HOLDING THE LINE - United States Army

HOLDING THE LINE

THE 51st ENGINEER COMBAT BATTALION AND THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE DECEMBER 1944 - JANUARY 1945

,

BY

KEN HECHLER

WITH A PROLOGUE A ND EPILOGUE BY BARRY W. FOWLE

STUDIES IN MILITARY ENGINEERING NUMBER 4

.-I;

HOLDING THE LINE

THE 5lst ENGINEER COMBAT BATTALION

AND THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE

i;

DECEMBERl944-JANUARY 1945

bY

Ken Hechler

with a prologue and epilogue by Barry W. Fowle

.

Studies in Military Engineering

Number 4

OFFICE OF HISTORY UNITED STATES ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS

FORT BELVOIR, VIRGINIA 1988

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Hechler, Ken, 1914Holding the line.

Bibliography: p.

1. Ardennes, Battle of the, 1944-1945.

2. United States. Army. Engineer Combat Battalion,

51st--History. I. Title.

D756.5.A7H42 1988

940.54'12'73

88-3447

Reprinted--1989 EP 870-1-38

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402

Foreword

On 16 December 1944, when the 51st Engineer Combat Battalion faced the Germans' last gasp effort to win the war, it had been operating 30 sawmills in support of the First United States Army. Within days the battalion was spread over the Belgian countryside, defending roads, bridges, and towns from the Nazi attempt to break through to the Meuse River and to split the British and American forces. The men set up roadblocks, using mines and abatis; mined bridges and culverts; and defended river crossings with machine guns, recoilless rifles, and bazookas.

This narrative by Ken Hechler, a combat historian and Infantry captain at the time, was drawn from numerous oral history interviews of participants. Captain Hechler and Technician Fourth Class Harvey R. George did the interviews shortly after the battles.

This volume is another in the Office of History's series of Studies in Military Engineering. It describes the 51st's successful defensive operations during a period in the Battle of the Bulge. This unit's story is especially interesting because it identifies the specific locations of all defenses, allowing the reader to follow in detail the tactics of Engineer commanders.

PAT M. STEVENS, IV Colonel, Corps of Engineers Chief of Staff

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Acknowledgments

Ken Hechler's manuscript lay in the files for over 40 years, and some effort was required to make it publishable. Kathy Richardson and Connie Potter edited and proofed the manuscript, and Robert R. Weekes prepared all the graphic art. Diane Arms, editor for the Office of History, assisted with the cartographic research and verification of the place names mentioned in the text. Thanks a l s o go to Center of Military History personnel Howell C. Brewer, Jr., for locating the 1:100,000 base map from which many of the maps were drawn, and Arthur S. Hardyman, for his advice on map making.

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