"Battle of the Bulge question" Topic

Is there an instance where Volkgrenadiers fought along SS and Fallshirmjagers together during the Ardennes offensive?

My understanding is that it was paras + volksgrenadiers or paras + waffen ss but never all three arms together.

I need to paint 4 squads of these with a background story for a competition but can't find an engagement where this actually happened.

Any idea?

Repaint, as you mentioned, there's plenty of accounts of combined actions for VGs & FJs, or FJs and the SS, but I haven't run across any of all three together (at least not recounted in an organized, offensive action). Exceptions no doubt occurred during the tumult of retreats, pocket breakouts, etc.

3 different forces all together in one action is quite a stretch. Even 2 is unusual but did occur.

To get all three you're looking at a rather chaotic and confused situation.

Certainly could have happened and probably did. But documented evidence would be hard to find.

Can't think of any with SS, but 5th FJD and 26th VGD fought alongside each other around Bastogne and both Pz Lehr and 2nd PD attacked through them, so in theory you could have got FJ, VG and Heer PG fighting together.

ok, thanks. That is what I suspected.

I suppose I will just paint VG and FJ.

Paras were part of Peiper's SS battle group around Stoumont

Number 4 is correct with elements of the 9th Fallschirmjager Regiment, 3rd Fallschirmjager Division (about a company equivalent if I remember right) with Peiper around Stoumont and also at LaGleize.

And yet the 'Duel in the Mist' series of books assign these fallschirmjager to Panzerbrigade 150. Their precise unit was 12 Co. of Fallschirmjager Rgt. z.b.V. This was ascertained from the paybooks of the 20 fallschirmjager captured at Stoumont and La Gleize.

Let me see if I can remember this right: Peiper's assigned rollbahn was blocked, so he sidestepped to the north then went west back to his assigned route. He needed troops to defend the detour and gave some paras a ride (literally, on his tanks) to man the towns that weren't part of his original assigned rollbahn. So they weren't formally attached to Peiper's kampfegruppe but they did ride together for a little while.

You both are correct. Most sources say Peiper temporarily "borrowed" the fallschirmjagers, not that they were assigned to him.

Elements of the 12ss Panzer were committed to assist the 277th VG against the US 99th infantry div in the early stages of the Bulge. Even so (and with the examples given above) it would be very unusual for squads to mix. More likely AFV support would be assigned.

You need a higher level game if you want to mix different elements from different divisions.

TomT

Weren't the FJ who had such a hard time at Lanzerath Ridge supposed to be opening a hole for Pieper? Or are my advancing years playing havoc with my memory again?