The “Victory” of the 106th: The Price Paid Was Staggering
July 2026
In the last post, I shared the story of Corporal Kenneth Smith of Indiana. Like my dad, Smith suffered the humiliation of being a prisoner-of-war. In this post, I want to share a little about his unit and the grave losses in the face of the German Army’s last desperate attempt to change the fortunes of the war.
It is worth relating that Corporal Smith’s 106th Division was positioned across the Ardennes forest in what was a bitter winter in December 1944. It was a new division with no battle experience. Even the commanding officer, General Alan Jones, had yet to lead soldiers in combat. The average age was twenty-one and while U.S. Army practice was that a division should cover a five-mile front, the 106th was ordered to defend 21 miles. It was there against this brand-new unit that the German 11th Panzer Division ferociously focused its attack. The line crumbled, but small units raced to survive and fill weak spots along the desperate German counteroffensive. Sadly, the 106th, placed in a terrible situation, had 7,100 soldiers surrender in mere days – the largest single capitulation of an American fighting force since Bataan in 1942. Corporal Smith, who clung tenaciously until the bitter end, was an example how bitter it was and how the tiniest extension of time in defeat can make a difference.
It was the saltier, more prestigious paratroopers, Dad’s “old pals,” who held their position, and it was the ever-rolling “glamour boys” of 4th Armored who spun on a dime to march and open the German line. Both units were the heroes of the Battle of the Bulge.
The 106th did not enjoy such fame, nor did it receive the high honors of my Father’s two units. This inexperienced unit absorbed the full energy of the German Army as the latter desperately sought to slice through them and make its break towards Antwerp. “Within 72 hours, two entire regiments of the 106th Infantry Division ceased to exist.” Allen Frazier, Military.com December 18,2025. These “green” troops and their division were essentially wiped out and in full panic mode.
Not just yet.
I like to think that without every GI Joe and Sad Sack who tried his best to take the blows, hang on to the line, or fight until it slipped from his grip, the Bulge could have proven to be a much greater mess. In candor, there were many who were so unnerved by the sudden, violent assault that they thought little of slowing down the Wehrmacht. They ran and scattered or surrendered in great haste in order to save their lives. Enough were able to find opportunities to connect and do “something.” That “something” was not much compared to the heroic fighting of the paratroopers and tank soldiers but it may have been enough.
The 101st was famously valiant in its refusal to give an inch to the awful battering it received at Bastogne. While the paratroopers did not like to acknowledge it, they were saved by the tankers of the 4th Armored Division. The 4th’s ability to pivot, sprint in the midst of winter, and break the German grip on Bastogne is a tale that will be told and celebrated by warriors through the ages. But the “poor” 106th’s beating by a much better and larger German force is a story that shows what it takes to win a war. Everyone!
Blow upon blow fell upon them. They did what they could to slow the unstoppable force passing through their midst, and every second delayed mattered. Some units, unaware that they were surrounded and their larger division was collapsing, kept fighting. According to Allen Frazier in his article in Military.com, “‘We all saw that white flag and we thought they were surrendering to us," recalled Corporal Stanley Wojtusik of the 422nd (Regiment.) ‘Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.’ The Germans approached under a flag of truce on Dec. 19 and urged the regiments to give up.”
One stand was at St Vith, Belgium, where soldiers from the 424th Regiment were able to gather and hold out long enough to re-group with elements of other Army divisions. St. Vith was a key location for the Wehrmacht because, like Bastogne, it was a hub of roads that linked to other towns. The St. Vith defense held out long enough to put the German timeline behind schedule. Senior German officers years later acknowledged that, while St. Vith finally fell to them on December 21, that delay held up an entire Corps. That delay was critical. One German general even recommended that the assault be called off.
Although the 106th was in near-full collapse, other remnants were able to re-group and offer enough resistance to slow down the German advance a bit more. Soldiers like Corporal Williams hung on as long as they could, and in this particular battle, every minute counted for the German Army. In the end the 106th was overrun, and in some eyes, humiliated in its defeat. They were pushed back and routed, but their desperate efforts held up the assault just long enough. The famous “bulge” in the line was about to be contained, setting up the ultimate victory.
The price paid was horrific and humiliating. The suffering on a large scale, and the trauma at the individual level was staggering.