Defiance at Losheimergraben (Hardback)

The heroic stand at Losheimergraben Crossroads delayed the German advance, giving Allies crucial time to regroup.

While the battle to hold Bastogne is widely remembered, the fierce fight for the Losheimergraben Crossroads remains an overlooked moment of the Battle of the Bulge. Its early capture was a top priority for the German offensive, crucial to open up the main route for their planned advance toward Antwerp. A first attempt to take the area became an infantry fight playing out in the surrounding woods. The German 48th Grenadier Regiment pushed back the 1st Battalion of the 394th Infantry Regiment, but couldn’t break. Early the next day, the forward regiments of the 12th Volksgrenadier Division advanced on foot, sending out patrols to find their way past a remaining American firing line southeast of the crossroads.

This firing line comprised a small but determined group of around fifty men organized by Lieutenant Dewey Plankers—men from Companies B and C, jeep drivers and the crew of a defunct antiaircraft gun. Vastly outnumbered, Plankers and his ragtag group refused to give ground, fighting off multiple patrols. Eventually German pioneers managed to build a bridge over the railroad, enabling tanks supported by a rifle company to reach Plankers’ position. Lacking weapons and ammunition, Plankers ordered his men back to the buildings at the crossroads. Re-supplied, they continued to hold the position until dusk when, wounded, he led the twenty survivors through the German lines to rejoin the 394th. Their defiant stand had forced the Germans to alter their plans and delayed their advance, giving the Allies crucial time to regroup.

While Plankers’ efforts have been mentioned in other accounts, this is the full story of this critical engagement, told for the first time. Drawing from official records and personal recollections, this book sheds light on the bravery and sacrifice of men who stood firm when it mattered most.