Bastogne: The Story of the First Eight Days - US Army Center Of ...

144 BASTOGNE
was always Team O'Hara with 14 tanks which he could get out
of line quickly in case of necessity.27
Colonel Roberts' force had more than paid for itself during the
first two days. He had taken his greatest losses in tanks and men
in the opening engagement, but that sacrifice had staved off the
Germans and gained the exact amount of time needed for the
WIst to establish itself solidly.2s After the first two days Colonel
Roberts' two chopped-up teams were consolidated as one and this
part of the force became his Division reserve. The number of
tanks available for it varied from day to day between six and ten. lID
Lieutenant Colonel Templeton; the Tank Destroyer commander
C705th Battalion), took hold in the same strong way,
even having his men fight as infantrymen when they could not
be employed otherwise. 80 On the other hand he was never loath
to make his point strongly any time he thought the higher commanders
were planning to make an unwise employment of his
forces. 31 Colonel Templeton's command post was only a hundred
yards from the command post of the 101st Division, so coordination
was simple. In tum he received from the battalion commanders
of the WIst the kind of support that rewarded all of his
effort. During relief periods the infantry platoons covering his
tank destroyers made the security of Templeton's guns their first
concern. 811
Colonel Roberts, too, was learning from Templeton as they
went along. He had reached the conclusion that, properly employed
in a defense like Bastogne, some tanks must be up with
the infantry and some in reserve in the "socker" role. s8 But what
bothered him was .the discovery that while his tankers were actually
having to work as tank destroyers about 98 per cent of the
time, the tank destroyer men seemed so much better trained to
get away with it. This was strongly reRected in the ratio of losses
in the two forces when compared with the damage done to the
enemy armor."
At 1000 on December 23 Captain Parker at his radio heard
that supporting planes were on their way. Within a few minutes
he was telling them where to strike. The strongest enemy buildups
at this time were west and northwest of the town, threatening