12/30/07

As the Germans withdrew when their offensive failed, the Ardennes area was littered with destroyed and abandoned vehicles.  The SS Tiger battalion left seven of its tanks (104, 204, 211, 213, 332, 334, and the one in the curve below the village) in or near La Gleize.  Some of these behemoths seriously impeded the movement of U.S. forces through the area, and after initial checks to ensure they had not been booby-trapped the tanks were simply pushed from the roadway by bulldozer or whatever heavy vehicle was available.  Others were left in place until after the war’s end, and scrap metal dealers eventually salvaged them.  Many of them were taken to the large steel foundries in Liege.  Before they were dismantled and hauled away, some became local landmarks. 

Tiger 222 gets a new crew after the battle in Stavelot. (M. Courtejoie, Stavelot)

This Tiger abandoned in La Gleize was a favorite subject for family photos. (December 1944 Museum, La Gleize)

After the battle the US Army assisted the Belgians in clearing their fields and roads of the wrecked panzers.  At La Gleize the Americans hauled many vehicles onto the road from La Gleize to Cheneux and demolished them there.  Scrap dealers then hauled the pieces away. (December 1944 Museum, La Gleize)

The Ardennes Offensive was the first time American units had faced the Königstiger in substantial numbers, and two of the captured tanks were immediately recovered for study.  Tiger 204 was left in an orchard field just off the main road in La Gleize.  The U.S. First Army’s 463rd Ordnance Evacuation Company found that 204 was still in running condition, and the ordnance soldiers attempted to recover the tank.  Go here for more information on 204's journey.  

Tiger 332 had a more interesting recovery career.  After its capture on 25 December by the 740th Tank Battalion, a unit of the 463rd Ordnance Evacuation Company found 332 and on 26 December brought up a heavy tank recovery tractor-trailer.  They loaded 332 and set off, spending a night in Stavelot and eventually reaching Spa, where they left the Tiger at the railway station for further recovery.  In February 1945 an Ordnance Technical Inspection Team assigned to First Army from Aberdeen Proving Ground transported 332 to Antwerp and shipped it to Aberdeen for examination and testing.  See the saga of 332.

One other Königstiger from the Ardennes battles survives.  See the story of the restoration of Tiger 213 in La Gleize.

Tiger 213 in La Gleize has always been a favorite subject of photographers.  Modern day reenactors pose with Werner Wendt, a tank commander in the 1. Kompanie of s. SS-Pz.Abt. 501 in the Ardennes. (Frédéric Ruelle)

All text copyright 2005-2008 Gregory A. Walden. All rights reserved; material from this website may only be republished with the author’s permission.