The battle of Aachen was the first battle that the Allied forces broke the Siegfried Line around the border 1945, of Germany. World War II lasted from 1939-1945; the battle of Aachen was in October of 1944, which is very late in the war. Both the U.S. and Germany had thousands of men killed on the battle field. Since so many troops lost in this one battle over a city, the Americans nicknamed the battle “bloody Aachen”. The battle of Aachen was the first successful offensive action that the Allies had in Germany. There was a new combat technique called urban combat. Some of the battles in Aachen were urban combat but other battles were in open land on beaches and deserts, which did not use urban combat. Urban combat was a battle tactic that was used to raid cities. Soldiers would go from street to street, building to building, and house to house to search for German soldiers. The battle of Aachen was a great example of an urban combat battle. Urban combat was a total war tactic. Civilians were killed by cross fire and by bombardment. Courtney Hodges was the general for The United ...
The prelude to the Battle of the Bulge began on a winter day in mid-December of 1944. Three powerful German divisions, were the last German offensives in the west at that time during World War II. They began after the Normandy invasion in June 1944. Allied had forces swept rapidly through France but became stalled along the German border earlier that year in September. On December 16, 1944 taking advantage of the weather, which kept the Allied aircraft on the ground, the Germans launched a counteroffensive through the semi-mountainous and heavily-forested Ardennes region in Germany, and advanced 31 miles into Belgium and northern Luxembourg near the Meuse River. Their goal was to trap four allied armies, divide the Americans and the British to force negotiated peace along the western front, and retake the vital seaport of Antwerp in Belgium. Thinking the Ardennes was the least likely spot for a German offensive, American staff commander chose to keep the thin line, so that manpower might concentrate on offensives north and south of the Ardennes known as the "bulge" in the Allied lines. These American lines were thinly held by three divisions in the Allied Army and part of a forth division, while fifth division was making a local attack and the sixth division was in reserve. Division sectors were more than double the width of normal defensive fronts, therefore there were more men scattered along a larger area. The German advance was halted near the Meuse River in late December. Even though the German Offensive achieved total surprise, nowhere did the American troops give ground without a fight. Within three days, the determined American stand and the arrival of powerful reinforcements insured that the ambitious German goal was far beyond reach. In snow and sub-freezing temperatures the Germans fell short of their interim objective- to reach the rambling Meuse River on the edge of the Ardennes. But they managed to avoid being cut off by an Allied Pincer movement.
The battle started when the British sixth air born division went in at ten minutes after midnight. They were the first troops to go into action. The second attack was by the eighty second in the one hundred and first division of air born attacks. They were less successful than the first division.
The Union forces suffered one their most significant defeats of the Civil War at the Battle of Fredericksburg on 13 December 1862. The Union army was pushing towards Richmond, Virginia when they were met with a Confederate defensive stand while attempting to cross the Rappahannock River and the subsequent charges towards the Confederate positions. The first three steps of the Battle Analysis process will be covered briefly in this analysis along with an assessment of the significant actions taken. The Union Army was rendered ineffective due to several flaws in the leadership. Poor utilization of available intelligence methods, poor communication between leaders, minimal terrain analysis, and failure to plan for enemy courses of action all contributed greatly to the Union defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg.
... captured Palestro's flag was cut into small pieces after the battle and those pieces were given to several persons. One of the pieces was in the Pula Navy Museum until 1918, when Italians looted it. It is said that the relatives of Nikola Karkovic still have a piece of that flag. The tradition of the battle of lissa existed for a long time on Croatian coast in the stories of sailors and in many folk-songs. Lissa [aka Vis] was known as the head-quarters of British Adriatic cruisers in the old French War. Lissa is an island, or rather a mass of hill and mountain, eleven miles long from east to west, and six broad from north to south, rising in some of its peaks to a height of nearly 2,000 feet. Its principal productions, according to the gazetteer, were wine, oil, almonds, and figs; bees, sheep, and goats were reared in great numbers by its inhabitants; -
New techniques had to be used in WW2 because of the updated technology. Techniques such as 'mouseholing' and 'lightning warfare' were some of the new techniques used. Mouseholing is when the soldiers would blow a hole in the wall of a building and move through the building capturing the nazi soldiers instead of going out on the open street and getting snipered. Lightning warfare was used by the Germans and it was when planes were first sent in to a designated area and bombed the area and then the tanks would be sent through then finally the soldiers. This was done to take over countries and to get the country to surrender and clear the area out.
“The Battle of the Bulge, fought over the winter months of 1944 – 1945, was the last major Nazi offensive against the Allies in World War Two. The battle was a last ditch attempt by Hitler to split the Allies in two in their drive towards Germany and destroy their ability to supply themselves” (Trueman).
After the Kaiserschlacht was stalled by American reinforcements, the allied unleash their own push. The Hundred Days Offensive demolished the German army along
In the late 1800s, Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck used different strategical plans in order to gain as much power possible, the majority of the plans consisted of him taking advantage of the different political parties. Bismarck used many traditional political strategies in order to gain the power he craved for, such as creating harsh laws and prohibiting certain beliefs or ideas. Unfortunately, these strategies did not satisfy the people, so Bismarck later started to increase the welfare of the working class, apologized to the Socialists, and did much more to obtain more political strength which eventually created a new conservatism. In an effort to increase political power for the Kaiser, Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck uses liberal and traditional
Resnick p. 15. However, these events infuriated Hitler who refused to believe that the Germans had been defeated fairly on the battlefield.... ... middle of paper ... ...
The last battle of the Bismarck changed the tides during World War II. The Bismarck was Germany’s most famous battleship during World War Two, and was sunk on May 27, 1941. The Bismarck had already sunk the battleship HMS Hood before being sunk herself. For many, the end of the Hood and Bismarck symbolized the end of the time when battleships were the dominant force in naval warfare, to be replaced by submarines and aircraft carriers and the advantages these ships gave to naval commanders.
French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte is remembered as one of the greatest minds in military history. His revolutionary approach to warfare changed the course of history and the principles which governed his style of leadership are still valued today. Although he had an illustrious career of over 25 years and expanded the French Empire from Portugal to Russia, his reign came to end at the hands' of his enemies. The Battle of Waterloo was Napoleon's last stand as a military commander and will be examined for his use of the principles of the operations process. Napoleon failed to implement these activities effectively and is ultimately responsible for the loss of the battle. Napoleon was able to lead his men, but was unable to overcome his failures. He failed to understand the operational environment which affected his subordinates ability share an understanding of the environment. He failed to direct his forces and functions which lead to the loss of initiative and lacked in violence of action. Finally, Napoleon failed to assess the battle continuously and accurately which kept him from adapting when necessary. After a hard fought battle at Waterloo, Napoleon was defeated.
Blitzkrieg used speed and surprise along with highly concentrated tank corps, supported by mechanized infantry and airplanes. Warfare is in a state of transition. Older commanders and generals in the French and British militaries were very cavalry and infantry focused. These commanders believed that cavalry, infantry, and artillery would assure victory in any circumstance, against any foe. They clung to the static tactics of the bygone World War I era.
This Battle of the Huertgen Forest is a varied account referencing one of the World War II (WWII) Battles fought in Germany. This battle attests to being one of the bloodiest battles of the war in Germany, a war of attrition. This battle convened from September 1944 – December 1944, culminating in a German counteroffensive that won the final day at Huertgen. Some of the key points brought out in the accounts of this battle were: the number of losses on both the American and German fronts, the terrain needing covered or acquired, key German and American leaders and tactical/strategic advantages, disadvantages.
The Silber Medal winning biography, “Surviving Hitler," written by Andrea Warren paints picture of life for teenagers during the Holocaust, mainly by telling the story of Jack Mandelbaum. Avoiding the use of historical analysis, Warren, along with Mandelbaum’s experiences, explains how Jack, along with a few other Jewish and non-Jewish people survived.
...he Battle of Bastogne was vital to the success of winning the Battle of the Bulge. Bastogne was an important road junction in which seven roads ran through, “Seven roads in, seven roads out” as it was said of the crossroads town. American forces relied on these roads for supply routes. The capture of Bastogne was seen as a critical objective to the Germans due to the importance of the roads. Because the 101st along with the 7th Armored Division were able to withstand the attack, reinforcements were able to reach the battered units, thus ending the siege of Bastogne. The Battle of Bulge proved to be the last German offensive of the Second World War with the war itself ending just 5 months later. American forces suffered significant casualties during the battle, the 101st accounting for over 2000 casualties out of more than 3000 total wounded or killed in the battle.