The overlooked Army division that held off the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge
At the start of the Battle of the Bulge, the 28th Infantry Division delayed the Germans long enough to allow the 101st Airborne Division to move into Bastogne.
Jeff Schogol
Published Jun 13, 2025 1:56 PM EDT
The Battle of the Bulge during World War II is often associated with the 101st Airborne Division’s heroic stand at Bastogne in Belgium. But it was the 28th Infantry Division’s tenacious defense at the start of the battle that delayed the Germans long enough to allow the 101st to move into Bastogne.
Nicknamed the “Bloody Bucket” by the Germans for the red keystone patches its soldiers wore on their uniforms, the 28th Infantry Division had just suffered about 5,700 casualties during the grueling battle of the Hürtgen Forest.
During the start of the Battle of the Bulge, 28th Division soldiers were outnumbered 10-to-1 by Germans in some areas. Almost immediately, the German advance shattered their lines and communications, leaving the soldiers of the 28th to fight in squad and platoon-sized elements, on their own — arguably more perilous conditions than faced by others who were able to keep their lines together as the Germans came on. Still, they put up a dogged resistance that bought other Army units valuable time. Eventually, their lines broke and the division withdrew West. By the time it was pulled off the front lines in December 1944, only about 200 soldiers remained in the division.
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