Soldier! You have been directed to the Ardennes mountain massif. Regenerate your strength and look forward to the spring strike deep into the Reich. But what is that !? Germany is attacking on a large scale! Relax. Read the guide below and you will survive the toughest period of the campaign in Western Europe.
It does not matter if you are an un shot recruit or you took part in the fights in Africa, Italy or France. You can throw away any experience gained there. Now you are facing challenges that you have not had to face before. For the first time since our landing in Europe, our units are on the defensive . The Germans are carrying out a great counter-offensive aimed at rejecting us for Moze.
You have to realize that at the turn of autumn and winter, here on the Belgian-German border, the weather is distributing the cards. The weather conditions will not be friendly to either party. In the first phase of the fight, expect thick fogs and drizzling rain. Then there will be blizzards and finally cloudless days with temperatures reaching several degrees below zero.
Home sweet home?
Hitler's troops attacked on December 16 before sunrise. The Germans realized that our soldiers protected themselves from the cold in their homes or stables. It was the front line buildings that were the main target of the pre-attack fire.
A Belgian woman gathers grain in a dilapidated barn. Perhaps American soldiers had taken refuge in the building earlier (photo:US Army Center for Military History, public domain).
If, for various reasons, you have to defend yourself inside a house, stay away from the window, but start the fire from deep inside the room. You will make the task more difficult for the snipers. These bastards are hard to locate. Usually they fire a moment after an artillery salvo. The sound of the shot blends with the roar of the cannons and becomes almost impossible to catch.
So where to defend ourselves against the enemy? The best solution is a well-fortified trench. If you find yourself in a unit that will take over from the 2nd Division, you can call yourself the lucky one. They left their successors well-constructed roofed fortifications.
Frostbite, hunger and trench foot
Staying in the trench all day, with only cold and rain around you, and then snow, it is not difficult to get frostbite and trench foot. This disease occurs as a result of body cooling, moisture and lack of proper hygiene, when the uniform begins to rot on the soldier . Could lead to limb amputation . So if there are any vehicles nearby, it might be a good idea to dry your shoes and uniforms with exhaust pipes.
On the front lines of the fight, forget about hot meals, not to mention desserts. Unless you act like soldiers from one of our units. They mix powdered lemonade with snow thus getting something like a sorbet .
Many branches are completely cut off and supplies cannot reach them. To survive, you will have to be satisfied with any meal and count on the hospitality of the local people. Only General Patton supposedly prepares turkeys for soldiers of the 3rd Army for Christmas.
Use condoms and pee on rifles
In severe frosts, the equipment refuses to obey. Even the steam that comes out of the human mouth is deposited on various devices and freezes instantly. To avoid a lot of trouble with gun sights, headphones, etc., our soldiers put ... condoms on them.
The contents of this box were clearly not delicatessen (Belgium, Jan 13, 1945; photo by Newhouse, U.S. National Archives, public domain).
Another problem is iced rifles. The guys from the famous 101st Airborne Division were coping with much more complex problems, so they found a way too. Just pee on the immobilized weapon , to be able to shoot the Nazis again after a while .
The fact that improvisation in war is a matter of great importance is demonstrated by the idea of the defenders of Bastogne. When it snowed, the soldiers asked the local authorities to provide the army with sheets that served as camouflage clothing. The lime used to paint the vehicles also came in handy.
Don't even trust the dead
Most of the Belgian population is friendly to our army. The proximity of the border with the Reich, however, means that among civilians there are units of German origin favoring Hitler. These people will be happy to provide the enemy command with information about the dislocation of our troops.
American soldiers covered with sheets on a patrol outside the town of Lellig in Luxembourg, December 30, 1944 (photo:Hustead, U.S. Army Signal Corps, from the collection of the U.S. Army Center of Military History, public domain).
We advise you to keep distance from suspiciously behaving soldiers in American uniforms. They are often put on by German saboteurs as well as groups that have separated from their units and are now trying to return to them. Boys from the gendarmes catch such marauders. They ask them simple questions related to American sports, film and music. If they cannot answer them, they are known to be scammers.
There are also cases where when the Germans spot our patrol, put on their helmets that had been shot through and then lay down on the ground, pretending to be dead . Once our soldiers pass the "dead", then the "dead" shoot them in the back.
Be careful where you go for the need
In the Ardennes, the dense and gloomy forest stretches for miles and seems to be the same everywhere. Avoid wandering alone. If you lose your way, it will be difficult for you to find a landmark to help you get back to your colleagues.
Be careful! In the Ardennes, even the fallen get up from the ground and shoot in the back (photo:U.S. Army Signal Corp, public domain).
This is also a problem for the Germans. Antony Beevor mentions in his book about the Ardennes how one of the Szkop met the need and ended up right under the barrels of our rifles. The boys of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment showed a truly human reflex when they saw him unarmed and with his pants down . They let him finish the activity and only then arrested him.
In the trench, you cannot allow yourself a moment of inattention. Look for the enemy in the fog. It can come unnoticed from all sides. If an unrecognized unit moves towards you, let it come closer. By being well disguised, you don't have to worry that they will spot you first, and you will be sure not to start shooting at your friends.
If you are an armored vehicle driver, do not shorten your way, and certainly do not drive through the trenches. Under normal conditions, defeating them with a tank is no trick. Here our machines turn out to be too heavy and get stuck in the mud . Not only is there a problem with how to retrieve such a vehicle, but you also deprive the boys from the infantry of their shelter.
Use stratagems
It may happen many times that the advancing enemy will be more numerous and better armed. However, there are few forest paths, and they are very narrow. By cutting down trees and creating barriers from them, you will prevent the passage of larger enemy groups, at least for a while.
Our boys often position mannequins next to their positions. When approaching Germany starts shooting at untrue targets, it reveals the direction it is coming from. When an order to strike is given, a good way to confuse the opponent is to make noise with shovels. Some of the soldiers pretend to consolidate their position, and at the same time, the rest of our squad is struck by surprise.
Avoid bondage at all costs
If you think that when you are taken prisoner, the Germans will take you to a prisoner of war camp, where you can safely wait for liberation, you are wrong. The times of the knightly ethos are long over. Now there are already many practices that previously dominated only on the Eastern Front.
The Tiger II tank runs past a column of American prisoners captured by the Germans on the first day of the Ardennes offensive (photo from the collection of the US Army Center for Military History, public domain).
The aforementioned Antony Beevor quotes one of the German officers who admitted that some Nazi divisions were swarming [...] with men for whom cutting someone's throat was like spitting.
An American sapper places explosives on a tree trunk (photo from the collection of the US Army Center for Military History, public domain).
As a prisoner of war, you must take into account that the Nazis will chase you deep into the Reich on foot. The harsh winter around us, poor food rations, dysentery and air raids by our air force make many of the captives die during this murderous journey .
Getting into the hands of the Wehrmacht gives you a shadow of a chance to survive, but if you are caught by the SS, don't expect pity . The soldiers from Kampfgruppe Peiper, who have already shot several hundred of our boys, are particularly cruel.
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We hope the above advice will help you survive the tough battles in the Ardennes forests. In addition to practical tips, mental resilience is very important. You must set an example for other colleagues with your attitude. Remember that in a moment we will push the Germans away and the way deep into the country of the hated enemy will be open to us!