Bulge Weather Patterns

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.

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?

On June 6th 1944, the U.S. and allied forces executed an amphibious assault named Operation Neptune, commonly known as D-Day, along the north-western coastline region of France. The operation covered in this paper will discuss a key battle during the Invasion of Normandy. The Invasion of Normandy was a successful operation focused towards German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. This paper will also cover a brief history and key points of The Battle of Omaha Beach. Critical reasoning and battle analysis will be expressed through what intelligence assets were applied, utilized and available during the time era. The analysis outcome will lead to an expressed alternative ending on The Battle of Omaha Beach. A detailed explanation of how intelligence assets could have been used to change the course of the battle will defend the explained alternative ending discussed. The main points of discussion will include Adolf Hitler’s decision to move most of his tank divisions and infantry units 150 miles north to Calais, the significance of the highly effective group known as the French Resistance and a famous illusionist Jasper Maskelyne.

     The Battle of the bulge took place on December sixteenth 1944. More than a million men participated in this battle including some 600,000 Germans, 500,000 Americans, and 55,000 British which made it

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

The award-winning novel by Stephen Ambrose, Band of Brothers: Easy Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest, discusses one of the greatest examples of mission command in the form of 1st Lieutenant Richard Winters and his role in the Brecourt Manor Assault. This battle is a textbook example of how to fight against a superior enemy force that outnumbered the unit by four times as much. Facing overwhelming odds with just 16 paratroopers against over 60 German Soldiers, 1LT Winters nevertheless prevails and succeeds in achieving his objective while minimizing casualties to just three Soldiers lost. Looking back further into the American Revolution, the Battle of Bunker Hill on the American side is one of

Civil War historians view the Battle of Chancellorsville as General Robert E. Lee’s “greatest and most remarkable” victory (Sears 1). Lee, facing an army twice his size, defies all military doctrine and divides his army multiple times in order to out-maneuver and surprise the Union forces. The daring maneuver succeeds and ultimately forces the Union’s Army of the Potomac to retreat. The victory was another major blow to Union troops, but it came at a huge cost to the Confederacy: the loss of General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. By evaluating the battle through the lens of the mission command activities, one can see how Lee’s daring maneuver was actually very calculated and his only option for victory. Throughout the rest of this paper, I will describe the timeline of the battle and how General Lee used the mission command activities of understand, visualize, assess, and lead to ultimately achieve victory at Chancellorsville.

General Pershing, in command of the U.S. 1st Army, set the rail line near Sedan, France as the main objective. This was a vital supply route for German forces (Stewart, 2005), and the direction of attack to the north of the front line through the Argonne Forest would expose the flank of German forces being attacked by the French from the west. Support for the American forces consisted of over 800 aircraft, nearly 190 tanks, and approximately 2,700 pieces of artillery, and over 600,000 men (Stewart, 2005).

In March 1918, with nearly 50 additional divisions freed by the Russian surrender on the Eastern Front, the German Army launched a series of attacks on the Western Front, hoping to defeat the Allies before U.S. forces could be fully deployed. In the north, the British 5th Army was virtually destroyed by two major offensive operations, Michael and Georgette around the Somme. A third offensive launched in May against the French between Soissons and Reims, known as the Third Battle of the Aisne, saw the Germans reach the north bank of the Marne river at Château-Thierry, 95 kilometres (59 mi) from Paris, on 27 May. Two U.S. Army divisions, the 2nd and the 3rd, were thrown into the Allied effort to stop the Germans. On 31 May, the 3rd Division

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

The Battle of the Bulge is considered the United State Army’s greatest victory as American soldiers withstood the full force of the German War Machine. Allied Forces faced freezing temperatures, fog, threats of espionage and battle tested German units. This victory was not without shortcomings, most notably in intelligence and subpar battlefield performances.

German defenders included the 916th Grenadier Regiment, the 2nd Battalion of the 915th Grenadiers, engineer units, anti-aircraft detachments, and the semi-experienced 352nd Infantry Division. The 352nd, a newly trained unit with inexperienced recruits combined with battle hardened veterans, packed up and transferred to the Normandy coast in March of 1944. This posed a problem for Allied planners and military officials, who lost track of them before D-Day. (Vogt 2) American intelligence concluded that only 800 German troops would occupy Omaha Beach, but after the invasion, military officials realized the true number of Nazi troops stationed there (Ambrose 323). Lessons the Germans learned in World War

In fact the invasion was to commence one day earlier on June 5th. But British Group Captain James Stagg believed foul weather was to hit the English Chanel that day. He and his fellow British meteorologist recommended a postponement. Knowing that the weather held the potential to be more dangerous than the Nazis, General Eisenhower agreed in the early hours of June 4 to delay D-Day by 24 hours. This last minute strategic change due to the weather did in fact, as many historians report, allowed the Forces to arrive on the coast and surprised the Germans. Timing did definitely contribute in the success of the operation and all due to the weather