Hugues Wenkin’s ‘The Battle of St. Vith and the Potteau Ambush’

By Christopher Miskimon

The first days of the Ardennes Offensive were hard on the American forces defending the region. St Vith was hit especially hard. The American 106th Infantry Division and 14th Cavalry Group were destroyed in front of the town. At the nearby village of Potteau, an American column was ambushed and destroyed. German photographers from a propaganda unit took a series of images of this fight, which have since become famous after later falling into American hands.

These images have been seen frequently in books about the battle. After seeing them so often, the author became curious about the story behind the photographs. His investigation led to this book, which effectively explains the action where they were recorded. The book itself is well-researched and equally-well illustrated.

The Battle of St. Vith and the Potteau Ambush: December 1944 (Hugues Wenkin, Pen and Sword Books, South Yorkshire UK, 2024, 269pp., maps, photographs, notes, bibliography, index, $34.95, HC)

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