Battle of Lanzerath Ridge 1944
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1944 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | World War II era (1939–1945) | derived from year |
| Location | Belgium | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Battle of the Bulge | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | United States | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 50.3595, 6.3292 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Lanzerath Ridge was fought on December 16, 1944, the first day of the Battle of the Bulge during World War II, near the village of Lanzerath, Belgium, along the key route for the German advance on the northern shoulder of the operation. The American force consisted of two squads totalling 18 men belonging to a reconnaissance platoon and four forward artillery observers, against a German battalion of about 500 paratroopers. During a day-long confrontation, the American defenders inflicted dozens of casualties on the Germans and delayed by almost 20 hours the advance of the entire 1st SS Panzer Division, the spearhead of the German 6th Panzer Army.
The Germans finally flanked the Americans at dusk, capturing them. Only one American, an artillery observer, was killed, while 14 others were wounded, while German casualties totaled 92. The Germans paused, believing the woods were filled with more Americans and tanks. Only when SS-Standartenführer Joachim Peiper and his tanks arrived at midnight, twelve hours behind schedule, did the Germans learn the nearby woods were empty.
Due to lost communications with battalion and then regimental headquarters, and the unit's subsequent capture, its disposition and success at delaying the advance of the 6th Panzer Army that day was…
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Lanzerath Ridge (revision 1371764865), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
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- Battle of St. Vith 1944 · 17 km
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Other battles of the Battle of the Bulge
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- Battle of St. Vith 1944
- Siege of Bastogne 1944
- Battle of Bure 1945
All 5 battles of the Battle of the Bulge →
Browse more: battles in Belgium · Europe · World War II era battles