U.S. soldiers of the 422nd and 423rd Regiments of the 106th Infantry Division are photographed after their surrender to the Germans during the Ardennes Offensive of the Battle of the Bulge. On 16 December 1944 over 8,000 German artillery pieces opened up on the Ardennes sector. What would follow in the next few days would become known as the largest defeat of the U.S. Army during the war. Over the next three days, the 422nd and 423rd Regiments became completely cut off from the rest of the divison. Reinforcements from the U.S. 7th Armored Division weren’t able to break trough and an ammunition drop failed to arrive. On 19 December the ammunition reserves for the two Regiments were exhausted and the U.S. Commanders Col. Descheneaux and Col. Cavender decided that further fighting would do more harm than good. To save what was left of their men, they surrendered the remainders of their Regiments. Over 7,000 men of the 106th went into German captivity and would spend the duration of the war in a series of POW camps. Near Schönberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. 22 December 1944.
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Thank you for posting this image! The officer who worked out their surrender was Col. Bill Garlow. He was my boss once. He was a fluent Deutsch speaker because Admiral Felix von Luckner adopted him and insisted he learn Deutsch. The adoption followed Luckner learning who the boy in an Athen's, Ga. military school was Buffalo Bill Cody's oldest grandson. Luckner adopted him without hesitation. Luckner joined the German Navy in 1890's after failing to meet Buffalo Bill in his home in Neb. after being a stowaway. The German Navy got him back home. Buffalo Bill was in Germany that Summer. Bill Garlow had is lung punched trying to get the artillery to stop killing his men. The great humanitarian Luckner's effort echoed to save 7000 American lives. Bill insisted they all be placed in a stone barn with the officers on the night they surrendered. Otherwise they would have mostly frozen to death!
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