Editing 101st Airborne Division (section)

==== Operation Overlord ====
{{Main|Mission Albany}}
[[File:Paratrooper applies war paint 111-SC-193551cropped.jpg|thumb|Private Ware applies last second war paint to Private Plaudo in England June 1944.]]

The [[Pathfinder (military)|pathfinders]] of the 101st Airborne Division led the way on [[Normandy landings|D-Day]] in the night drop before the invasion. They left from [[RAF North Witham]], having trained there with the [[82nd Airborne Division]]. These night drops caused a lot of trouble for the gliders. Many crashed and equipment and personnel were lost.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://warchronicle.com/dday/utah/all_american_eagles.htm |title=The Airborne Assault |website=War Chronicle |access-date=23 February 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518103556/http://warchronicle.com/dday/utah/all_american_eagles.htm |archive-date=18 May 2015}}</ref>

The 101st Airborne Division's objectives were to secure the four causeway exits behind [[Utah Beach]] between [[Saint-Martin-de-Varreville]] and [[Pouppeville]] to ensure the exit route for the 4th Infantry Division from the beach later that morning.<ref name="Guard 2007">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J0R-YBfWeT8C |last=Guard |first=Julie |title=Airborne: World War II Paratroopers in Combat |year=2007 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=New York |isbn=978-1-84603-196-0 |page=184 }}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The other objectives included destroying a German coastal artillery battery at Saint-Martin-de-Varreville, capturing buildings nearby at [[Les Mézières, Manche|Mézières]] believed used as barracks and a command post for the artillery battery, capturing the [[Douve]] river lock at [[La Barquette]] (opposite [[Carentan]]), capturing two footbridges spanning the Douve at La Porte opposite [[Brévands]], destroying the highway bridges over the Douve at [[Saint-Côme-du-Mont]], and securing the Douve River valley. Their secondary mission was to protect the southern flank of [[VII Corps (United States)|VII Corps]]. They destroyed two bridges along the Carentan highway and a railroad bridge just west of it. They gained control of La Barquette locks, and established a bridgehead over the Douve which was located north-east of Carentan.<ref name="Guard 2007"/>

In the process, units also disrupted German communications, established roadblocks to hamper the movement of German reinforcements, established a defensive line between the beachhead and [[Valognes]], cleared the area of the drop zones to the unit boundary at Les Forges, and linked up with the 82nd Airborne Division.

===== Drop Zone Able =====
{{more citations needed section|date=February 2012}}

The paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division jumped between 00:48 and 01:40 [[British Double Summer Time]] of 6 June. The first wave, inbound to Drop Zone A (the northernmost), was not surprised by the cloud bank and maintained formation, but navigating errors and a lack of [[Rebecca/Eureka transponding radar|Eureka signal]] caused the first error{{clarify|what first error?|date=March 2024}}. Although the 2nd Battalion, [[502nd Infantry Regiment (United States)|502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment]] was dropped as a compact unit, it jumped on the wrong drop zone, while its commander, Lt. Col. Steve A. Chappuis, came down virtually alone on the correct drop zone. Chappuis and his [[paratrooper]] captured the coastal battery soon after assembling, and found that it had already been dismantled after an air raid.

Most of the remainder of the 502nd (70 of 80 paratroopers) dropped in a disorganized pattern around the impromptu drop zone set up by the pathfinders near the beach. The battalion commanders of the 1st and 3rd Battalions, Lt. Col. Patrick J. Cassidy (1/502) and Lt. Col. [[Robert G. Cole]] (3/502), took charge of small groups and accomplished all of their D-Day missions. Cassidy's group took Saint Martin-de-Varreville by 06:30, sent a patrol under S/Sgt. [[Harrison C. Summers]] to seize the "XYZ" objective, a barracks at Mésières, and set up a thin line of defense from [[Foucarville]] to [[Beuzeville]]. Cole's group moved during the night from near [[Sainte-Mère-Église]] to the Varreville battery, then continued on and captured Exit 3 at 07:30. They held the position during the morning until relieved by troops moving inland from Utah Beach. Both commanders found Exit 4 covered by German artillery fire and Cassidy recommended to the [[U.S. 4th Infantry Division|4th Infantry Division]] that it not use the exit.

The division's parachute artillery did not fare nearly as well. Its drop was one of the worst of the operation, losing all but one howitzer and dropping all but two of 54 loads four to {{convert|20|mi|km|spell=in}} to the north, where most ultimately became casualties.

===== Drop Zone Charlie =====
The second wave, assigned to drop the [[506th Infantry Regiment (United States)|506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR)]] on Drop Zone C {{convert|1|mi}} west of [[Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, Manche|Sainte Marie-du-Mont]], was badly dispersed by the clouds, then subjected to intense anti-aircraft fire for {{convert|10|mi}}. Three of the 81&nbsp;C-47s were lost before or during the jump. One, piloted by 1st Lt. Marvin F. Muir of the [[439th Troop Carrier Group]], caught fire. Muir held the aircraft steady while the stick jumped, then died when the plane crashed immediately afterward, for which he was awarded the [[Distinguished Service Cross (United States)|Distinguished Service Cross]]. Despite the opposition, the 506th's 1st Battalion<ref name=turner group=notes>Lt. Col. William L. Turner, Colorado. Col. Turner was killed in action the next day.</ref> (the original division reserve) was dropped accurately on DZ C, landing two-thirds of its sticks and regimental commander Col. [[Robert Sink|Robert F. Sink]] on or within a mile of the drop zone.

Most of the 2nd Battalion had jumped too far west, near Sainte-Mère-Église. They eventually assembled near Foucarville at the northern edge of the 101st Airborne's objective area. It fought its way to the hamlet of Le Grand Chemin near the Houdienville causeway by mid-afternoon, but found that the [[4th Infantry Division (United States)|4th Division]] had already seized the exit hours before. The 3rd Battalion of the [[501st Parachute Infantry Regiment (United States)|501st PIR]], led by Lt. Col. [[Julian Ewell|Julian J. Ewell]] (3/501), also assigned to jump onto DZ C, was more scattered, but took over the mission of securing the exits. An ad hoc [[company (military unit)|company]]-sized team that included division commander Maj. Gen. [[Maxwell D. Taylor]] reached the Pouppeville exit at 06:00.<ref name="utahii">{{cite book |chapter-url=https://www.history.army.mil/BOOKS/WWII/utah/utah2.htm |url=https://www.history.army.mil/BOOKS/WWII/utah/utah.htm |id=CMH Pub 100-12 |series=American Forces in Action |title=Utah Beach to Cherbourg |chapter=The Airborne Assault |date=1990 |publisher=[[United States Army Center of Military History]] |access-date=5 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090916101848/http://www.history.army.mil/BOOKS/WWII/utah/utah2.htm |archive-date=16 September 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> After a six-hour house-clearing battle with elements of the German 1058th Grenadier Regiment, the group secured the exit shortly before 4th Division troops arrived to link up.

===== Drop Zone Dog =====
The third wave also encountered severe [[flak]], losing six aircraft. The troop carriers still made an accurate drop, placing 94 of 132 sticks on or close to the drop zone, but part of the DZ was covered by pre-registered German machine gun and mortar fire that inflicted heavy casualties before many troops could get out of their chutes. Among the killed were two of the three battalion commanders and the executive officer of the 3/506th.<ref group=notes>Lt. Col. Robert C. Carroll (1/501), Lt. Col. Robert L. Wolverton (3/506th), and Major George S. Grant (3/506).</ref>

The surviving battalion commander, Lt. Col. Robert A. Ballard, gathered 250 troopers and advanced toward Saint Côme-du-Mont to complete his mission of destroying the highway bridges over the Douve. Less than half a mile from his objective at les Droueries he was stopped by elements of battalion III/1058 Grenadier-Rgt. Another group of 50 men, assembled by the regimental S-3, Major Richard J. Allen, attacked the same area from the east at Basse-Addeville but was also pinned down.

The commander of the 501st PIR, Col. Howard R. Johnson, collected 150 troops and captured the main objective, la Barquette lock, by 04:00. After establishing defensive positions, Col. Johnson went back to the DZ and assembled another 100 men, including Allen's group, to reinforce the bridgehead. Despite naval gunfire support from the cruiser {{USS|Quincy|CA-71|2}}, Ballard's battalion was unable to take Saint Côme-du-Mont or join Col. Johnson.<ref group=notes>Col. Johnson was killed in action in the Netherlands on 8 October 1944.</ref>

The S-3 officer of the 3rd Battalion 506th PIR, Capt. Charles G. Shettle, put together a [[platoon]] and achieved another objective by seizing two foot bridges near la Porte at 04:30 and crossed to the east bank. When their ammunition drew low after knocking out several machine gun emplacements, the small force withdrew to the west bank. It doubled in size overnight as stragglers came in and repulsed a German probe across the bridges.

===== Other actions =====
{{more citations needed section|date=February 2012}}

Two other noteworthy actions took place near Sainte Marie-du-Mont by units of the 506th PIR, both of which involved the seizure and destruction of [[Artillery battery|batteries]] of [[10.5&nbsp;cm leFH 18|105 mm guns]] of the [[91st Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)#Organization (June 1944)|German III Battalion-191st Artillery Regiment]]. During the morning, a small patrol of troopers from Company E 506th PIR under (then) 1st Lt. [[Richard D. Winters]] overwhelmed a force 3–4 times its size and destroyed four guns at a farm called [[Brécourt Manor Assault|Brécourt Manor]], for which Winters was later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the assault troops given Silver and Bronze Stars. This was later documented in the book ''[[Band of Brothers (book)|Band of Brothers]]'' and the [[Band of Brothers (miniseries)|miniseries of the same name]].

[[File:101st Airborne Division - WW2 01.jpg|thumb|101st Airborne troops posing with a captured [[Nazi]] vehicle air identification sign two days after landing at Normandy.]]
Around noon, while reconnoitering the area by [[jeep]], Col. Sink received word that a second battery of four guns had been discovered at Holdy, a manor between his CP and Sainte Marie-du-Mont, and the defenders had a force of some 70 paratroopers pinned down. Capt. Lloyd E. Patch (Headquarters Company 1st/506th) and Capt. Knut H. Raudstein (Company C 506th PIR)<ref group=notes>Patch became acting commander of the 1st Battalion on 7 June, and later commanded the 3/506 as a lieutenant colonel. Both Patch and Raudstein were awarded the DSC.</ref> led an additional 70 troops to Holdy and enveloped the position. The combined force then continued on to seize Sainte Marie-du-Mont. A platoon of the 502nd PIR, left to hold the battery, destroyed three of the four guns before Col. Sink could send four jeeps to save them for the 101st's use.

At the end of D-Day, Gen. Taylor and division artillery commander Brig. Gen. [[Anthony C. McAuliffe]] returned from their foray at Pouppeville. Taylor had control of approximately 2,500 of his 6,600 men, most of whom were in the vicinity of the 506th CP at Culoville, with the thin defense line west of Saint Germain-du-Varreville, or the division reserve at Blosville. Two [[Mission Chicago|glider airlifts]] had brought in scant reinforcements and had resulted in the death of his assistant division commander (ADC), Brig. Gen. [[Don F. Pratt]], his neck broken on impact. The 327th Glider Infantry had come across Utah Beach but only its third battalion (1st Battalion 401st GIR) had reported in.

The 101st Airborne Division had accomplished its most important mission of securing the beach exits, but had a tenuous hold on positions near the Douve River, over which the Germans could still move armored units. The three groups clustered there had tenuous contact with each other but none with the rest of the division. A shortage of radio equipment caused by losses during the drops exacerbated his control problems. Taylor made destroying the Douve bridges the division's top priority and delegated the task to Sink, who issued orders for the 1st Battalion 401st Glider Infantry to lead three battalions south the next morning.

===== Carentan =====
On 10 June the division launched an assault to seize the town of Carentan, a major road and rail hub that served as a critical junction between Utah and Omaha beaches. As such Carentan was heavily defended by the 2nd Fallschirmjäger-Division, 91st Luftlande-Infanterie-Division and elements of the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division. Deliberate flooding of the Douve River floodplain north of the town left the elevated causeway linking [[Saint-Côme-du-Mont]] and Carentan, later named [[Purple Heart Lane]], as the most expedient route to Carentan.

The 502nd PIR was assigned the task of assaulting down this highway while the 327th GIR crossed the Douve north of Carentan and attacked from the northeast. 3rd Battalion, 502nd PIR led the 502nds attack, with a reconnaissance patrol reaching the fourth and final bridge on the causeway into Carentan on the morning of 10 June. The rest of 3/502 attempted to reach the fourth bridge during the day, but damage to the preceding bridges on the causeway, as well as artillery, dive bomber, machine gun and sniper fire, stalled the battalion until the next day and inflicted heavy casualties.

Early on 11 June, 3/502 resumes its attack and attempts to seize a farmhouse just beyond Bridge No.4, but is halted by heavy German fire. Using a  smoke screen, the 3/502nd's battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel [[Robert G. Cole]], led a bayonet charge that secured the farmhouse, allowing the 506th PIR to pass the 502nds lines and seize Carentan. For his bravery and leadership, LTC Cole was awarded the first of two [[Medal of Honor|Medals of Honor]] earned by Screaming Eagle soldiers in WWII.

As the regular troops moved in from the beachheads and strengthened the paratrooper positions, the 101st was relieved and returned to England to rest and refit for the next airborne operation. The first elements of the division returned to Southampton, England on 12 July 1944 in the presence of Secretary of War [[Henry L. Stimson]] according to the private papers of Lt. Gen. [[John C. H. Lee]], commanding general of the [[Communications Zone]], ETO who received the Secretary's visit. After the [[Operation Cobra|American breakout from Normandy]] and subsequent liberation of France, [[Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force|SHAEF]] planned several jumps for the 101st ahead of the advancing armies, but all were cancelled prior to launch due to the rapid advance of Allied ground troops.

===== Operation Market Garden =====
[[File:101st Airborne inspecting broken glider in Holland army.mil-2007-09-12-112355.jpg|thumb|Men of the 101st Airborne Division inspect a broken glider, September 1944.]]

On 17 September 1944, the 101st Airborne Division became part of [[XVIII Airborne Corps]], under [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] [[Matthew Ridgway]], part of the [[First Allied Airborne Army]], commanded by [[Lieutenant general (United States)|Lieutenant General]] [[Lewis H. Brereton]]. The division took part in [[Operation Market Garden]] (17–25 September 1944), an unsuccessful Allied military operation under [[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]] [[Bernard Montgomery]], commander of the Anglo-Canadian [[21st Army Group]], to capture Dutch bridges over the Rhine. It was fought in the Netherlands, and is the largest airborne operation of any war.<ref name="WrightGreenwood2007">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fi3Q-YvWB9kC&pg=PT50 |last1=Wright |first1=Robert K. |last2=Greenwood |first2=John T. |name-list-style=amp |title=Airborne Forces at War: From Parachute Test Platoon to the 21st Century |year=2007 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=978-1-59114-028-3 |page=62}}</ref>

The plan, as outlined by Montgomery, required the seizure by airborne forces of several bridges on the [[A50 motorway (Netherlands)|Highway 69]] across the Maas ([[Meuse River]]) and two arms of the [[Rhine]] (the [[Waal (river)|Waal]] and the [[Nederrijn|Lower Rhine]]), as well as several smaller [[canal]]s and [[tributary|tributaries]]. Crossing these bridges would allow British armoured units to [[flanking manoeuvre|outflank]] the [[Siegfried Line]], advance into northern Germany, and encircle the [[Ruhr Area|Ruhr]], Germany's industrial heartland, thus ending the war. This meant the large-scale use of Allied [[airborne forces]], including both the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, along with the [[1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom)|British 1st Airborne Division]].

The operation was initially successful. Several bridges between [[Eindhoven]] and [[Nijmegen]] were captured by the 82nd and 101st. The 101st met little resistance and captured most of their initial objectives by the end of 17 September. However, the demolition of the division's primary objective, a bridge over the Wilhelmina Canal at [[Son en Breugel|Son]], delayed the capture of the main road bridge over the Maas until 20 September. Faced with the loss of the bridge at Son, the 101st unsuccessfully attempted to capture a similar bridge a few kilometers away at [[Best, Netherlands|Best]] but found the approach blocked. During the fighting near Best, Private First Class [[Joe E. Mann]] of 3rd Battalion, 502nd PIR posthumously earned the division's second and last Medal of Honor during WWII for throwing his body unto a German grenade he was too badly wounded to throw back, saving several of his fellow soldiers. Other units continued moving to the south and eventually reached the northern end of Eindhoven.

At 06:00 on 18 September, the [[Irish Guards]] of the [[Guards Armoured Division|British Guards Armoured Division]] resumed the advance while facing determined resistance from German infantry and tanks.<ref name="Gill">{{Cite book |last1=Gill |first1=Ronald |last2=Groves |first2=John |name-list-style=amp |title=Club Route in Europe: The History of 30 Corps from D-Day to May 1945 |publisher=MLRS Books |year=2006 |orig-year=1946 |isbn=978-1-905696-24-6}}</ref>{{Rp|p71}} Around noon the 101st Airborne were met by the lead reconnaissance units from [[XXX Corps (United Kingdom)|British XXX Corps]]. At 16:00 radio contact alerted the main force that the Son bridge had been destroyed and requested that a replacement [[Bailey bridge]] be brought forward. By nightfall the Guards Armoured Division had established itself in the Eindhoven area<ref name="Randall, p. 33">Randall, p. 33</ref> however transport columns were jammed in the packed streets of the town and were subjected to German aerial bombardment during the night. XXX Corps engineers, supported by German prisoners of war, constructed a class 40 Bailey bridge within 10 hours across the Wilhelmina Canal.<ref name="Gill"/>{{Rp|p72}} The longest sector of the highway secured by the 101st Airborne Division later became known as "Hell's Highway".

Due to Operation Market Garden significantly extending the 21st Army Groups line, the 101st was attached to 21st Army Group to prevent its lines from being undermanned. The 101st reinforced the Nijmegen salient and relieved the British [[43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division|43rd Wessex Division]] to defend against the [[Battle of the Nijmegen salient|German counter offensive]] against the salient in early October. The division was relieved in late November 1944 and returned to SHAEF reserve for rest and refit.

===== Battle of the Bulge =====
{{Main|Siege of Bastogne}}
[[File:Bastogne resupply1944 sm.jpg|thumb|101st Airborne Division troops watch as [[C-47 Skytrain|C-47s]] drop supplies over Bastogne.]]

The Ardennes Offensive (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945) was a major German offensive launched towards the end of World War II through the forested [[Ardennes|Ardennes Mountains region]] of Belgium. Germany's planned goal for these operations was to split the British and American Allied line in half, capturing [[Antwerp]], Belgium in the process, and then proceeding to [[encirclement|encircle and destroy]] the entire [[British 21st Army Group]] and all [[Twelfth United States Army Group|12th U.S. Army Group]] units north of the German advance, forcing the Western Allies to negotiate a [[peace treaty]] in the [[Axis powers of World War II|Axis Powers]]' favor as a result.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1753.html |title=Battle of the Bulge |website=U.S. History.com |access-date=5 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100223203343/http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1753.html |archive-date=23 February 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> In order to reach Antwerp before the Allies could regroup and bring their superior air power to bear, German mechanized forces had to seize all the major highways through eastern Belgium. Because all seven of the main roads in the Ardennes converged on the small town of [[Bastogne]], control of its crossroads was vital to the success or failure of the German attack.

Despite several notable signs in the weeks preceding the attack, the Ardennes Offensive achieved virtually complete surprise. By the end of the second day of battle, it became apparent that the [[28th Infantry Division (United States)|28th Infantry Division]] was near collapse. Maj. Gen. [[Troy H. Middleton]], commander of [[VIII Corps (United States)|VIII Corps]], ordered part of his armored reserve, Combat Command B of the [[U.S. 10th Armored Division|10th Armored Division]] to Bastogne.<ref name=ccb group=notes>CCB consisted of the 3rd Tank Battalion, [[54th Infantry Regiment (United States)|20th Armored Infantry Battalion]], C Company 21st Tank Battalion, B Company [[54th Infantry Regiment (United States)|54th Armored Infantry Battalion]], C Company 609th Tank Destroyer Battalion, 420th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, and three companies of support troops.</ref> Meanwhile, Gen. [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower]] ordered forward the [[SHAEF]] reserve, composed of the 82nd and 101st Airborne, which were stationed at [[Reims]].

Both divisions were alerted on the evening of 17 December, and not having organic transport, began arranging trucks for movement forward, the weather conditions being unfit for a parachute drop. The 82nd, longer in reserve and thus better re-equipped, moved out first. The 101st left Camp Mourmelon on the afternoon of 18 December, with the order of march the division artillery, division trains, 501st PIR, [[506th Infantry Regiment|506th PIR]], 502nd PIR, and [[327th Infantry Regiment (United States)|327th Glider Infantry]]. Much of the convoy was conducted at night in drizzle and sleet, using headlights despite threat of air attack to speed the movement, and at one point the combined column stretched from [[Bouillon, Belgium|Bouillon]], Belgium, back to Reims.

The 101st Airborne was routed to Bastogne, located {{convert|107|mi|km}} away on a {{convert|1463|ft|m}} high [[plateau]], while the 82nd Airborne took up positions further north to block the critical advance of ''[[Kampfgruppe Peiper]]'' toward Werbomont, Belgium. The [[705th Tank Destroyer Battalion]], in reserve sixty miles to the north, was ordered to Bastogne to provide anti-tank support to the armorless 101st Airborne on the 18th and arrived late the next evening. The first elements of the [[501st Infantry Regiment (United States)|501st PIR]] entered the division assembly area four miles west of Bastogne shortly after midnight of 19 December, and by 09:00 the entire division had arrived.

By 21 December, the German forces had surrounded Bastogne, which was defended by both the 101st Airborne and [[Combat Command]] B of the 10th Armored Division. Conditions inside the perimeter were tough—most of the medical supplies and medical personnel had been captured on 19 December.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Killblane |first=Richard E. |title=A Christmas Present For Bastogne |magazine=World War II |volume=18 |number=3 |pages=36–44 |date=September 2003 |issn=0898-4204}}</ref> CCB of the 10th Armored Division, severely weakened by losses in delaying the German advance, formed a mobile "fire brigade" of 40 light and medium tanks (including survivors of CCR of the [[9th Armored Division (United States)|9th Armored Division]], which had been destroyed while delaying the Germans, and eight replacement tanks found unassigned in Bastogne). Three artillery battalions, including the all-black [[969th Artillery Battalion (United States)|969th Field Artillery Battalion]], were commandeered by the 101st and formed a temporary artillery group. Each had twelve 155&nbsp;mm howitzers, providing the division with heavy firepower in all directions restricted only by its limited ammunition supply (by 22 December artillery ammunition was restricted to 10 rounds per gun per day). The weather cleared the next day, however, and supplies (primarily ammunition) were dropped over four of the next five days.

[[File:McAuliffeBastogneChristmasLetter101Airborne.jpg|thumb|150px|A letter from General [[Anthony McAuliffe|McAuliffe]] on [[Christmas Day]] to the 101st Airborne troops defending [[Bastogne]]]]
Despite several determined German attacks, the perimeter held. The German commander, Generalleutnant [[Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz]],<ref>Marshall, p.177.</ref> requested Bastogne's surrender.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thedropzone.org/europe/Bulge/kinnard.html |title="NUTS!" Revisited: An Interview with Lt. General Harry W. O. Kinnard |last=O'Donnell |first=Patrick |website=The Drop Zone |access-date=5 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090308031947/http://thedropzone.org/europe/Bulge/kinnard.html |archive-date=8 March 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> When [[Brigadier General|General]] [[Anthony McAuliffe]], now acting commander of the 101st, was told, he commented : "Nuts!" After turning to other pressing issues, his staff reminded him that there should be a reply to the German demand. One officer (Harry W. O. Kinnard, then a lieutenant colonel) recommended that McAuliffe's reply would be "tough to beat". Thus, McAuliffe wrote on the paper delivered to the Germans: "NUTS!" That reply had to be explained, both to the Germans and to non-American Allies.<ref group=notes>'' [[wikt:Nuts|Nuts]]'' can mean several things in [[American English]] slang. In this case, however, it signified rejection, and was explained to the Germans as meaning "Go to Hell!"</ref>

Both of the two panzer divisions of the XLVII Panzer Corps moved forward from Bastogne after 21 December, leaving only one panzergrenadier regiment of the [[Panzer-Lehr-Division]] to assist the [[26th Volksgrenadier Division (Wehrmacht)|26th Volksgrenadier Division]] in attempting to capture the crossroads. The 26th VG received additional armor and panzergrenadier reinforcements on Christmas Eve to prepare for its final assault, to take place on Christmas Day. Because it lacked sufficient armor and troops and the 26th VG Division was near exhaustion, the XLVII Panzer Corps concentrated the assault on several individual locations on the west side of perimeter in sequence rather than launching one simultaneous attack on all sides. The assault, despite initial success by German tanks in penetrating the American line, was defeated and virtually all of the German tanks involved were destroyed. The next day, 26 December, the spearhead of [[George S. Patton|General George S. Patton's]] [[Third United States Army|U.S. Third Army]] relief force, the [[4th Armored Division (United States)|4th Armored Division]], broke through the German lines and opened a corridor to Bastogne, ending the siege. The division got the nickname "The Battered Bastards of the Bastion of Bastogne".

With the encirclement broken, the men of the 101st expected to be relieved, but were given orders to resume the offensive. The 506th attacked north and recaptured [[Recogne]] on 9 January 1945, the Bois des Corbeaux (''Corbeaux Wood''), to the right of Easy Company, on 10 January, and Foy on 13 January. The 327th attacked towards Bourcy, northeast of Bastogne, on 13 January and encountered stubborn resistance. The 101st Airborne Division faced the elite of the German military which included such units as [[1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler]], [[Führerbegleitbrigade]], [[12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend]], and the [[9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen]].<ref>Bando, p.188.</ref> The 506th retook Noville on 15 January and Rachamps the next day. The 502nd reinforced the 327th, and the two regiments captured Bourcy on 17 January, pushing the Germans back to their point of advance on the day the division had arrived in Bastogne. The next day the 101st Airborne Division was relieved.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldwar2facts.org/battle-of-bastogne.html |title=Battle of Bastogne Facts |first=Will |last=Harney |date=December 2, 2012 |website=World War 2 Facts |access-date=16 December 2013}}</ref>
[[File:PZ IV Ardenne3.jpg|thumb|A Panzer IV of [[Kampfgruppe Peiper]] of the [[1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler]]. The 101st Airborne Division fought this elite [[Waffen SS]] division when the 101st attacked towards Bourcy, northeast of Bastogne, on 13 January 1945.]]
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===== Liberation of Kaufering =====
In April 1945, the 101st moved into the Rhineland and eventually reached the Bavarian Alps. As the 101st drove into Southern Germany they liberated Kaufering IV, one of the camps in the [[Kaufering concentration camp|Kaufering complex]]. Kaufering IV had been designated as the sick camp where prisoners who could no longer work were sent. During the typhus epidemic of 1945 in Germany, Kaufering prisoners with typhus were sent there to die. Kaufering IV was located near the town of Hurlach, which the [[12th Armored Division (United States)|12th Armored Division]] occupied on 27 April, with the 101st arriving the next day. The soldiers found over 500 dead inmates and the Army ordered the local townspeople to bury the dead.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10006152 |title=The 101st Airborne Division During World War II |website=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum |access-date=28 August 2016}}</ref>