Battle Of The Bulge: Beneficial Or D-Day 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 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 Allies endeavoured to damage German morale enough so that the troops did not want to fight against the Allies, and a future possible uprising against the Nazi Party. But to a large extent, this did not occur. This point deserves greater emphasis because it would beneficially alter the future for Germany and as Stalin said, ‘the only way to break German morale is by bombing.’ One main aspect of harm caused to morale is due to a distraught civilian population. In March alone 1942, there were 305,000 deaths, 1.8million homes destroyed and 20 million deprived of basic utilities from raids at Nuremberg, Lubeck, Augsburg and Munich. February 1943 saw the damaging bombing of Dresden whereby buildings were obliterated and over 150,000 civilians were killed. Likewise, on the 27th July 1943, Hamburg was bombed killing women, children and leaving 30,000 people for dead. People’s lives were forever changed, 5 million people were evacuated in 1942, water supplies were ruined when the allies dropped ‘dam-busters’ and many restaurants and services were closed. Despite greatly impacting the population, people continued to fight the war and get revenge on the Allies for what they caused which shows that the aim of disillusioning people from fighting for Germany. The mentality of the generals changed when 23% of the Luftwaffe

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?

In the winter of 1944, Allied forces in Europe found themselves at the mercy of a massive German offensive. It only took days for the thirteen divisions of German armor to push the allies into such a retreat that contemporary press named the battle after the “bulge” that appeared in the Allied lines. Initially, German soldiers outnumbered the Allies 2:1, while their tanks, the Panzer IV and the Tiger II, completely outclassed their allied counterparts. However, within the weeks, the offensive collapsed. The tanks were out of gas. There was not even enough aviation fuel for the Luftwaffe to cover the retreat (Cole).

World War II consisted of many historical battles that challenged opposing forces tactical and technical abilities. One of the most significate of these were the Battle of the Bulge. The Battle of the Bulge, which is also known as the Ardennes Offense began on 16 December 1944 and lasted until 25 January 1945. The battle took place in the Ardennes Forest on the border between Germany and Belgium. Those involved in the battle were Hitler’s German Army and the Allied Front (United States, Britain, Russia and France) led by General Dwight Eisenhower.

The battle of the bulge is an military battle that took place in northern France over the course of December 16, 1944 to January 18, 1945. The beggining of the battle on December 16 the U.S. Army VIII Corps including the 106th Infantry Division. The 28th Infantry Division and also the reduced 9th Armored Division. The 4th Infantry Division set up from north to south. The VIII Corps headquarters was located in Bastogne. The VIII Corps were holding the southern edge of the U.S. First Army front lines adjacent to the U.S. Third Army. By 12:00pm on the first day of the attack, December 16, there were twice as many German divisions, including two panzer divisions, identified in the sector moving against VIII Corps. By December 18 there were two

The Battle of the Bulge was one of the defining events of the Second World War. It represented a last-ditch attempt from both sides to inflict damage on each other. After identifying the Ardennes as the soft underbelly of the allies on the western front, Hitler decided to go on the offensive on the poorly defended 80-mile front in the freezing Ardennes forest in southern Belgium and Luxembourg. Apart from the large volume of tanks involved, both sides made use of artillery guns, something that had a significant impact on the outcome of the battle in the Ardennes. In particular, the artillery fires were the most important factor in preventing a successful attack on allied defense.

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.

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 the largest battle on the Western Front of World War Two. At the largest point of the battle it involved over 1.1 million men. The battle was started when the Germans launched Operation Watch on the Rhine. The main objective of this operation was to capture the American held harbor of Antwerp which is Belgium. Ever since the invasion of Normandy the allies had had problems bringing supplies up to the front. Every time the Germans left a city with a harbor in it they sabotaged it so that the allies were unable to use it. Because of this the only place that allies were able to take supplies to shore in bulk was in Normandy. This meant that they had to drive supplies all the way from Normandy into Belgium. The truck drivers were using more fuel than they delivered and it took days to reach the front they had to find a better way. When the allies captured the harbor at Antwerp they were able to deliver supplies by ship in a place that was close to the front. This ended the supply trouble, and so the Germans decided the best way to stop the allied advance was to retake Antwerp and thus stop the supplies from coming to the front. It was a risky operation, but if it was successful it could turn the tide of the war. The plan was for the operation to occur on December 16, 1944. The Germans would attack all along the front line, from Luxembourg to Belgium. It was needless to say a massive offensive, and would be the last of the war. Hitler planned this

The Battle of the Bulge In December of 1944, Hitler attempted to split the Allied Armies in two by the means of a surprise attack that would cut through the Ardennes forest clear through to Antwerp. Caught flat-footed, the Americans fought desperate battle after desperate battle at St. Vith, Houffalize, and Bastogne to keep the Germans from completely tearing through the Allied lines. The Allied line took on the shape of a bulge, hence the name of the battle, as the Germans thrusted deeper into the Ardennes forest. Despite heavy casualties, Lieutenant General George S Patton’s decisive maneuvering of his Third army muffled the German counteroffensive.

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)

After World War Two, we, the Soviet Union, lost the most out of the war due to the deaths of 20 million military and civilians, but we came out stronger than ever. We were left alone to fight the Nazis after their betrayal, but that could've been avoided if the allies conducted the D-day invasion, first. Instead, the allies chose to liberate Northern Africa and Italy while we were losing 1 in 4 Soviets. The allies accuse us of spreading communism and not allowing free elections in the areas we liberated. But what the allies do not mention, is that we liberated those countries and along with them the holocaust victims. Not only that but we were attacked by Germany twice in both world wars. We saved lives and had to fight for ours alone due to

By the very end of the battle the allies supplied 3 million men, 16 tons of weapons, ammunition and supplies located in Britain, which have ordinarily been a lot of manpower and supplies. The deliberate grindstone of Normandy was critical for the western allied forces to effectuate the enduring war to the western of Germany. If the invasion of D-Day had not occurred, there could potentially have been a complete ownership of northern and western Europe by the Soviet forces, (u-s-history.com, n.d).