The Story of the 10th Armored Division cont.
German Volksgrenadiers flanked TF Cherry's main defenses at Longvilly and surrounded the battalion CP. Carbine-firing clerks, cooks and drivers resisted fiercely; converting the chateau headquarters into a veritable blockhouse. TF O'Hara, lightly hit at first, felt increasing pressure throughout the first day's engagement.
For eight hours., CC B alone withstood the multiple blows of the Nazi's Hydra-headed attack. Then help arrived. First reinforcements of the 101st Airborne Div., which had moved into Bastogne under the screen of the loth's actions, reached Desobry.
Drawing from a seemingly endless reservoir of might, Germans still maintained an overhelming balance of power. The outnumbered Americans shifted their defensive arc nearer Bastogne.
Completely encircled, its CP ablaze, TF Cherry fought back to Mageret as the commander radioed CC B headquarters: "We're not driven out; we're burned out! We are not withdrawing; we are moving."
Attacked from three sides, the Noville defenders knocked out 31 Nazi tanks in two days. Then, led by Maj. Charles L. Hustead, they broke through a ring of steel to set up another defensive line near Foy. TF O'Hara. pulled in its left flank slightly, stood fast.
Balked frontally, the German attack swirled around the city, shooting pincers to the north and south.