Battle of Wingen-sur-Moder: Operation Nordwind

Merriam Press Military Monograph 79. Fourth Edition (August 2012). This 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 US forces involved in the battle. 2nd Bn of the 274th, along with troops from the 276th and supporting elements, defeated two battalions of the battle-hardened 6th SS Mountain Division (Nord). 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. The 2nd Bn, 274th Infantry, was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for its' actions in Wingen—almost unheard of for a unit in its initial combat. 15 photos, 5 illustrations, 6 maps, 2 tables.