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Template:Campaignbox Bulge |
The Battle of Ettelbruck was one of the many engagements of the "Battle of the Bulge" of 1944-1945. The Americans liberated Ettelbruck on September 16, but the German Army re-occupied the town during the Winter Offensive. The Americans narrowly took over the town, and the German 50th Infantry Division was drained of its manpower.
Battle[]
The US 80th Infantry Division, who were a part of the US Third Army, fought to retake Ettelbruck, which was taken by the Germans on December 16, following its liberation two months earlier. The American soldiers were pushed back by the Wehrmacht, but Sherman Tanks arrived to support the infantry in counterattacking against the Germans. A squad of the 80th Infantry Division took over a manor house and ambushed a troop transport convoy, punching the German 50th Division square in the nose. The American troops had taken over half of the town when German Panzers pushed the Americans back, but the Shermans chewed through the German tanks and the soldiers and tanks blew up the German machine-gun positions in Luxembourgian buildings. The Americans pushed the Germans out of the town after seizing the town square, and the Town Square was renamed "Patton Square", since this was where he put an end to the Alzette Valley Offensive.