Battle Of The Bulge: The Battle Of George S.

In 1944, the United States war effort in Europe was just starting to pick up. Even though the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor occurred just three years prior, the growing power of the Third Reich could not be ignored. During this time, France was already occupied by Nazi Germany and Hitler's war machine was on the path of conquering all of Eurasia. In an attempt to combat this immense threat, the U.S. formulated a plan to engage the German forces through an invasion of Normandy. This bloody offensive would be remembered in infamy as D-Day. Shortly before this violent clash of U.S. and German forces, the inexperienced men of the United States Third Army was given an encouraging and inspiring speech by the four star general George S. Patton.

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.

With German forces on the run following the Allied success at Normandy and the breakout and pursuit across France, Allied forces were staged to enter Germany in late summer 1944. Both Field Marshal Montgomery and General Bradley clamored to be given the priority of effort. General Eisenhower chose Montgomery’s Operation MARKET GARDEN as the plan for action. It called for airborne forces to open the route for a ground force to move more than sixty miles up a single road, ending up north of the Rhine River near Arnhem, Netherlands. By accomplishing this task, the German Ruhr industrial heartland would be within easy grasp. But the operation failed. The ground force

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?

     During the War Eisenhower and his staff felt this spot was the least likely to be attacked. The thought the Germans would not try any thing through the narrow passageway. The Germans wanted the opposite of what the Americans wanted to do. As stated above the Allied troops were 'resting' and reforming; they consisted of General Simpson's 9th Army and General Hodges 1st US Army in the north and General Patton's 3rd Army to the south. The Ardennes was held by General Middleton who had the 8th US Army Corps, 106th and 26th Infantry Divisions and 4th and 9th Armored Divisions.

“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

Britain and France desperately awaited the moment when the US would fully join in the fighting in Europe during World War II, and D-Day brought that full fledged involvement. If not for the efforts of the United States of America, its cooperation and planning with its allies, the invasion would not have been successful. It was successful, however, due to previous planning, the level of supplies and men from the US combined with the European allies, as well as the divided German forces. D-Day was the beginning of liberation of Western Europe from Nazi control. Hitler had known that in order for the Allies to be successful, there would have to be an invasion of mainland Europe - which his forces controlled most of - and that it would come from northwestern Europe, with Great Britain being the jumping off point. But if he was expecting the attack, why was he not better prepared? The planning that had gone into the invasion at the beaches of Normandy on the coast of France had been thorough and extensive, with a large part of that planning being the intentional disinformation about the location of the invasion, thus fooling the Nazi leader. These factors explain why Operation Overlord was successful, and thus became the turning point in the world war.

This was to be a joint operation between British, French and American forces. Though it was not the actual boundaries, the Meuse River and the Argonne Forrest restricted much of the U.S. 1st Army’s maneuverability between them. This area was comprised of a very dense and thick vegetation with few roads for heavy equipment and supplies to flow forth once the offensive began; therefore this was to be used to the Allied Powers advantage. The Germans would be attacked all along the front from British, French, and American forces simultaneously.

In one of the largest battle ever fought by the United States Army, with just over 600,000 Soldiers involved, it was very difficult to place any location or unit ahead of another in order of importance. The reality is that two crucial stands on the front line are what doomed the German attacks to complete

The post D-Day Allied assault that swept through France was halted by Hitler’s unexpected counter-attack through the Ardennes, resulting in a confrontation named the Battle of the Bulge.

Although US troops assumed mainly a support role in this action, the battle came to be known as the beginning of the end for Germany. 85,000 US troops participated, with 12,000 casualties, gaining the praise of not only their own officers, but the French and British commanders as well. "During this time a single regiment of the 3rd Division rewrote one of the most luminous pages in our military history, it prevented the crossing at certain points on its front, while on either flank the Germans who had gained a footing pressed

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.

Brigadier General (BG) James M. Gavin, 82nd Airborne Division, U.S. Army, was one of the distinguish Generals to contribute in the Battle of the Bulge in 1944. BG Gavin commanded the 82nd and the 101st Airborne Divisions. He was responsible for many decisive operations that were key for the success of the battle. He maintained firing positions for engaging the Germans counteroffensive attacks. Simultaneously, his Mission Command practices brought him to the success of occupying two important cities in Belgium.

The Germans had deployed the 352nd infantry division in a defensive doctrine on Omaha beach , Normandy. In hopes of

The whole war had led up to this day, especially since the plans for the invasion were being made even as early as 1942 or 1943, after the Soviet Union requested help to relieve pressure on their military in Eastern Europe following the Battle of Stalingrad, where they and Romania lost over 250,000 men combined. The thoughts of a soldier who had been fighting all throughout World War II would have probably consisted of, one, wanted to go home already, but two, thinking that nothing could be worse than what they had already experienced. They knew in their minds that they were ready for this mission, and had the plans of the military backing up their claims of definite victory. A soldier would, of course, hold their personal doubts and fright, but when counted among many fellow troops willing to fight for the same cause as their own, they can’t help but feel the collective morale of their comrades and themselves. This personal morale was only boosted by the genius work of WWII’s commanders’ skills in speech. The day before the actual attack, General Eisenhower gave his men a motivational speech they’d never forget. An excerpt from the speech: “Soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon the greatest crusade toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you.” Though General George Patton also gave his own speech that day, I won’t bore you with another quote (though Patton was far from a boring individual). Instead, you should now be able to reflect on how important morale was for the forces getting ready to siege Normandy. The Allied troops were physically and mentally prepared, while the Germans in Normandy, if anything, had lost morale as they believed there was nothing to do when stationed in that