Editing Battle of the Bulge (section)

==Attack in the center==
{{Wikisource|The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge/Chapter XVII|St. Vith is lost}}
[[File:Battle of the Bulge 5th.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|[[Hasso von Manteuffel]] led the Fifth Panzer Army in the middle attack route.]]

The Germans fared better in the center (the {{convert|20|mi|abbr=on|order=flip}} Schnee Eifel sector) as the Fifth Panzer Army attacked positions held by the U.S. 28th and 106th Infantry Divisions. The Germans lacked the overwhelming strength that had been deployed in the north, but still possessed a marked numerical and material superiority over the very thinly spread 28th and 106th divisions. They succeeded in surrounding two largely intact regiments (422nd and 423rd) of the 106th Division in a [[pincer movement]] and forced their surrender, a tribute to the way Manteuffel's new tactics had been applied.{{sfn|Liddell Hart|1970|p=653}} The official U.S. Army history states: "At least seven thousand [men] were lost here and the figure probably is closer to eight or nine thousand. The amount lost in arms and equipment, of course, was very substantial. The Schnee Eifel battle, therefore, represents the most serious reverse suffered by American arms during the operations of 1944–45 in the European theater."{{sfn|Cole|1964|p=170}}

===Battle for St. Vith===
{{Main|Battle of St. Vith}}
In the center, the town of St. Vith, a vital road junction, presented the main challenge for both von Manteuffel's and Dietrich's forces. The defenders, led by the 7th Armored Division, included the remaining regiment of the 106th U.S. Infantry Division, with elements of the [[9th Armored Division (United States)|9th Armored Division]] and 28th U.S. Infantry Division. These units, which operated under the command of Generals Robert W. Hasbrouck (7th Armored) and [[Alan W. Jones]] (106th Infantry), successfully resisted the German attacks, significantly slowing the German advance. At Montgomery's orders, St. Vith was evacuated on 21 December; U.S. troops fell back to entrenched positions in the area, presenting an imposing obstacle to a successful German advance. By 23 December, as the Germans shattered their flanks, the defenders' position became untenable and U.S. troops were ordered to retreat west of the [[Salm River]]. Since the German plan called for the capture of St. Vith by 18:00 on 17 December, the prolonged action in and around it dealt a major setback to their timetable.{{sfn|Cole|1964|p=407}}

===Meuse River bridges===
[[File:British Sherman Firefly Namur.jpg|thumb|British [[Sherman Firefly|Sherman "Firefly"]] tank in Namur on the Meuse River, December 1944]]

To protect the river crossings on the Meuse at Givet, Dinant and Namur, Montgomery ordered those few units available to hold the bridges on 19 December. This led to a hastily assembled force including rear-echelon troops, military police and [[United States Army Air Force|Army Air Force]] personnel. The [[29th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom)|British 29th Armoured Brigade]] of [[11th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)|British 11th Armoured Division]], which had turned in its tanks for re-equipping, was told to take back their tanks and head to the area. [[XXX Corps (United Kingdom)|British XXX Corps]] was significantly reinforced for this effort. Units of the corps which fought in the Ardennes were the [[51st (Highland) Division|51st (Highland)]] and [[53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division|53rd (Welsh) Infantry]] Divisions, the [[6th Airborne Division (United Kingdom)|British 6th Airborne Division]], the 29th and [[33rd Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom)|33rd Armoured Brigades]], and the [[34th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom)|34th Tank Brigade]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.battleofthebulgememories.be/fr/stories/armeebritanique/203-the-british-in-the-battle-of-the-ardennes.html |title=The British in the Battle of the Ardennes |first=Guy |last=Blockmans |date=6 May 2002 |access-date=10 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120823183012/http://www.battleofthebulgememories.be/fr/stories/armeebritanique/203-the-british-in-the-battle-of-the-ardennes.html |archive-date=23 August 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Unlike the German forces on the northern and southern shoulders who were experiencing great difficulties, the German advance in the center gained considerable ground. The Fifth Panzer Army was spearheaded by the 2nd Panzer Division while the Panzer Lehr Division (Elite Armored Demonstration Division) came up from the south, leaving Bastogne to other units. The [[Ourthe River]] was passed at Ourtheville on 21 December. Lack of fuel held up the advance for one day, but on 23 December the offensive was resumed towards the two small towns of Hargimont and [[Marche-en-Famenne]]. Hargimont was captured the same day, but Marche-en-Famenne was strongly defended by the American [[84th Division (United States)|84th Division]]. Gen. [[Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz|von Lüttwitz]], commander of the [[XLVII Panzer Corps (Germany)|XXXXVII Panzer-Korps]], ordered the division to turn westwards towards Dinant and the Meuse, leaving only a blocking force at Marche-en-Famenne. Although advancing only in a narrow corridor, 2nd Panzer Division was still making rapid headway, leading to jubilation in Berlin. Headquarters now freed up the [[9th Panzer Division]] for Fifth Panzer Army, which was deployed at Marche.{{sfn|Zaloga|2004|pp=76–83}}

On 22/23 December German forces reached the woods of Foy-Notre-Dame, only a few kilometers ahead of Dinant. The narrow corridor caused considerable difficulties, as constant flanking attacks threatened the division. On 24 December, German forces made their furthest penetration west. The Panzer Lehr Division took the town of [[Celles, Houyet|Celles]], while a bit farther north, parts of 2nd Panzer Division were in sight of the Meuse near Dinant at Foy-Notre-Dame. A hastily assembled British blocking force on the east side of the river prevented the German Battlegroup Böhm from approaching the Dinant bridge. The 29th Armoured Brigade ambushed the Germans knocking out three Panthers and a number of vehicles in and around Foy-Notre-Dame.{{sfn|Cole|1964|p=568}} By late Christmas Eve the advance in this sector was stopped, as Allied forces threatened the narrow corridor held by the 2nd Panzer Division.{{sfn|Zaloga|2004|pp=76–83}}

===Operation Greif and Operation Währung===
{{Main|Operation Greif}}
{{Wikisource|The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge/Chapter XI|The 1st SS Panzer Division's Dash Westward, and Operation Greif}}

For Operation Greif ("[[Griffin]]"), Otto Skorzeny successfully infiltrated a small part of his battalion of English-speaking Germans disguised in American uniforms behind the Allied lines. Although they failed to take the vital bridges over the Meuse, their presence caused confusion out of all proportion to their military activities, and rumors spread quickly.{{sfn|Shirer|1990|p=1092}} Even General George Patton was alarmed and, on 17 December, described the situation to General Dwight Eisenhower as "Krauts&nbsp;... speaking perfect English&nbsp;... raising hell, cutting wires, turning road signs around, spooking whole divisions, and shoving a bulge into our defenses."

Checkpoints were set up all over the Allied rear, greatly slowing the movement of soldiers and equipment. [[Military Police Corps (United States)|American MPs]] at these checkpoints grilled troops on things that every American was expected to know, like the identity of [[Mickey Mouse]]'s girlfriend, baseball scores, or the capital of a particular U.S. state—though many could not remember or did not know. General Omar Bradley was briefly detained when he correctly identified [[Springfield, Illinois|Springfield]] as the capital of [[Illinois]] because the American MP who questioned him mistakenly believed the capital was [[Chicago]].{{sfn|Shirer|1990|p=1092}}{{sfn|Riley|2010|p=171}}

The tightened security nonetheless made things very hard for the German infiltrators, and a number of them were captured. Even during interrogation, they continued their goal of spreading [[disinformation]]; when asked about their mission, some of them claimed they had been told to go to Paris to either kill or capture General Dwight Eisenhower.{{sfn|Shirer|1990|p=1090}} Security around the general was greatly increased, and Eisenhower was confined to his headquarters. Because Skorzeny's men were captured in American uniforms, they were executed as spies.{{sfn|Shirer|1990|p=1092}}{{sfn|Reynolds|2006|p=58}} This was the standard practice of every army at the time, as many belligerents considered it necessary to protect their territory against the grave dangers of enemy spying.{{sfn|McDonald|2000|p=1951}} Skorzeny said that he was told by German legal experts that as long he did not order his men to fight in combat while wearing American uniforms, such a tactic was a legitimate [[ruse of war]].{{sfn|Solis|2010|p= [https://archive.org/details/lawarmedconflict00soli/page/n465 432]}} Skorzeny and his men were fully aware of their likely fate, and most wore their German uniforms underneath their American ones in case of capture. Skorzeny was tried by an American [[military tribunal]] in 1947 at the [[Dachau Trials]] for allegedly violating the [[laws of war]] stemming from his leadership of Operation Greif but was acquitted. He later moved to Spain and South America.{{sfn|Shirer|1990|p=1092}}