The Story of the 10th Armored Division cont.
Von Rundstedt, who had chosen to marshal his remaining strength for a single,paralyzing blow, hoped the haymaker might be the knockout punch. He had to1d his elite SS, Panzer, and Volksgrenadier Divisions they would, overrun Belgium, Luxembourg and northern France, and even penetrate to the Channel coast. This was no idle boast, Von Rundstedt had to be stopped. The Tigers were the first division called to help Stem the raging drive.
That a successful penetration in depth can be only half the width of its case is a basic military, axiom. To punch out a wider base, the Prussian Field Marshal sent a mailed fist crashing southward along a 30-mile front toward Luxembourg City.
The 10th arrived as the fingers of the fist were choking off isolated pockets of 4th Inf. Div, doughs at Echternach and half a dozen adjacent towns only 11 miles northeast of Luxembourg's capital, Brig. Gen. Edwin W, Piburn's Combat Command A marched 75 miles in 18 hours Dec. 17, and the Tigers clawed into Rundstedt's south flank early next day. Task forces commanded by Lt. Col. Thomas C. Chamberlain, Lt. Col. Miles Standish and Lt. Col. John R. Riley roared forward to meet the Nazis.