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

THE SITUATION 7
gap was created through which the enemy pushed a great deal
of armor. In the center, enemy thrusts between strongpoints encircled
companies and destroyed or captured them one by one.
To the 28th Division headquarters the picture was obscure
throughout the day because of lost communications, but the appearance
of many enemy column!; behind the regimental sectors
and the tragic tales of stragglers indicated a complete disintegration
of regimental defenses. The 28th Division command post
itself was attacked when the enemy approached Wiltz. The 44th
Engineer Combat Battalion, the 447th Antiaircraft Battalion,
and miscellaneous headquarters personnel from the division were
used to defend the town. The command post had communications
left with only one regiment.
Direcdy behind the 28th Division, on the St. Vith-Bastogne
road, were roadblocks established by the Combat Command Reserve
of the 9th Armored Division. One block, known as Task
Force Rose, was attacked by the enemy in the morning and was
overrun by 1400, December 18. A roadblock on the Wiltz-Bastogne
road, known as Task Force Hayze, came under heavy attack
by 1815. The Germans overran this roadblock during the
night of December 18-19 to come within three kilometers of Bastogne.
The defense of Bastogne now became the task of airborne
infantry and armored units which had been ordered into the
sector. I