Operation Stösser (English: Operation Auk) was a paratroop drop into the American rear in the High Fens area during the Battle of the Bulge. Their objective was to take and hold the "Baraque Michel" crossroads until the arrival of the 12th SS Panzer Division. The operation was led by Oberst Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte. He was given only 8 days to prepare the mission. The majority of the paratroopers and pilots assigned to the operation were untrained and inexperienced. The mission was a complete failure. It was the German paratroopers' only nighttime drop during World War II.
Read more about Operation Stösser: Background, Lack of Training, Assault Delay and Mis-drops, Confusion Among Americans, Withdrawal To Germany
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“Waiting for the race to become official, he began to feel as if he had as much effect on the final outcome of the operation as a single piece of a jumbo jigsaw puzzle has to its predetermined final design. Only the addition of the missing fragments of the puzzle would reveal if the picture was as he guessed it would be.”
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