December 19. 1944

On december 18, SS-Standartenfuehrer Peiper crossed the bridge across the Ambleve river in the Belgian town of Stavelot.

Unable to defeat the American forces of the 117th Infantry regiment defending the town, Peiper decided to continue his advance west towards the bridge at Trois-Pont, leaving behind a only small support force to defend the route through Stavelot

Peiper assumed that the 3rd Fallschirmjaeger Division was close behind him and would soon arrive at Stavelot to relief the garrison he had left behind. Poor road conditions and unexpectedly fierce U.S resistance however had caused the division to fall behind. 

Upon his arrival at Trois-Ponts, Peiper discovered that the bridge had already been destroyed by the enemy on retreat to the west.

The only remaining exit west, out of the Ambleve valley, led Peiper and his Kampfgruppe to the town of Stoumont.

Meanwhile, the U.S 30th Infantry divisions'  1st batallion under the command of Lt. col Frankland had recaptured most of Stavelot, severing the lifeline to Peiper.

At this point, the German controlled only the bridge, the area south of the bridge and a small block of houses in the west of town


OBJECTIVE:

-Restore the supply route to Peiper by establishing a corridor through Stavelot
-Regain total control of the town and surrounding area.