Battle of the Bulge Kaiserbaracke

This is the location where the spearhead, Schnelle Gruppe Knittel, 1st SS Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung, of “Kampfgruppe Knittel” stopped on December 18, 1944, to determine which direction to take.

This location is now a roundabout near an industrial park.

The person in front in photo 2 is Untersharführer Ochsner.

Kampfgruppe Knittel followed Rollbahn E. One of the two Rollbahnen D and E, which were assigned to the 1st SS Panzer Division ‘Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler’. The other three Rollbahnen, A, B, and C, were assigned to the 12th SS Panzer Division ‘Hitlerjugend’.

Kampfgruppe Kinittel was one of four Kampfgruppen that took part in the Battle of the Bulge. The other three were Kampfgruppe Peiper, Sandig, and Hansen, named after the commanders of the attack group. These Kampfgruppen all had different starting and ending points, initially in the direction of the Meuse River.

Kampfgruppe Knittel, SS-Sturmbannführer Gustav Knittel, commander of Rollbahn E during the offensive.

Kampfgruppe Peiper; SS-Obersturmbannführer Jochen Peiper, commander of Rollbahn D during the offensive. This Rollbahn was later also used by Kampfgruppe Sandig.

The objective was to reach the Meuse River and from there to the ports of Antwerp. Rollbahn D eventually split into D and E and had as their end points Huy and Ombret-Rausa, both located on the Meuse.

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Source

• Text: Ed Lewandowski
• Photos: Ed Lewandowski (1, 3, 4), U.S. National Archives / Public domain (2)
• Kampgruppe Peiper, David Cooke & Wayne Evans