Manhay — Northern Breakthrough

Manhay, BE

Manhay was the scene of a dangerous German breakthrough on the northern face of the Bulge on the night of December 23–24, 1944, when **2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich** captured the vital road junction — one of the few serious penetrations of the northern shoulder during the offensive. The loss of Manhay threatened to open a corridor toward Liège and created an emergency that required rapid American response. **7th Armoured Division** and elements of the **82nd Airborne Division** were committed to restore the situation, fighting in darkness and fog against SS panzer troops. The junction was retaken by Christmas Day, preventing further exploitation. The fighting at Manhay is less famous than Bastogne but was operationally critical — had the Germans been able to exploit the breakthrough and reach the Meuse, the outcome of the offensive might have been very different. The road junction at Manhay remains geographically unchanged and can still be identified as the point where the German thrust came closest to achieving a strategic breakthrough on the northern shoulder.