of the 23rd and morning of the 24th “Christmas Eve.” After the last ordeal, we would move back to our original positions. Nobody had slept last evening, so most were catching a few winks. All day there had been rumors circulating that we are pulling back that night. This I do not pay much attention to. Anyway, this one proves true. The company is to pull out very quietly at midnight so as not to alert Jerry and move to a new position. In fact the entire regiment is pulling back. It seems the whole front in our area is over extended. A short time later I get called down to the C.P. and am given some special instructions. After dark I am to move my squad back to the position we had just gotten out of this AM. Furthermore, when the company moves out at midnight, we are to stay until 5 o’clock the next morning, acting as the rearguard for the company. I was also briefed on where we were to meet the next day. On returning to my squad, I got them all together and explained everything I knew, putting special emphasis on where the company would be and how to get there in case we become separated.

That evening about 8 o’clock or so, we resumed our positions down by the river for what we knew was going to be a long night. On schedule at midnight you could hear the company pulling out. I immediately changed things around. One man I pulled out of line and placed on the street in front of the house where the platoon C.P. was. I didn’t want any surprises coming from that direction. I moved out in back of the C.P. From here I thought I could control things better. I knew in my mind if we got hit down here that I would pull them back to our old positions. There I thought we could hold them off for awhile at least. Down here we wouldn’t last five minutes.

The company had been gone only an hour or so when I started hearing heavy firing from the direction they would be traveling. From the sound of things this did not sound like an isolated pocket of the enemy either. This went on for awhile and then finally faded out. There was also big guns firing, which seems from every direction. My position remained quiet though until about 3:AM when one of my men came up and told me he had just heard Jerry crossing the river just below him. On further questioning, he said it was only a small group, so I knew it could only be a reconnaissance patrol. This I knew wouldn’t give us any trouble unless they turned around and came back into the town from the other end and found it empty. I knew Jerry would then move in and occupy it. I hoped they would wait until after daylight, as we would be long gone. The rest of the night proved uneventful. Promptly at 5 AM we vacated our positions and started out. I had already briefed the men to stay well spread out and we would be moving at a brisk pace, also we would stay on the road. Up until now I don’t remember any snow, but the weather is getting colder. It must have rained or hailed sometime during the night, because the road in places was icy. Along this route I felt at anytime we would be ambushed, but we lucked out. It was sure a welcome relief when I pulled into the new position where the company was now dug in. I reported to my C.0. Capt. lsaacs and the first thing he said when he saw me was “I didn’t expect to see you again.” The Germans the battalion had encountered last night he thought I would run into this morning. “Pleasant thought.”

In this new position we were dug in on the forward slope of a high hill. One of the things that stands out in my mind were the Buzz Bombs. I had seen them before, but never this many or so low. At times it seems they are barely clearing the top of the hill. Around this time my platoon sergeant and very good friend, Andy Piriak was killed. He and I went back a long way. Like myself, he was one of the original group. There are very few of us left in the 505 anymore. After Andy’s death, I would take over his job as Platoon Sergeant.

Up until about now the weather hasn’t been all that bad, but things are beginning to make a turn for the worst. It would be later said that this was the worst winter the Ardennes had seen in 40 years. Most days the temperature hovered around freezing and at night dropping to zero and below F. At times the snow was so deep that both 4 wheel drive and track vehicles had trouble maneuvering. The weather coupled with the enemy made it a very unpleasant place to be, especially for the infantry who were exposed to it 24 hours a day. Our army is made up of about 6 to 8% infantry, but This small percentage of men suffers about 70-80% of all casualties.

Before preceding further, I will attempt to familiarize you with the T.O. “Table of Organization” of a parachute regiment. A, B, C companies, 1st Battalion. D, E, F companies, 2nd Battalion. G, H, I companies 3rd Battalion. These will all be light rifle companies. Also each battalion will have a Headquarters company. There will also be a Regimental, Headquarters company and a Service Company. The T.O. of these 142 men companies will be, 3 platoons plus Company Headquarters. Three squads make up a platoon. I was in the 3rd platoon of G Company.

On January 3rd the entire front will go over on the offensive, erasing The Bulge. Occasionally I will refer to The book “Ready” for dates and locations.

Again the weather will play a big part in this attack. With the heavy snow already on the ground and what is expected, we are told to leave behind our musette bags, plus our overcoats. This is to facilitate faster movement. These were to be brought up to us that evening.

Our battalion line of attack was I Co on the left, H Co on the right and Company G will be in reserve. G-2 “Regimental Intelligence” has reported that we will be facing light opposition. “Volksgrendier troops.” In front of I Company is the small village of Fosse. They will get the honor of taking it. S-2 also reports that it is lightly held by less than a platoon.

Prior to taking off, our artillery lays down a barrage, but a lot of this falls short and drops in on our troops. I Company has one or two men killed plus some wounded. I don’t remember if H or G Companies received any casualties from this S.N.A.F.U. or not.

After this shaky start and the artillery lifting it’s fire, we get started again, incidentally this is a bad luck day for I Company. They no more than move out of the woods in their attack on Fosse, when they realize they have walked into a hornets nest. A solid wall of fire greets them. In a very short time all their officers have been killed or wounded, plus two thirds of the men are casualties. It soon becomes apparent that this area is more heavily defended then originally reported. Also Jerry is firmly entrenched in these stone houses with ample mortar and artillery support from the rear. Again our artillery gives this area a thorough pounding. We then push through and overrun their positions. It was later determined that Jerry had a reinforced company dug in here. So much for intelligence reports.

Leaving I Co. to defend Fosse, both G and H Company move out to reach our first phase line for the day. This is tough going, wading through the snow and Jerry reluctant to give up any ground. Anyway we finally reach our objective after dark and are told to dig in. Our sleeping bags and other things we had dropped off that A.M. would not be brought up. Right then you knew you were in for a miserable night. To keep from freezing we would dig a hole large enough to accommodate two or three men. We would then line the bottom with brush that we would cut off of fir trees. This would help keep the cold from the frozen earth penetrating through your body. We would then get in together to share each others body heat. We would then have some evergreen branches which we would pull up over us. During all this digging in, cutting the branches, etc, you had worked up a sweat. You can imagine how this felt after you started to cool off. This freezing sleepless night may best be described as a “Night of Hell.”

To sum up this first day, I will refer to the book “Ready” Quote: The final official count of prisoners taken by the regiment that day was 382 and the softly falling snow was hiding from sight a probable equivalent number of German dead. It also states, in taking these positions, the 505 was destined to suffer more casualties on this one day than in any other single day in its combat history.

January 4th dawned much the same as the previous day. Overcast, cold and you knew more snow was on the way. Without any prior warning we are told to get ready we are moving out. Any other time this would have started some griping, but today this was a welcome relief. Maybe you could get thawed out. Like myself, I knew most of the men had spent a freezing sleepless night. Frost bitten feet was your main concern. Some of the men were already limping and complaining about their feet feeling numb. We were not dressed for this kind of weather.

Getting back to the fighting, the opposition is much lighter today. We now have Jerry on the run and we will continue to keep pressure on him until we reach our final phase line. We don’t want to give him a chance to regroup and dig in.

On the first day of the offensive, the 1st and 3rd battalions encountered the stiffest opposition. On the second day, the 2nd battalion got their turn. They ran into much the same trouble the other two battalions had encountered the day before.

This day we reached our second phase line early and was told to dig in. This was as far as we would be going today. We were getting too far ahead of the units on our flanks. As it was still daylight, we were able to light off small twig fires to melt some snow for water to make some coffee and eat a K ration. Water in our canteens was frozen solid. When we dropped off our equipment we were told to bring along two K rations. One I ate yesterday on the move and now the last one. I don’t have to worry about overeating. The real slap in the face was when we were told our equipment would not be brought up again today. You knew you were in for another freezing and sleepless night.

January 5th started off much the same as the previous day. Everyone grumbling about how cold and stiff they are. Sometime during the night a jeep made it through and brought us up some much needed ammo and K rations.

The weather to me is a bigger factor than the enemy. The latter you can cope with, but wading through the snow sure takes something out of you. You don’t go very far before you are beat. Now we are down to about half strength, but are still lugging all our weapons and ammo which we would be carrying if we were still at full strength. We still are packing a lot of fire power. The resistance is slacking off.

Again this day we reach our phase line early, which gave us a chance to dig in and get something to eat before dark. The engineers have finally bulldozed a trail through the woods and our overcoats, sleeping bag and packs were brought up. I don’t think the men could have survived another night without them. The G.l. sleeping bag is not the best, but it is better than nothing.

The next few days until we reached our final objective at the Satin River were much the same as before. The German resistance was much tighter. Still a lot of artillery and the enemy who were found were in widely scattered pockets.

The final official count of prisoners of war taken for the period of January 3rd-10th inclusive was 987 and it was estimated they had at least as many dead and wounded. About 50% of our regiment were casualties. Half of these were enemy inflicted and the rest were non-combat losses. Frostbite for the most part. If we had the proper footwear and clothing, a lot of this would have been avoided.

On January 11th we were relieved by the 75th Division and trucked over to Theux, Belgium for a much needed rest. Here for the first time in the history of the regiment, we were to be billeted in civilian homes. I was given two houses for my platoon. We were a bit crowded as there were only one or two rooms in each house that would be heated. In the kitchen, you could depend on a big wood burning cook stove. Our house also had a potbelly stove in the dining room. Incidentally, there were no complaints at all about the crowded conditions. We just spread our sleeping bags out on the floor and sacked out with a contented smile on our faces. After what we had just left, this was heaven. Also the cooks had set up a mess in a schoolhouse. We were to be fed three meals a day. The last hot meal I had was back in England on Dec 17th. Also I think I had slept inside twice since then.

On the morning of January 26th, I received orders to have my platoon outside, formed up and ready to move out that afternoon. We would be leaving for good. At the designated time I was loading the men on the trucks that were waiting to haul us out, when I happened to see the wife standing on the sidewalk. Before I got on myself, I went over to thank her and say goodbye. She burst out in tears, also she was desperately trying to tell me something. I always was sorry that I could not understand what she was saying. Regretfully I never got back to Theux again. Incidentally I have never met any nicer people anywhere.

Our next mission was in the heavily forested Omer Wald section. The location was N.W. of St Vith and was virtually a trackless snowbound area, being practically impassable for most vehicular traffic. Here we were to clean out this area and push through to the German border. Moving through here was unbelievably slow. Not so much the enemy as the terrain and the deep snow.

Since moving into Theux, until now I think the temperature during the day was warming up. You would think this would be a welcome relief, but it was just the opposite. The snow on the surface would begin to melt and walking through it, your pants from the crotch down would become soaking wet. Couple this with the sweat you would work up wading through the snow, it was anything but pleasant. You can imagine what this would be like when the sun went down and things started to freeze again. It made for another miserable night.

The platoon strength was steady dwindling. I don’t think I had over about 10 or 12 able bodied men left, so all duties regardless of rank we were sharing. The worst position was the point, he would be the one breaking the trail. Under these conditions, this was very exhausting plus very dangerous. If the enemy, while retreating wanted to slow your advance down, this was the man he would pick off. Anyway, I took the first shift our front. We are moving down this firebreak and I am about a hundred yards or so out in front when I come to this intersection. As I was approaching very cautiously, I glance to my right and there is this German sitting There. A more gruesome sight you can’t imagine. He is sitting with both arms extended, but missing his head. Along side of him was a blacken area where a shell had exploded. I figured this shell had taken his head off. Then he fell to the ground and rigamortis set in and brought him to that position. I remember I did not stay around to investigate.

The next day we were in a night attack and my platoon would be rear guard. It was a full moon and with it shining on the snow, it was as bright as day. We were following a trail just inside the tree line, when I see a group of soldiers coming down the trail. I couldn’t make out if they were G.l.’s or Krauts, so I stopped and waited. Sure enough it was a Jerry patrol of about a dozen men. At point blank range we opened up on them. It is safe to say we never had to contend with them again.

Another night we are moving along this trail in single file and this time we are out in front. There were about 10 or 12 men behind the leader following in the same path when comes this loud explosion. You knew somebody had stepped on a mine. This brings everyone to a halt as it is highly unlikely Jerry would have planted just one mine. Most likely we were standing in the middle of a mine field. You also knew that this field would have to been sewed before the snow began falling. Furthermore, I feel what saved us was the snow acting as a cushion. These Schu mines you would have to step directly on before they would detonate. We preceded gingerly on through without anymore mishaps. The man who stepped on the mine had his foot blown off. He survived this ordeal and now resides in Richmond, Va. We keep in touch. (Webmaster's note - Wheatley is talking about S/Sgt. Bill Blank of G company. Both paratroopers were alive at the time of writing Bulge Memories.)

The next morning we take off again advancing down through this clearing. Directly in front of us is this giant size, well concealed camouflaged concrete pillbox. You knew you had reached the German border and was now entering the dreaded Seigfried Line. These pillboxes we found to be heavily manned and had fire lanes cut where one pillbox supported the next. Before the day was out our company was credited with knocking out 4 or 5 of these. This was not done without paying a price, as we are now down to about one third strength. At this time you can see that the German soldier is putting up a much weaker resistance than he had just a few weeks prior. No reason he should have surrendered even the first pillbox. There we took about 50 prisoners who were well protected and armed. At this time we were well under strength and out of ammo. I had one clip left (8 rounds.) The heaviest thing we were carrying was the bazooka and this wouldn’t even chip the paint. This is not the German soldier we had been fighting since we landed in Sicily back in July 43. For the most part we found him to be a tough opponent.

The next day, February 4th, we would be relieved. Officially this costly campaign was to have ended on January 28th”. This would be the largest battle the American Army had ever fought in. When Hitler kicked off this large scale offensive on a 60 mile front, we had only three infantry divisions and one armored division to protect this front. Before it ended there would eventually be 600,000 men involved. We would suffer about 81,000 casualties of whom 19,000 were killed. The Germans were to have employed close to 500,000 men and lost at least 100,000 killed, wounded or captured.

There has been much resentment during and after the war from many G.l’s about only one division getting all the credit for winning this campaign. I will not dwell on it as Al Langdon in “Ready” has best described it. Quote: Much publicity was given then (and since) to the 101st Airborne Division’s gallant stand at Bastogne and deservedly so, but it reached the stage where Bastogne became the symbol of the defeat of the Germans in the “Battle of the Bulge.” A surrounded unit is always a newsworthy object and newspaper editors eager to find any kind of good news in the midst of numerous set-backs, seized upon Bastogne and thus it got most if not all the headlines and the symbolism. However, the facts speak for themselves.

Bastogne was neither astride the main route of the projected advance of the German armies to Antwerp, nor the key to the defeat of the Germans in the Ardennes. When General Manteuffel failed to capture it easily, he bypassed it and continued onto the west as ordered. The big battles for Bastogne occurred after December 26th, by which time Patton’s Third Army had reached it, and only because Hitler wanted it taken as a prestige object in the face of his numerous set-backs elsewhere. By that time he and his generals had given up all hope of reaching Antwerp.

The thing that defeated the Germans more than anything else, was the unyielding defense put up by American Divisions on the northern shoulder. When General Dietrich’s Sixth Panzer Army, which had the primary mission of reaching Antwerp was stopped cold, it so upset the German armies timetable that thereafter the attack was doomed to failure. Certainly the 82nd Airborne Division can take its fair share of the glory for stemming that advance, but it was only one of eight American divisions involved initially, and others soon joined the battle. It was a joint effort and a magnificent feat of Americans and American arms that defeated the Germans in the Ardennes and not one lone division in one small city.
Airborne,
Chris