Key Facts
- Dates
- 3–5 January 1945
- Duration
- Nearly 3 days of heavy fighting
- Allied formation
- XXX Corps with British 6th Airborne Division
- Area cleared
- Dinant, Rochefort, Grupont, and Bure, Belgium
- Context
- Part of Allied counterattack in the Battle of the Bulge
Strategic Narrative Overview
XXX Corps, with the British 6th Airborne Division attached, was tasked with clearing the area around Dinant, Rochefort, Grupont, and Bure. While Grupont and Rochefort were cleared with relatively little resistance, Bure proved far more difficult. Heavy fighting continued for nearly three days as Allied forces pushed to dislodge determined German defenders from the village before finally securing it.
01 / The Origins
In late 1944, Germany launched a major offensive through the Ardennes — the Battle of the Bulge — forcing the Allies onto the defensive across a wide front in Belgium and Luxembourg. By January 1945, Allied command had stabilised the line and ordered a counterattack to retake ground lost during the German thrust, including several Belgian towns east of Dinant that had fallen under German control.
03 / The Outcome
After nearly three days of intense combat, Allied forces secured Bure by 5 January 1945. The towns of Grupont and Rochefort had already been cleared with minimal resistance. With the area east of Dinant now in Allied hands, the advance continued, contributing to the broader effort that ultimately collapsed the German Ardennes salient and accelerated the final phase of the war in Western Europe.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.