The Lake Norman Brief
World War II
World War II history from The Lake Norman Brief, beginning with the Battle of the Bulge collection.
-
The Western Tip: Parker’s Crossroads, Manhay, Hotton and Celles
Hotton’s engineers, Parker’s Crossroads, Rochefort, Manhay and the Celles pocket: how the German drive for the Meuse at Dinant was stopped, 19–27…
-
The Road to Assenois: The 4th Armored Division and the Bastogne Corridor
How Third Army’s 4th Armored Division fought from Arlon through Martelange, Chaumont and Assenois to reach Bastogne at 1650 on 26 December…
-
Bastogne: The Encirclement, the Surrender Demand and the Airdrops
Bastogne, 18–26 December 1944: Noville, the captured hospital, the surrender demand and “Nuts!”, the airdrops and surgeons, Christmas at Champs, and the…
-
St. Vith and the Fortified Goose Egg
How the 7th Armored Division and a patchwork force held the St. Vith road hub for five days in December 1944, then…
-
The Schnee Eifel and the 106th Infantry Division
How the 106th Infantry Division’s 422nd and 423rd Infantry were trapped on the Schnee Eifel, surrendered near Schönberg on 19 Dec 1944,…
-
Peiper’s Road and the Engineers: Stavelot, Trois-Ponts, Stoumont and La Gleize
How the 291st and 51st Engineers blew the bridges at Stavelot, Trois-Ponts and the Lienne, and how Kampfgruppe Peiper ended on foot…
-
The Northern Shoulder: Lanzerath, the Twin Villages, Elsenborn Ridge and Dom Bütgenbach
How V Corps held Lanzerath, Krinkelt–Rocherath, Höfen, Elsenborn Ridge and Dom Bütgenbach, 16–23 December 1944, and the seven Medals of Honor won…
-
The Opening Hours: Wacht am Rhein and the Surprise in the Ardennes
How Wacht am Rhein surprised the thin VIII Corps line on 16 December 1944, and how Clervaux, Hosingen, Wiltz, Diekirch, Berdorf and…