St. Vith: Lion in the Way, The 106th Infantry Division at the Battle of the Bulge

St. Vith: Lion in the Way, first published in 1949, is a detailed account—including 47 pages of maps and photographs—of the U.S. Army's 106th Infantry Division, especially of the Division's critical role in the fighting in and around St. Vith, Belgium. In a cruel twist of fate, the 106th Infantry Division was newly arrived from the United States and only at the front line for several days before the enemy struck. The Battle of St. Vith was part of the Battle of the Bulge, which began on December 16, 1944, and represented the right flank in the advance of the German 5th Panzer Army, toward the ultimate objective of Antwerp. American troops were faced with difficult terrain, frigid, snowy weather which limited air support, and a desperate enemy fighting for their lives and which resorted to the illegal use of English-speaking soldiers wearing American Army uniforms to infiltrate allied lines ("Operation Greif"). The hard-fought defense of St. Vith by the 106th is credited with slowing the German Bulge offensive and also with ruining their timetable for reaching Antwerp. The book presents a day-by-day accounting of the battle, and continues until the German surrender and the role of the 106th in the massive round-up of German prisoners-of-war.