In mid-1944, it looked as if the war in Europe was coming to an end. Hitler was on the run and the Allies had regained Paris, as well as Casablanca, Naples, and Rome. However, Adolf Hitler had one last motive to play. In December 1944, Hitler struck back with what was known as the Battle of the Bulge. It was the biggest, bloodiest war Americans have ever fought. Nearly 80,000 were killed, or captured in the war.
The Battle of the Bulge, so-called because the Germans created a “bulge” around the area of the Ardennes forest in pushing through the American defensive line, was the largest battle fought on the Western front.
Important People
Dwight D. Eisenhower was a Supreme Allied Commander who planned major action on the northern and southern sectors of the front. He was the General of the Army following being promoted for the hard work he had done on D-day.
Adolf Hitler was close to losing the war. However, using his gambling instinct, he decided to go all in, finish with a bang. He placed a new offensive that could remind some of the Blitzkrieg assault four years earlier that had overwhelmed the French Army. He would take advantage of the bad weather to send a force of 250,000 men through the lightly defended Ardennes Forest, cross the Meuse River, and then push northward to Antwerp, capturing it within a week. However, this meant he needed to draw thousands of men from the Russian Front where some 300 Soviet divisions were preparing for their own invasion of Germany.
George S. Patton's expertise in tank command helped frustrate the German counteroffensive in December in the Ardennes at the Battle of the Bulge. Under his command the Third Army swept into Germany and into Czechoslovakia.
General Hasso von Manteuffel took part in the Ardennes section of the Battle of the Bulge. Although unable to reach the Meuse River and take Brussels and Antwerp as he was originally tasked by Hitler, his unit achieved the deepest penetration into Allied territory during this offensive.
Major-General Anthony McAuliffe watched a party of four Germans, a major, a captain and two enlisted men, enter his camp up the road from Bastogne under a white flag. They had come to demand his surrender, in which he replied, "Nuts"
Adolf Hitler was close to losing the war. However, using his gambling instinct, he decided to go all in, finish with a bang. He placed a new offensive that could remind some of the Blitzkrieg assault four years earlier that had overwhelmed the French Army. He would take advantage of the bad weather to send a force of 250,000 men through the lightly defended Ardennes Forest, cross the Meuse River, and then push northward to Antwerp, capturing it within a week. However, this meant he needed to draw thousands of men from the Russian Front where some 300 Soviet divisions were preparing for their own invasion of Germany.
George S. Patton's expertise in tank command helped frustrate the German counteroffensive in December in the Ardennes at the Battle of the Bulge. Under his command the Third Army swept into Germany and into Czechoslovakia.
General Hasso von Manteuffel took part in the Ardennes section of the Battle of the Bulge. Although unable to reach the Meuse River and take Brussels and Antwerp as he was originally tasked by Hitler, his unit achieved the deepest penetration into Allied territory during this offensive.
Major-General Anthony McAuliffe watched a party of four Germans, a major, a captain and two enlisted men, enter his camp up the road from Bastogne under a white flag. They had come to demand his surrender, in which he replied, "Nuts"
“Us surrender? Aw, nuts!” -McAuliffe under the impression the Germans were offering to surrender
Thousands of people literally died from freezing to death
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