Siege of Bastogne 1944
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate. Wikidata lists more than one location for this battle; the first is shown.
Key facts
| Date | 20 December 1944 – 27 December 1944 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1944 | Wikidata P580 (start 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 | Anthony McAuliffe, Creighton Abrams, Hasso von Manteuffel, Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz, Nazi Germany, United States | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 50.0042, 5.7200 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The siege of Bastogne (French pronunciation: [bas.tɔɲ] ) was an engagement in December 1944 between American and German forces at the Belgian town of Bastogne, as part of the larger Battle of the Bulge. The goal of the German offensive was the harbor at Antwerp. In order to reach it before the Allies could regroup and bring their superior air power to bear, German mechanized forces had to seize the roadways through eastern Belgium. Because all seven main roads in the densely wooded Ardennes highlands converged on Bastogne, just a few miles away from the border with neighboring Luxembourg, control of its crossroads was vital to the German attack.
The German offensive began on 16 December. Although outnumbered, the regiments of the 28th Infantry Division delayed the German advance towards Bastogne, allowing American units, including the 101st Airborne Division, to reach Bastogne before the German forces surrounded the town and isolated it on 20 December. Until 23 December, the weather prevented Allied aircraft from attempting to resupply Bastogne or from performing ground attack missions against German forces.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Bastogne (revision 1373282630), 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
- Battle of Clervaux 1944 · 23 km
- Battle of the Ardennes 1914 · 28 km
- Battle of Bure 1945 · 34 km
- Battle of Vianden 1944 · 36 km
- Battle of Rossignol 1914 · 36 km
- Battle of Arlon (1794) 1794 · 36 km
Other battles of the Battle of the Bulge
- Battle of Clervaux 1944
- Battle of Lanzerath Ridge 1944
- Battle of St. Vith 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