The Battle of the Bulge Essay

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.

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?

     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.

Sadly, their weapons did not have the ability to cut all the wire and destroy deep German trenches or knock out all enemy guns. It also could not provide a useful bombardment for the infantry attack. On July 1, the artillery drifted away from the German front trenches and left the infantry unattended. Nobody was

“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

Other than causing the liberation of France and the establishment of a new battlefront, the invasion also relieved the Soviet Union’s pressure. Before the Invasion, Germany had over two million troops fighting against the Red Army in the Eastern Front, and many of Soviet’s cities were captured. The Russians fought desperately to protect their cities. However, after the invasion, with the launch of a new major battlefront in the West, Hitler had to transport many of his forces to the West in order to defend his own country. Without as many troops to fight against, the Soviet army was able to push through Czechoslovakia, Poland and eventually penetrate into Germany; the Soviet Union’s progress greatly sped up the endof the war. (Naval History and Heritage- D-Day, the Normandy Invasion, 6 - 25 June 1944)

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

Hitler, at first, didn’t surrender to the Allied forces which caused Operation Overload to occur. D-day led to freedom in France along with freedom for Jewish men, women, and children. The was also a mini battle called Battle of the Bulge, because the Europeans literally bulged the Allied forces. Bulged means to surround an area. So when the Europeans surrounded the Ardennes forest in going through the American defensive line, it was the largest war/invasion that was fought on the Western

Bodies flailing, ripped apart by machine guns. German Panzers destroying everything in their path. A blood soaked forest; the Ardennes. The Battle of the Bulge began on December 16, 1944. It was a hard fought allied victory that pitted American, British, Australian, and South African forces against the battle hardened Panzer and SS German divisions. In the heat of the battle, the American 101st division was surrounded by German forces at Bastogne. When asked to surrender, General Anthony McAuliffe only replied with one word; “Nuts!”. The 106th division was almost annihilated. This was a gallant allied victory, showing the force of the American soldiers. However, it came with great cost. Influenced by the beginning of the war and how the war turned against the Nazi’s, the Battle of the Bulge was a bloody battle, in which German defeat lead to their surrender soon after, proving to be an extremely significant event in WWII.

After a day of hard fighting, the Germans broke through the American front, surrounding most ofan infantry division, grabbing and taking control of key crossroads, and advancing their starts and leads toward the Meuse River, creating the projection that gave the fight its name.

The Battle of the Bulge, known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the largest battle fought on the Western Front in Europe during World War II and the largest battle ever fought by the U.S. Army. The battle was Hitler’s last major battle in World War II; an attempt to push the Allied front line west from northern France to northwestern Belgium. Hitler attempted to split the Allies in two in their drives toward Germany and destroy the ability to supply themselves (Weintraub, 2007). The Germans lost so many troops and equipment that they could not launch another attack on the Allied forces. The Battle of the Bulge is most significant in that it ruined the German army. Essentially, the Battle of the Bulge brought about the end of World War II (Weintraub, 2007). During the Battle of the Bulge, the American Artillery units had been equipped with new American weapons. All the divisions’ Artillery was motorized after the discovery of a defect found on the French Artillery Gun that the Americans used during World War I. The U.S. Army managed to replace all its World War I artillery pieces with the new, modernized howitzers and convert from horse-drawn to motorized artillery. The American artillery units were equipped with M105mm, M155mm and M155mm self-propelled Howitzers and with proximity fuzes, the most notable advances

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 started with a surprise on December 16th when the German Army launched one of the largest Artillery bombardments the world has ever seen. Part of the Germans plan was to infiltrate the United States forces with Germans Soldiers with near perfect English in order to disrupt and cause confusions during the initial attacks. The German Soldiers were unable to maintain their disguise and were later executed. The initial surprise attack seemed at first like forward progress, however the United States 2nd and 99th Divisions maintain a strong hold at Elsenberg and Mamedy. Unfortunately for the American Soldiers December 16th also brought on another surprise, bad weather set in at the Ardennes region, limiting any air support