Battle of Wingen-sur-Moder:

Operation Nordwind

 

by Wallace Robert Cheves

Colonel, Infantry, Army United States, Retired

 

Revised Edition edited by

Steven K. Dixon

 

A Merriam Press Original Reprint Publication
Military Monograph MM79

 

This is a completely revised edition of Col. Cheves' work entitled L'Operation Nordwind et Wingen-sur-Moder (first published privately in 1978 and again in 1979). The book was originally photocopied or mimeographed and distributed to 70th Division veterans. The pictures did not look good and text sometimes ran off the margins. With the help of computer technology, the text, pictures and maps have all been enhanced. This is not a facsimile reprint, but an entirely new edition, completely re-typeset and newly formatted.

 

It is the story of the battle of Wingen-sur-Moder, an important village leading to the Alsatian Plain. If German forces had captured this town in the early days of Operation Nordwind, and had been able to release their reserve Panzer divisions into the plain, the war might have been lengthened.

 

Colonel Cheves commanded the U.S. forces involved in the battle. The 2nd Battalion of the 274th, along with troops from the 276th and supporting elements, defeated two battalions of the battle-hardened 6th SS Mountain Division (Nord). This book, along with Seven Days in January by Wolf Zoepf (Aberjona Press), gives a complete picture of this important battle.

 

Operation Nordwind, launched December 31, 1944, was Hitler's last major offensive. Its' objective-take Alsace Lorraine, split the U.S. Seventh and Third Armies, link up with the Germans in the Colmar Pocket and continue south, routing the French Army.

 

On December 31, 1944, 2nd Battalion of the elite 6th Mountain Division attacked Wingen-sur-Moder in Alsace Lorraine and took some 200 POWs, members of the 45th Division. At that time the 275th and 276th Infantry Regiments of the 70th Division were committed to halt the German advance, re-take Wingen and free the American GIs. The 274th Infantry Regiment of the 70th moved in to fill the gap between the 275th and 276th, on January 4th, 1945. On January 5th advanced to the edge of Wingen-sur-Moder and on January 6th began an attack of the German forces.

 

On the evening of January 6th, the Germans launched a counterattack, which was repulsed by G Co., 274th.

 

On the morning of January 7th, the 200+ American prisoners were freed and Wingen-sur-Moder cleared of all German soldiers, and the German offensive in that area brought to a halt.

 

The Second Battalion, 274th Infantry was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for its' actions in Wingen - almost unheard of for a unit in its initial combat.
 

Contents

• Glossary

• Foreword to New Edition by Steven K. Dixon

• Dedication

• Foreword: The American Perspective by Fred Cassidy, CO, G/274

• Foreword: The German Perspective by Linus Maier and Karl Neumer

• Introduction

• 1: Operation Nordwind

• 2: The Battle for Wingen-sur-Moder

• 3: Infantry Attacks Through the Village

• 4: The Final Day

• 5: Aftermath and Reconciliation
• Appendices
  • Report by Samuel B. Conley, CO, 274th Infantry Regiment
  • Distinguished Unit Citation: 2nd Battalion, 274th Infantry Regiment
  • Killed in Action (KIA), Wingen-sur-Moder, 2nd Battalion, 274th Infantry
  • Wounded in Action (WIA), Wingen-sur-Moder, 2nd Battalion, 274th Infantry
  • Unit Report, 2-4 January 1945
  • Unit Report, 6-7 January 1945
• Bibliography
  • Select Reading List
  • References

Specifications

• Second edition (December 2005)
• 242– 6 x 9 inch pages
• Paperback – $18.95
  • Perfect bound, full-color wrap-around cover
• Hardcover – $34.95
  • Blue linen cover with title stamped in gold on spine, full-color dust jacket
• PDF file – $6.95
  • A complete copy of the book including the cover images in a single PDF file on CD disc
• 64,000 words
• 15 photos
• 5 illustrations
• 6 maps
• 2 tables
• Footnotes

Reviews and Testimonials

 

—Norbert Schmitt, La Broque, France