Battle for Pruem and the West Wall

[ZT692]

Can anyone point me in the right direction for some definitive works on this area, I am conducting some research on the battle for Pruem and the West Wall, January-March 1945, any help is appreciated-thanks Steve

[Eric JB]

Hi Steve,

I don't know if there are definitive works for the Prüm area !!!
The problem is that too many units were active there, to start with all the units under the umbrella of the 6th and 5th Panzer Army, on the way into the bulge or on the way back when the offensive stopped.
I am much interested in the Battle of the Bulge too, and one can only buy as much books as possible concerning such an area to make the view complete.
I have such information in books, but not in one book only !!!

The 16.12.1944 starting point of the 18.VGD was above Prüm, but as you are interested in that unit you sure know that.

http://home.planet.nl/~wijer037/Bulge/default.htm
Hans wrote a couple of books on the Schnee Eifel area, maybe there is the info you are looking for in it.
And they are all written in english.

There are West Wall books, but more on the defence works than on the active battle.

yours friendly

Eric-Jan

[F L Clemens]

I am also very interested in Pruem. It was the last signifcant battle for Meinrad von Lauchert who commanded the 2.PD there. I am writing his biography. The 2.PD was in pitiful shape - I have seen a strength of 3 panzers and 500 men - basically it was being ground into dust there despite Lauchert's pleas to have the division pulled out.

I agree there is no definitive work on the battle, although I have looked hard and bought books that turned out to be fairly worthless (Bis zum bitteren Ende).

See After the Battle 46 for an article from the US side. Also the Army Green Books volume on the post-Bulge period.

On the German side, I have put together various archival sources that cover the battle, but nothing in a true day-by-day sense. It seems the situation was too chaotic and no diary by a participant has surfaced.

[W Petz]

I would recommend trying to obtain some of the Unit history books of the US forces that were involved in the battle for Pruem. I have one such book on the 4th ID 22nd Infantry Regt. that shows photos and captions....by the way the 4th ID had to capture the area twice. Once in September 1944 and then again after the Ardennes Offensive "Battle of the Bulge" in February/March 1945. There is also a Book written by Charles B. MacDonald on the Siegried Line Campaign published by the Center of Military History US Army Washington DC 1993. It provides pretty detailed information on the first attack on the Pruem area...giving names of units involved both German and American.

[Larry deZeng]

The U.S. Army Military History Institute at Carlisle Barracks, Carlisle PA, has enough material on the fighting in and around Prüm as seen from both sides that it would take a researcher a full week to 10 days to read through it all while making photocopies and taking notes. USAMHI is open to the public, but it is best to let them know ahead of time that you are coming. All POVs and individuals have to go through a 10 to 15 minute security screening by the military police before being admitted to the post.

--Larry

[F L Clemens]

Hey Larry, thanks for the tip about Carlisle. I am close enough to consider making a day trip there.

Do you have any further hints about where to look there? Is there a specific collection centered on Pruem? Have you looked at those materials yourself?

Also, about German sources, I am only aware of the Army Historical Division manuscripts that touch on Pruem (mainly from a Corps Commander's perspective - Graf Oriola) but not on further sources from the German side. Would those be G2 and interrogation reports you are referring to? I have a few already, but nothing all that comprehensive.

[Larry deZeng]

Hey Larry, thanks for the tip about Carlisle. I am close enough to consider making a day trip there.
Do you have any further hints about where to look there? Is there a specific collection centered on Pruem? Have you looked at those materials yourself?
Also, about German sources, I am only aware of the Army Historical Division manuscripts that touch on Pruem (mainly from a Corps Commander's perspective - Graf Oriola) but not on further sources from the German side. Would those be G2 and interrogation reports you are referring to? I have a few already, but nothing all that comprehensive.

I have been there a number of times, mainly during the late 'seventies and the 'eighties, but last in October 2002. I have never researched there specifically for material on the fighting in and around Prüm, but I have for a number of other subjects, some of them indirectly related. Your starting point on arrival should be a sit-down with one of their reference librarians. They will define the parameters of your research, get you started and provide additional help as you go along. They have an ocean of daily reports, after-action reports, POW interrogations, postwar monographs, etc., covering the U.S. side at divisional, regimental, battalion and company level. They also have biographies and memoirs written by participants. On the German side, the main resource is the Foreign Military Studies series, of course. But they also have a considerable holding of unpublished and published German language material, some of which will certainly include coverage of Prüm. And don't forget the POW interrogations that I mentioned earlier. IIRC, they also hold all of the special studies and notes gathered by the Center for Military History that were used to prepare the official U.S. Army studies of World War Two, both the so-called "Green" series as well as others, some of which were never published. IMHO, you would not be wasting your time to go up there for a day or two. My guess is that you will want to return time and again. I often wish I lived in Frederick/MD or Gettysburg/PA so I could take frequent day trips to NARA and Carlisle!

--Larry

P.S. Before you go up there, why not call them and ask to speak to one of the reference librarians. Read to them what I have typed above and ask them if that sounds reasonable so you don't make an unnecessary trip, wasting both your time and theirs.

[F L Clemens]

...IIRC, they also hold all of the special studies and notes gathered by the Center for Military History that were used to prepare the official U.S. Army studies of World War Two, both the so-called "Green" series as well as others, some of which were never published. ....

Thanks for the detailed follow-up! I am especially interested in the background material you mentioned for the Green series. The subject of my biography, Meinrad von Lauchert, spent the year of 1947 working for the Army Historical Division, yet I have not found a single page of work by him at NARA - only his basic bio and pay records while at Allendorf. I'll be thrilled if I can finally locate any writings he contributed.

Steve - I am also in Virginia (Northern), so if you want to collaborate somehow on our mutual Pruem interest, let me know.