Bastogne had held out in terrible circumstances, and during the afternoon of the 26th the valiant American garrison was about to be relieved. But first, the Germans made a last "desperate effort" that looked more like a gesture of desperation.
A Gpt. of the 26th Volksgrenadier Division, supported by 10 tank destroyers, penetrated the American lines at Isle-la-Hesse, south of Hemroulle. At first the attack progressed well, but then the Germans came under fire from American howitzers in position west of Bastogne.
The infantry were swept away and 6 tank destroyers destroyed, while the last four continued alone. Stopped, however, by a large ditch, they were eliminated by American artillery and tank destroyers.
The 5' Div. Para, who had tried to stop the 4th Div. American armor south of Bastogne, was thrown back and, at 4:45 p.m., the 326th Bn. of Gn. airborne announced that it had just made contact with "three light tanks that we thought were friends".
The siege was over. Bastogne had held thanks to the efforts of the 101st Div. airborne and the units it had as reinforcements, hampering the westward advance of the 5th Panzer Army. The Germans made desperate efforts over the next few days to cut off the corridor to the south of the 4th Div. armoured, but in vain, and the threat they posed to Bastogne was finally eliminated on January 1, 1945.
Because of the conditions which prevailed during the siege and which made it impossible to estimate accurately the number of the besieged, the lists of losses are only approximate. The 101st Div. airborne lost 105 officers and 1,536 men, however, and Combat Command B of 10 Div. armour, which had played a significant part in stopping the enemy armored attacks, 25 officers and 478 men.
The two armored divisions of the XLVII Panzer had about 2,500 dead and more than 1,000 prisoners.