Ardennes Offensive: The Battle Of The Bulge

On December 16, 1944, Adolf Hitler ordered a massive attack on the Allied forces. This attack, known as the Battle of the Bulge, was a last dich effort to split up the Allied forces in their drive towards Germany. The attack failed and effectively led to the eventual downfall of Nazi Germany. With few supplies and resources, German forces were heavily outmatched. On April 30, 1945, Adolf Hitler committed suicide in wake of Germany’s inevitable defeat. On May 7, 1945, Germany surrendered (National Geographic staff,

The Germans defeated the Polish and almost all of Western Europe. Although the British had no help when it came to Hitler and his army, the remains of Europe had been overturned already. The Battle of the Bulge also called Battle of the Ardennes as well, which began Dec. 16, 1944 and ended Jan. 16, 1945. This was the last major German offensive on the Western Front during World War II. It was an unsuccessful attempt to push the Allies back from German home territory . Winston Churchill made a promise that he would fight as long as it would take to overcome Hitler. The name Battle of the Bulge was appropriated from Winston Churchill he referred to “the bulge” as the wedge that the Germans drove into the Allied lines.

The Battle of the Bulge (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945) was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. It was launched, in the dense forest of Ardennes Wallonia in eastern part of Belgium, northeast France, and Luxembourg. This battle was one of the largest fought by the United States Army, on the Western Front in Europe, during World War II. This fierce battle, was between the German Nazi’s, the American Army, Canadian Army, and the British Army, was one of Hitler’s last attempt to split the Allies driving them towards Germany and destroy their ability to supply themselves. Were the Germans able to stop the Americans and the British from getting their supplies? Was the weather a factor and if so, who did it assist in the battle? Was the American Army able to counter attack in a timely manner and stop the German Nazi’s invasion?

     The battle of the bulge was Hitler's last chance to win the war or at least make the allies go for a treaty. He did this because his forces were being pushed back into Germany and soon they would run out of supplies and other resources for war. Hitler thought of this bold plan when he recalled how a German hero Frederick the great was facing defeat, Frederick went on a offensive attack at his foe who had superior numbers but the bold moved worked and Hitler thought he could do the same thing.

The tactics used in World War I were radically different than that of previous wars. The majority of the war was fought in the trenches, and the war itself seemed to have no end. Due to this, the psychological impact of the war was unlike anything that had been seen before. During the early days of the war, the soldiers, on both sides, seemed to lack the dedication that would have been necessary to exterminate their enemy. However, as the war progressed, the desire to avenge their fallen comrades overcame their ethics and they began to kill their enemy indiscriminately. Surviving soldiers experienced a phenomenon that was, at that time, referred to as shell shock. Today we refer to this phenomenon as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. At this time, this psychological condition was misunderstood and the doctors lacked the training necessary to effectively treat this condition.

“The battle [is also] known by different names. The Germans [called it] ‘Operation Watch on the Rhine’, while the French [called] it ‘Battle of the Ardennes’. [American and Britain] called it the Ardennes Counteroffensive.” The main goal for the Germans for this offensive was to split the British and American forces in half and capture the port city of Antwerp. This would “cause an encirclement of four allied armies and [force] a peace negotiation” (Cirillo). The Germans almost had complete surprise when the offensive was launched on “December 16th, 1944, at 05:30” and the offensive start with “an artillery barrage of over 1,600 artillery pieces.” The assault took place across an “80 mile front [that] the 6th Panzer Army had to cover” (Quarrie 1). “The attack was led by one of the best equipped German divisions on the western front, the 1st SS Panzer Division.” This was the lead unit for the 6th Panzer Army and was the lead division for the assault. The 26th Infantry was covering the part of the front where the push started. They were caught completely by surprise. “Equipped with only 32 M4 tanks, 57 anti-tank guns and thousands of battle-weary men” (MacDonald 1). The initial assault went well for the Germans and they break through the thinly defended American lines. Just “20 hours in [from the start of the assault] German forces are just 55 miles out from their objective”. By this time the casualty rate is below from what the

In the late 1944, during the wake of the Allied forces’ successful D-Day Invasion of Normandy, it seemed as if the Second World War was over. On December sixteenth, with the onset of winter, the German army launched a counteroffensive that was intended to cut through the Allied forces in a manner that would turn the tide of the war in Hitler’s favor. The battle that ensued is known historically as the Battle of the Bulge. The courage and fortitude of the American Soldier was tested against

this day as marking the close of the struggle for German equality status and with that re-won equality the

On the German side, Hitler was running out of options. Russia has destroyed twenty-five German divisions, the worst defeat ever inflicted on them. On the western front, the Allies had captured Rome and were attacking 155 miles north. The D-Day invaders had destroyed another two German armies while they pushed through France. He was being surrounded on all sides and needed to make a drastic move. He reasoned that since Allies had come so far so fast, they would have to halt eventually to allow their supplies to catch up with them. During

Define the battle to be analyzed 1. The battle that one picked is, the Battle of the Bulge 2. The Battle of the Bulge began on December 16th 1944 and ended on January 25th 1945. The battle took place in the Ardennes, a heavily forested region in Belgium, France. The Bulge was a major German offensive that was launched near the end of World War II.

Nearing the end of World War II and after the successful D-Day invasion by Allied Forces, Adolf Hitler would personally plan a counteroffensive he believed would turn the tied of the war in his favor and prevent his unconditional surrender. Historically known as the Battle of the Bulge, the Ardennes Counteroffensive, from 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945, would showcase the power of a full-scale German offensive while highlighting the ingenuity and heart of the United States Army as they encountered a seemingly undefeatable foe.

The Battle of the Bulge was a German counter- offensive in World War II, which got its name from “the forty-mile-wide and sixty-mile-deep bulge created in American lines (Battle of the Bulge)”. The German armies were on the retreat from France in 1944, and Hitler planned to regain the initiative with a winter counter-offensive in the semi-mountainous Ardennes region of Belgium and Luxembourg (Battle of the Bulge). Hitler’s field commanders advised against this because of their lack of resources, but Hitler aimed at the Belgian port of Antwerp, which would cut off supplies to some of the British and American troops, eventually eliminating them and negotiating peace on the Western front. The Germans masses around 200,000 men and 1,200 tanks and on December 16 three German armies struck against seven American army divisions, swiftly defeating them. The allies sent reinforcements to help against the Panzer onslaught, but Hitler surrounded the American armies, severing communications between the north and south armies.

When soldiers get deployed the main goal is for them to complete their duties and make it back to home just like they left. Getting back home in one piece includes what is inside as well, the brain. The complex system that runs everything from your emotions, anxiety, optimism, pain management and impulse control is shaken up by extreme experiences like exposure to death or dreadful experiences. War veterans may experience flashbacks, nightmares, intense anxiety, panic attacks, depression and self-destructive thoughts or actions long after the trauma has occurred. The cause of this is because the neural pathways in the brain have actually been damaged and transformed by that experience, this is called Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.

Although it was the Germans who “mounted the surprise attack on Allied Forces in World War II” (Benson) the Allied Forces eventually conquered the instigators. The Allied Forces were able to weaken the German Army to a large extent. After this battle there was no hope for Germany to win World War II. Although, “the American losses were serious, [with] 62,439 casualties, The German forces suffered irreparable losses in elite personnel: 30,039 soldiers” (Benson) were lost in the battle. These mass casualties within both armies contribute to the decrease of soldiers and supplies foreshadowing the end of World War II.

Adolf Hitler’s military tactics, poor leadership skills, and actions caused him to lose World War II. Hitler’s objective was to gain world power. He was willing to risk everything for Germany to become the most powerful country. According to Richard Overy, a British historian, “If the German people are not prepared to engage in its own survival, so be it: then it must disappear!” (538). Hitler was also willing to sacrifice Germany to attain world control and victory during World War II. The idea of losing WWII never came across Hitler’s mind because he was confident that Germany would become victorious during the war.