When the bridges over the Clerve River were finally secured on December 18, 2nd Panzer was ordered to bypass the besieged town of Bastogne and head for the Meuse River far to the west of the American lines. Early on December 19, however, they made contact with the defenders of Bastogne, who had extended their perimeter to block the division's advance.
Objectives: Your company is to move west and break through the blocking enemy positions. Your platoon will form the center left of the company battle line. In addition to enemy antitank positions, at least one platoon of Tank Destroyers is in a reserve position behind the antitank screen. Eradicate all opposition and move to the objective.
