German 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend: Encyclopedia II - German 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend - Withdrawal - Wacht Am Rhein

German 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend - Withdrawal - Wacht Am Rhein

Hitlerjugend was given a brief respite, but received virtually no reinforcements or equipment. The division was soon thrown back into battle, and took part in the fighting withdrawal to the Franco-Belgian border. By September 1944, the division counted less than 2,000 men, without armour or heavy equipment. On 6 September, Kurt Meyer was captured by Belgian partisans. Meyer had removed his SS uniform and was wearing the uniform of a regular German army officer. In the confusion of the withdrawal, the division was unable to undertake a rescue attempt. SS-Obersturmbannführer Hubert Meyer was placed in command of the division.

In November 1944, the division was pulled out of the line and sent to Neinburg in Germany, where it was to be reformed. The majority of the much-needed reinforcements were transferred Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine personnel, and the reformed division would never match the elite status it had boasted in the spring of 1944. Late in the month, Hubert Meyer was replaced by SS-Obersturmbannführer Hugo Kraas, and the division was attached to SS-Oberstgruppenführer Sepp Dietrich's 6.SS-Panzer-Armee, which was forming up for Operation Wacht Am Rhein (the Second Battle of the Ardennes, popularly known as the Battle of the Bulge), a large-scale offensive to recapture Antwerp and halt the Allied advance.

The operation opened on 16 December 1944. Kampfgruppe Peiper from the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler led the assault, breaking through the enemy lines. The HJ, which was to follow the Kampfgruppe and exploit the breakthrough, became bogged down in traffic jams caused by the 12.Volksgrenadier-Division. When the division reached the front, it was met with heavy resistance from American troops stationed on the Elsenborn Ridge. Despite several intense efforts, the division could not budge the American defenders. As a result, the division was ordered to swing left and follow the advance line of the remainder of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler. American defenders prevented the division from reaching its objective, and after the destruction of Kampfgruppe Peiper, the advance of Dietrich's army altogether. Near the end of the year, the HJ was shifted south to take part in the efforts to capture Bastogne, and saw heavy fighting around the city. By 18 January 1945, the HJ, along with all the German forces, had been pushed back to its starting positions.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Withdrawal - Wacht Am Rhein", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki