"The tragedy of the Schnee Eifel was soon eclipsed by the triumph of St. Vith."

Ardennes-Alsace - CMH Pub 72-26

The tragedy of the Schnee Eifel was soon eclipsed by the triumph of St. Vith. Every senior German commander saw the "road octopus"—the omnidirectional junction of six roads in the town's eastern end—as vital for a massive breakthrough, freeing up the Sixth Panzer Army's advance. For the Americans, holding St. Vith would keep the V and VIII Corps within a reasonable distance of each other; without the town the enemy's spearheads would widen into a huge salient, folding back toward Bastogne further south. With intermittent communications, the St. Vith defenders thus operated with only one order from Middleton: "Hold at all costs."

The St. Vith defense purchased five critical days, but the situation remained grave.
As the 26th Volksgrenadier Division and the XLVII Panzer Corps' artillery closed in for the kill on 22 December, the corps commander's emissary arrived at the 101st Division's command post, demanding surrender or threatening annihilation. The acting division commander, Brig. Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe, replied "Nuts," initially confounding the Germans but not Bastogne's defenders. The defense held.

Meanwhile, as Bastogne held, Patton's Third Army units streamed northward.

Following fierce village-by-village fighting in frigid temperatures, the 4th linked up with Bastogne's defenders at 1650 on 26 December, lifting the siege but setting the stage for even heavier fighting for the Bastogne sector.

Meanwhile, the original SHAEF withdrawal plan, especially the abandonment of Strasbourg, had created an Allied crisis in confidence. Supporting Devers' decision not to withdraw, the Free French government of General Charles de Gaulle enlisted British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's support to amend Eisenhower's orders. Fortunately, Patch's successful defense temporarily shelved the SHAEF withdrawal plan, but Alsace was not to be spared further German attacks. Hilter's armored reserve and Himmler's Army Group Oberrhein had not yet entered the battle.