Comes with a hand-signed C.O.A.

Size: 18 × 20 inches

Rarity: EXTREMELY RARE

Dated: January 1945 - ETO Field Printed Only Within 5 Weeks Following the Battle of Bastogne

Created: 664th Engineer Topographic Corps, a unit attached to General George S. Patton’s Third Army

Providence: From the direct collection of Colonel Wade C. Gatchell, who served as the Commanding Officer of the Reserve Command, 10th Armored Division (the famed “Tiger Division”)

December 27th-31st, 1944

On December 27, 1944, the desperate siege of Bastogne was officially broken, but the brutal battle for the surrounding pocket intensified into some of the bitterest combat of the Ardennes campaign. Just one day prior, Lieutenant Colonel Creighton Abrams’ Task Force 37 from the 4th Armored Division had smashed through German lines from the south,opening a narrow supply corridor into the encircled town. From December 27 through December 31, General George S.Patton’s Third Army, along with the heavily battered 101st Airborne Division and Combat Command B of the 10th Armored Division, fought relentlessly to widen this fragile artery against fierce enemy counterattacks.

Determined to sever the newly forged lifeline and eliminate the Bastogne salient, the German High Command funneled fresh armor and infantry—including elements of the 3rd Panzergrenadier and 167th Volksgrenadier Divisions—into relentless strikes against the American perimeter. Sub-zero temperatures, deep snowdrifts, and freezing fog enveloped the battlefield, creating treacherous conditions for both armor and infantry. U.S. forces launched localized counteroffensives toward key outer strongpoints such as Noville, Foy, and Assenois to clear enemy strongholds and expand the buffer around the town. In the dense woods and frozen fields, troops endured intense artillery barrages, tank duels, and close-quarters infantry fighting. By New Year’s Eve, despite heavy casualties and severe weather, the Allied defenders successfully held the corridor open, expanding their control around the crossroads and turning Bastogne into a springboard for the broader Allied counteroffensive in the Ardennes.

This exceptionally rare and museum-grade World War II artifact is an original January 1945 Battle of the Bulge day-by-day combat situation map, printed by the 664th Engineer Topographic Corps, a unit attached to General George S. Patton’s Third Army. Created within weeks following the Battle of Bastogne, this field printed combat situation map represent an extraordinary feat of wartime cartography. To compile, design, and print such a detailed document amid the chaos of the Ardennes campaign demonstrates the precision and urgency of Patton’s engineers. Only a small batch of these Battle of the Bulge (Bastogne) situations maps were ever made, and even fewer have survived. They were printed in-theater in limited numbers for the highest-ranking commanders overseeing major infantry and armored divisions during one of the most pivotal engagements of the war.

Meant to accompany the SECRET military intelligence Battle of the Bulge battle reports, this map itself captures the fierce day-by-day progression of the Battle of Bastogne, showcasing troop movements, front-line shifts, and critical engagements as they unfolded in the bitter winter of 1944–1945. Its intricate blend of technical military detail and battlefield illustration makes it one of the finest surviving examples of U.S. Army cartographic intelligence from the European Theater.

What elevates this particular map above all others is its direct provenance from the personal collection of Colonel Wade C. Gatchell, who served as the Commanding Officer of the Reserve Command, 10th Armored Division—the famed “Tiger Division.” The 10th Armored Division was resting south of Luxembourg when, on December 16, 1944, Germany launched the Ardennes Offensive. Within hours, the division was ordered north to reinforce the besieged crossroads town of Bastogne, a move that would cement its place in history.

The 10th Armored’s Combat Command B (CCB) was among the first American units to reach Bastogne. Under Colonel William L. Roberts, its tanks, tank destroyers, and infantry elements rushed into the surrounding villages of Noville, Longvilly, and Neffe, where they met the full weight of the advancing German panzer divisions. For days, they fought a desperate delaying action, buying the time needed for the 101st Airborne Division to arrive and establish a full defensive perimeter. The 10th Armored’s stand at these outlying positions, often overlooked in popular retellings, was instrumental in halting the German spearhead and ensuring Bastogne remained in American hands until Patton’s relief forces broke through.

Colonel Gatchell’s command played a key role in coordinating the division’s reserves and maintaining communication lines between the various combat commands, ensuring the division could sustain its defense under constant attack. This map, once in his possession, likely served as both a reference and a historical record of those intense operations.

In every sense, this artifact embodies the courage, precision, and resilience of the American armored forces during one of the most defining battles of World War II. It is not only a testament to the engineering skill of the 664th Topographic Corps but also a tangible link to the 10th Armored Division’s pivotal role in the defense of Bastogne, a moment when ordinary soldiers and officers alike became legends in the snows of the Ardennes.

Detailed Situation Report of December 27th-31st, 1944 (TAKEN FROM MAP):

From December 27 through December 31, 1944, the battle around Bastogne shifted from a desperate defense against total encirclement to a grueling fight to secure and expand the newly opened ground corridor. On December 27, an early morning attack by 200 enemy infantry against the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment was successfully repelled, and by 0758, the first relief supplies arrived by road, followed shortly by the evacuation of the first wounded at 0900. While P-47 Thunderbolts flew active overhead missions and delivered air drops, units of the 4th Armored Division fought to clear vital supply routes: Combat Command Reserve (CCR) held the road open to the southeast, Combat Command B (CCB) cleared enemy forces eastward from Hompres to the Arlon Road, and Combat Command A (CCA) secured Sainlez along the Arlon Road. By 2140 that evening, battery B of the 796th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion successfully shot down an enemy Me-109 fighter plane.

Enemy pressure remained fierce as Luftwaffe night bombers struck Bastogne just after midnight on December 28, hitting an ammunition dump adjacent to the Command Post. By mid-afternoon, Combat Command A of the 9th Armored Division pushed up the Neufchâteau Road, securing the route by 1700 to establish an additional lifeline into the perimeter.The following day, December 29, CCA of the 9th Armored captured Villeroux at 0835, while Allied aircraft dealt a heavy blow to a large German column moving from Houffalize to Noville at 1145, dispersing enemy troops into nearby woods that were set ablaze by air strikes. However, enemy air raids continued to inflict severe damage, bombing Bastogne at 1830 and destroying the AAA Headquarters, along with S-4 and Company half-tracks. Despite German counterattacks forcing 9th Armored tanks out of Senonchamps, combined efforts from the 4th and 9th Armored Divisions steadily widened the entry corridor.

As the year drew to a close, German forces intensified their aerial harassment; an enemy plane strafed American positions early on December 30 without causing damage, but a 0700 bombing raid on Bastogne scored a direct hit on the 3rd Tank Battalion Command Post, killing five officers. With no friendly air cover available that morning, ground forces continued pressing the offensive—the 35th Infantry Division advanced on the right flank of 4th Armored’s CCR, while the 11th Armored Division came up on the left flank of the 9th Armored. By New Year’s Eve, December 31, the 6th Armored Division pulled in behind the 4th Armored, further fortifying Allied strength. Though German resistance remained persistent, the American position expanded continuously, locking down the corridor and converting Bastogne from a besieged outpost into a heavy launching pad for the broader Ardennes counteroffensive.