On a frigid December morning on the Ardennes Range. An erie moonlit fog covers the land. Thousands of sleeping Allied soldiers are awakened by the buzzing of artillery shells and enemy mortars crashing near their resting places. The Battle of the Bulge will forever be one of the most influential battles of World War II.
At around 5:30 AM, on December 6, 1944, a report of strange flickering lights on the German front line came into Allied headquarters from a lone American sentry at the front of the allied lines. Seconds after, the scream of hundreds of artillery cannons and mortars blasted into the camps of sleeping Allied forces. Troops bounced out of bed and jumped into foxholes and bunkers to better defend from the German offensive. (Goolrick/Tanner 48)
The Battle of the Bulge was the largest battle of any war to take place in Western Europe. The countries that sat positioned near the front lines of the battle were Luxembourg, France, Belgium, Germany and parts of the Netherlands.The Allies front lines sat near the border of Belgium and stretched down to France and Luxembourg. The Germans were positioned near the German Border, right outside of the territory controlled by the Allies.
Back about a month before the battle started. Handfuls of German soldiers, who spoke fluently in the English language, disguised themselves as Allied soldiers. These men went around changing road signs, spreading rumors, and causing uncontrolled havoc behind enemy lines.
The United States Army was led by General Dwight Eisenhower. Eisenhower gained the rank of general just before he was informed of the attack by the Germans. Germany was led by none other than Adolf Hitler. The whole purpose behind the
war was to bring an ...
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... did help them along the way. One thing is for certain, The Battle of the Bulge will always remain as one of the most influential battles of World War II.
“This is undoubtedly the greatest American battle of the war. And will, I believe, be regarded as an ever-famous American victory.” Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Works Cited
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This reason for this report is to cover the Battle of Agincourt. The topics that will be discussed in this paper include: factors contributing to the Battle of Agincourt, the English forces, French forces, weapons and equipment, terrain (the effects it had on both armies), key battles prior to the Battle of Agincourt, the Battle of Agincourt, and the Battle of Agincourt in relation to selected principles of war.
...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.
In the summer of 1944, General George S. Patton and his 3rd Army successfully broke through heavy German Forces resistance from the Normandy invasion. German forces were in total disarray by the end of August 1944. Patton pleaded with his boss, General Omar Bradley, that if 3rd U.S. Army could be allocated as little as 400,000 gallons of fuel, he could be inside Germany in two days. Time was crucial before the inevitable reaction by the Germans to shore up their defense, preventing Patton from advancing. General Bradley refused Patton's request for more fuel; Unfortunately, General Patton advanced to Germany. Morale ran high throughout Patton’s Army, and there was no sign of heavy resistance before the German border. Consequently, by early September, the 3rd U.S Army had ground to a virtual halt along the flooded Moselle River. In places, Patton's tanks and vehicles ran out of fuel on the battlefield and their swift momentum outran their supply lines (Fugate, 1999). Lack of logistics allowed the German forces to take advantage of Patton’s Army and initiate one of the largest tank battles of World War II, the Battle of Arracourt.
"Feature Articles - Life in the Trenches." Firstworldwar.com. First World War, n.d. Web. 05 Apr.
The purpose of this speech for the class is to gain better knowledge of one of the most tragic and devastating battles of World War II, the Battle of the Bulge.
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At dawn of 19th August 1942, six thousand and one hundred Allied soldiers, of whom roughly
With World War II lasting six years, there were many battles that had taken place. Three major events that are famous from this war are D-day, Pearl Harbor and Battle of Iwo Jima. D-day, which is where Saving Private Ryan begins, is known as the largest amphibious attack in history. Before the attack could take place though there was a lot of planning done. In months before the attack, General Dwight Eisenhower led allies in an operation to make Germany believe that their main target of invasion was Pas-de-Calais, along with a few other locations. The operation that led Germany to believe this was carried out by fake equipment, a phantom army located in England, counterfeit radio transmissions, and double agents. Once Eisenhower knew Germany was mislead, he led the troops into battle. This attack began with British, American, and Canadian forces landing on five different beaches all along the coast of Normandy on June 6, 1944. By the end of the first day approximately 156,000 al...
Lanning, M. L. (2005). The History Place - Top Ten Battles of All Time. Retrieved from http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/topten/
The German attack began this attack on the Ardennes Forest by parachuting troops behind the American lines with intentio...
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Warfare was 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. World War I had been fought primarily on French soil, and the military as well as the government never wanted that to happen again, therefore they wanted to reinforce their main border against any future German. Little did they know that only twenty two years later they would be bested by German forces in a way that would shock the world. This research will be analyzing many important assumptions, oversights,...
The 1944 Allied landing at Normandy met a strong, networked German defense that initially disrupted the timing of the invasion, slowed down the Allied advance, and inflicted extensive casualties. The German shore defenses were a result of extensive preparations that began when the German High Command appointed Field Marshal Rommel to defend the western European coast. Rommel believed the best strategy against an Allied inv...
The Battle of the Somme epitomizes the harsh realities of trench warfare for the Allies and represents the negligent battle planning and technological advancements that are associated with the stalemate of World War One. Trench warfare was common across the Western Front, with similar strategies being employed by both opposing sides. Sir Douglas Haig, one of the British coordinators for the Somme offensive is blamed with an offensive strategy destined for failure. The British offensive, an utter failure, resulted in a stalemate, which was common throughout World War One. The British development of the tank, while it eventually ended the horrendous stalemate, was ineffectively used during the Somme.