| Original caption: “An overturned German tank lies in a shallow stream alongside a rebuilt bridge in war-ravaged Houffalize, Belgium.” A Panzerkampfwagen V “Panther” Sonderkraftfahrzeug 171 Ausführung G (“Armored Fighting Vehicle V Panther Special Purpose Vehicle 171 Model G”) lies inverted in the Ourthe River on the Rue de la Roche. This was Turm Nummer (“Turret Number”) 111 of 116.Panzer-Division “Windhund.” Issued to 24.Panzer-Regiment, it survived the Normandy battles and fought in Arnhem, Netherlands and Hürtgen Forest before it was transferred to 16.Panzer-Regiment for the Ardennes Offensive. The driver of the Panther 111 could not see the 1st few meters in front of the tank through his episcope. As he drove onto the bridge, part of the firewall collapsed. It’s unclear if the tank drove off the bridge in the dark or was bombed and blown off the bridge on January 15, 1945. All 5 crew members died. Note the man entering the Panther via the hole cut into the underside. This was cut by Allied soldiers and the bodies of the crew were removed this way. Generalmajor Hans Siegfried von Waldenburg (December 30, 1898 – March 27, 1973), Kommandant of 116.Panzer-Division, would later say the orders to swing to Houffalize on December 19, 1944, was “fatal to the Division.” Nevertheless, 116.Panzer-Division and 560.Volksgrenadier-Division, its attached infantry unit, effected a reverse in total darkness. 560.Volksgrenadier-Division would be commended for their performance marching to catch up. Both units were severely understrength. The 560.Volksgrenadier-Division, under Komamndant Oberst Rudolf Langhaeuser (August 21, 1900 – March 20, 1976), activated from inexperienced garrison units in Norway and Denmark, had been tagged for the Russian front. Directed to the west by Hitler’s orders, the division would see its 1st action in the Ardennes. 1 rifle regiment and part of the division engineers were still in Denmark. The Division lacked perhaps 40 percent of its orange transport. On paper, 116.Panzer-Division, completely shattered in Normandy, was supposed to have 147 armored fighting vehicles and 44 artillery pieces. Instead, it had 45 Panzerkampfwagen V “Panthers,” 26 Panzerkampfwagen IVs, and 25 Sturmgeschütz III/IVs. On these, only 43 Panthers, the Panzer IVs, and 13 Sturmgeschütz were ready for action on December 16, 1944, when the Ardennes Offensive began. The division did have its full complement of artillery, and extra heavy anti-tank guns. 33 panzers were promised but would not arrive in time. Everyone lacked gasoline. 116.Panzer-Division and 560.Volksgrenadier-Division were part of 58th Panzerkorps, 5. Panzer-Armee during the Ardennes campaign. On December 17, 116.Panzer-Division captured a bridge over the Our River at Ouren, but it was too damaged to support heavy equipment, so 16.Panzer-Regiment (Kampfgruppe Bayer) was forced to retrace their steps and cross the Our at Dasburg. Having reassembled at Heinerscheid on December 18, the division spearhead captured Bertogne on December 19. However, the Ourthe River bridge there had been destroyed. Instead, they were ordered to Houffalize and continued west on the north side of the Ourthe and captured Samree in the evening of December 20. On December 21, 116.Panzer-Division crossed the Soy-Hotten road and attacked Hotten. Their attack on Hotten meet fierce American resistance and was repulsed. They were ordered to again retrace their steps and return to La Roche where they crossed to the south side of the Ourthe and continue westward. For the next several days the division was completely worn down in continuous combat against the United States Army 84th Infantry Division in the area of Verdenne and Marenne, between Hooton and Marche-en-Famenne. The division switched over to the defensive by the month’s end. The Allied Air Force intervened in Houffalize from December 26. A 1st massive air raid took place on December 31, but it partially missed its target. An apocalypse occurred in the early morning of January 6, when the city was, again, targeted by 90 Royal Air Force (RAF) heavy bombers. At sunrise, the inhabitants discovered that their city was devastated. The city was practically destroyed: 350 houses were ruined, 118 civilians were killed. It was hardly possible to recognize the street pattern. On the route de La Roche, a bomb pulverised the Poncin tannery, killing 59 of the 60 people who had taken refuge there. For the survivors, the nightmare was not over. The damage caused by the phosphorus contained in the bombs caused wounds and burns, and the water became polluted. Some German soldiers deserted while others did not hesitate to attack civilians. On January 16, 1945, the Americans returned to what had been Houffalize, with nothing and no 1 to welcome them, or nearly so: during the bombing, 189 civilians out of the 1,300 inhabitants were killed, and most of the survivors fled to take refuge in the surrounding villages. Shortly after the last Germans had surrendered, a group of American bomber pilots drove into Houffalize. They had come to see the results of their week-long bombing. They found nothing but the skeletons of buildings. The Panther was recovered out of the river Ourthe by French engineers on September 20, 1947. For a time the tank was rolled onto its side. In September 1948 the Panther was recovered and placed on a plinth in Houffalize. The vehicle was missing most of the inner road wheels, and the tracks weren’t threaded correctly on the drive sprockets. It carried the wrong Turm Nummer, 401. It was a target for graffiti and neglect. From 2017 to 2023 the Panther was carefully restored at the Bastogne Barracks with the help of the Krings Collection. When the Panther returned to the extensively remodeled, now roofed, memorial at Houffalize, it had gotten its original turret number 111 back, as well as 116.Panzer-Division’s greyhound emblem. In the restoration some of the road wheels were replaced. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0839.jpg |
| Image Size | 656.52 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2904 x 2147 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Army Signal Corps |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | June 1, 1945 |
| Location | |
| City | Houffalize |
| State or Province | Luxembourg |
| Country | Belgium |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NLR-PHOCO-A-65376K |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
Author of the World War II Multimedia Database