Battle Of The Bulge Essay

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Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge, or the Ardennes Offensive, was the Nazi’s last attempt to split the Allies (America, Britain, and Russia), and was their most desperate and deadliest battle focused mainly on American forces. Ending in a failure for the Nazis and a success for Americans, it helped end the Second World War. The Battle occurred from December 16, 1944 to January 25.
Hitler's idea was to capture Antwerp, located in the province of Antwerpen in Flanders, northeast Belgium, which is a port where the Allies could get supplies. He also wanted to take the strategic road St.Vith, and stop American reinforcements from coming in. But the main goal was to take over Bastogne, a road junction which could help the Germans expand further north. The battle itself took place in Ardennes which is on the Belgian border with Germany and France, which consists of dense forests, the Meuse River, and the Ardennes mountain range. The battle began with a two hour assault, followed by a huge attack. The Germans were successful in the beginning, taking the lead for a short time. This was generally because the Americans were totally oblivious to the Germans movement. They had no idea of the planned attack against them, so the Germans used the element of “surprise”. Also, the intense cold meant the ground was hard enough to move the tanks in and destroy many American forts/vehicles. And before the attack itself, English speaking German soldiers disguised themselves as American soldiers and spread misinformation, cut telephone lines, changed road signs, and helped the other German soldiers capture bridges critical to the success of the war.
Also, the weather in the forest at this time consisted of a lowering temperature of 14 de...

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.... They knew any form of armored attack needed a intense amount of fuel- so soldiers burned critical gasoline lines and bombed fuel plants so the supply could run out. Seizing the moment, General Dwight D. Eisenhower rushed American reinforcements in; Lt. General George S. Patton Jr. entered Bastogne unexpectedly when he made a last-minute decision, and turned his 3rd Army 90 degrees and broke straight through the German forces, “saving” Bastogne.
Patton’s army became known for saving Bastogne, and to the North the 2nd US Armored Division stopped German tanks just in time from crossing the Meuse River.
The Battle of the Bulge was the largest battle that was fought by Americans in WWII, and is known as the largest battle ever fought by the US Army. About 600,000 American troops were involved and 81,000 men died. 100,000 Germans were killed, wounded, and/or captured.

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