Outside a farmer’s stone storage.

Monument

A triangular-shaped monument, framed by tank treads and set against a stone wall. The inscription is written in Luxembourgish and English. The printed insignias are the 9^th Armored Divison on the top, the Wincrange coat of arms, and the logo of the Friends of Patton's 26th Infantry Division – Luxembourg association.

During the Battle of the Bulge (December 17-18, 1944), two units from the 9th Armored Division established roadblocks at Antoniushaff and Féitsch crossroads to delay the advance of the 2nd German Panzer Division on their way to Bastogne. Despite heavy German attacks, these American defenses slowed the German forces long enough for the 10th Armored Division and the 101st Airborne Division to fortify Bastogne, contributing to the failure of the German offensive.

Source of information and photos: Steven Schultz

The events at Antoniushaff and at the Féitsch crossroads in December 1944 

On December 17th, two units of the 9th Armoured Division CCR were deployed to Antoniushaff and the important crossroads at Feitsch to stop the 2nd German Panzer division on its way to Bastogne. Two Task Forces were set up, Task Force Rose took position at Antoniushaff and Task Force Harper took position at Féitsch crossroads, where an important road leads in a direct way lo Bastogne. 

In the morning of December 18th, German recon units of the 2nd Panzer division reached the american outposts of the Antoniushaff roadblock. They attacked the American positions twice but they were pushed back each time by the support of the American Artillery. 

At noon, the German tanks spread around the fields of Antoniushaff with a higher number of tanks than the Task Force, before attacking from sides. Rose tried to hold its positions, but when darkness fell he had to withdraw its five remaining tanks in direction of Houffalize. 

Now the German tanks moved, to the south in direction of the Féitsch crossroads, to reach the road to Bastogne. Unfortunately a German recon patrol found out that an important road block was set up at Féitsch. About thirty tanks with armoured infantry were waiting around the crossroads to ambush the Germans.  

At Heisdorf, the Germans didn't use the main road, but they took a small trail on the left, which leads behind a ridge just a half mile opposite the American positions of Task Force Harper. They only left their cover to fire, then they drew back immediately. After a short time the first American tank was burning which illuminated the whole roadblock and turned the American tanks into good targets for the Germans. Under these circumstances Harper lost most of his tanks in a very short time. Those tanks which hadn't been hit by the Gerrnans had to be blown up by their own crew because they couldn't move back through the dense wooden area behind. Like many of his men, LT Col Ralph Harper didn't survive that day.

The two roadblocks, the one at Antoniushaff and the other at Feitsch crossroads, held the German advance long enough to allow the 10th Armoured Division to set up three new roadblocks closer to Bastogne so that the 101th Airborne Division had enough time to gain this town with its most importani crossroads in this area of the offensive. The fact that the Germans never took Bastogne meaned the failure of whole offensive.

Do you Remember?

Jo, mir hu Si net vergiess!