Alamo In The Ardennes – John McManus

Eisenhower presents troopers of the 101st Airborne Division with a unit citation for their successful defense of Bastogne. The 101st received most of the postbattle citations and historical plaudits for holding Bastogne. Ninety miles west of Bastogne, inside an old French Army barracks building at Mourmelon, Corporal Arlo Butcher was in his bunk, sleeping soundly. He and thousands of other men of the 101st Airborne Division were enjoying a well-earned rest after seventy-two days of continuous combat in Holland. They slept on straw-filled mattresses, in crude buildings with stucco walls and concrete floors, but for the first time in many months, the men were enjoying indoor plumbing and power.

The division was drawing new equipment, welcoming replacements, and training for future airborne operations. The paratroopers and glider soldiers of this outfit knew little or nothing about the intense drama unfolding to their east, but that was about to change. Corporal Butcher was a member of Battery F, 81st Airborne Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion. He had been through combat in Holland, and he was still decompressing.

Now, in the darkness of early morning, he was awakened “by a lot of noise in the building next door. Jeeps and trucks were running all over the place.” He exchanged knowing glances with his buddies in adjacent bunks. “We all knew something was in the wind.” They were right.

The phone call had come from the XVIII Airborne Corps at 2030 the evening before. The division was being alerted for movement to Belgium. The “Screamin’ Eagles” of the 101st Airborne Division were to pack up and be ready to go by 1400 that afternoon. Throughout the barracks complex, officers, NCOs, and guards were busy waking their soldiers. Private Cleto Leone was on charge-of-quarters duty —similar to night watch—for his squad.

Additional Advance Praise for Alamo in the Ardennes “John McManus shines a light on the lesser-known battles that made the historic defense of Bastogne possible. His excellent research puts the reader on the icy battlefields of Belgium, where threadbare American retrograde fighting frustrated Hitler’s last offensive in the west.”

—Kevin M. Hymel, author of Patton’s Photographs “John McManus has deftly woven a wide range of previously untapped sources into a dramatic and finely detailed account of events that set the stage for the successful defense of Bastogne during the Ardennes counteroffensive. In doing so, McManus pays a long overdue and heartfelt tribute to the brave men of the 110th Infantry Regiment, Combat Command R, 9th Armored Division, and CCD, 10th Armored Division, without detracting from the epic stand of the ‘Screaming Eagles’ of the 101st Airborne Division.”

—Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Mark J. Reardon, U.S. army historian and author of Victory at Mortain ALAMO IN THE ARDENNES Also by John C. McManus The Americans at Normandy: The Summer of 1944 — the American War from the Normandy Beaches to Falaise The Americans at D-Day: The American Experience at the Normandy Invasion Deadly Sky: The American Combat Airman in World War II The Deadly Brotherhood: The American Combat Soldier in World War II ALAMO IN THE ARDENNES THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE AMERICAN SOLDIERS WHO MADE THE DEFENSE OF BASTOGNE POSSIBLE JOHN C.

McMANUS John Wiley & Sons, Inc. This book is printed on acid-free paper. Copyright © 2007 by John C. McManus. All rights reserved Maps on pages xxx-xxxv © 2007 by Rick Britton Wiley Bicentennial Logo: Richard J. Pacifico Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646- 8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com .

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This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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