| Panzergrenadiers from 1st Schutzstaffel (SS) Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH) pass burning American vehicles on the road between Poteau and Recht. The closest vehicle is an M3 halftrack. SS-Kampfgruppe Hansen of LSSAH ambushed the 14th Cavalry Group outside Poteau in heavy fog. The Americans tried to turn around, but their vehicles stuck in the soft ground, so they abandoned them and pulled back to Poteau. 1st SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment with 3 battalions of infantry, artillery, flak units. The most potent asset was a detachment of the Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 1, equipped with the Jagdpanzer IV L/70 (V). Jagdpanzer IVs were armed with a 75 millimeter (3 inch) 70 caliber main gun, far more powerful than the 37 millimeter (1.45 inch) cannon on the M8 Greyhounds on the 14th Cavalry Group’s vehicles. The Americans did have an M5 3-inch (75 millimeter) antitank gun, but its heavy weight precluded setting it up in time to counter the Jagdpanzer IVs. The Americans could only break and run under fire for Poteau. Once there, they set up a perimeter and waited for the inevitable Nazi assault. Several of the cavalry vehicles were deliberately set on fire by advancing Germans for the benefit of an SS photo unit that was attached to the Abteilung. The very famous widely published photos of advancing Germans past wrecked and abandoned vehicles were shot by the same photo unit. Close observation of the photos will show that the German infantry is advancing in 2 different directions. SS-Unterscharführer Max Büschel (June 10, 1912 – May 1945) and joined the SS-Kriegsberichter-Kompanie on June 6, 1941. LSSAH’s longtime kriegsberichter (“war reporter”), he accompanied SS-Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 1 LSSAH from Honsfeld to Born, Kaiserbaracke and Recht. Büschel took the famous photos of the ambush on the road between Recht and Poteau. After LSSAH surrendered to American forces in Austria in May 1945, Büschel managed to evade captivity and made his way back to his family in Berlin. He was shot when the Soviet occupational forces found out he was a member of 1. SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0347.jpg |
| Image Size | 2.05 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 4252 x 3340 |
| Photographer | SS-Unterscharführer Max Büschel |
| Photographer Title | Kriegsberichter |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | December 24, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | Poteau |
| State or Province | Wallonia |
| Country | Belgium |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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