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general patton and the battle of the bulge
battle of the bulge summary essay 1 page
battle of the bulge summary essay 1 page
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WWII Battle of the Bulge
On December 16, 1944 in Germany the Nazi’s mounted a surprise attack against the Allies it was the last offensive of the Nazi’s. Who was involved in the Battle of the Bulge? The war was Allied against the Axis powers Allied powers were made up of Great Britain, The Soviet Union, and The United States of America. The Axis powers consisted of Germany, Italy, and Japan. Of those countries only The United States and Great Britain for the Allies and Germany and Italy fought in the Battle of the Bulge. While the Battle of the Bulge was starting the Soviets were also fighting the Germans on the other side of Germany. Whenever the Allied forces invaded Normandy on D-Day the Germans were forced to fight on two sides. Whenever this had happened the German or Nazi army was stretched thin, causing them to lose a lot of ground to the Allied forces. On December the 16th the Germans decided to try and gain back some of the ground they lost Adolf Hitler pulled all his reserves up for the battle and made a surprise attack against the Americans and British. The Germans secretly formed in the Ardenne forrest and then attacked at Bastogne where the American 101st airborne division was deployed at. The 101st one of the most famous battalions in all of WWII was completely held off from reinforcements and supplies and they not only were low on supplies they were completely taken by surprise. ( William 21-25 ) The Battle of the Bulge is probably the battle that made the general George S. Patten famous his third army was engaged south of the Ardenne in a fierce tank battle. General Patten disengaged and turned north to relieve Bastogne. Why did the Germans attack Bastogne, because the German army was trying to take back the port of Antwerp. Antwerp was a vital port for the German army and the German commanders knew this the German commanders believed that if they
...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.
Operational leaders see how the individual components of an organization fit together and use those individuals work to make a larger outcome. When they focus on a problem, they think of what works best within the process and systems to make an impact on the situation. These types of leaders play a big part in making sure that things get done in an effective and functioning manner. According to the Army Doctrine ADP 6-0, the Army over time has strayed away from operational leaders and adapted Mission Command, which gives leaders the ability at the lowest level the capability to exercise disciplined initiative in an act of carrying out the larger mission . Mission Command is made up of the following six steps: Understanding, Visualize, Describe, Direct, Lead and Assess, in which a commander is responsible for. General Patton understood the intent of the Battle of the Bulge on different levels, he was able to form a mental image for the course of actions for the allies, enemies and lead his Army into combat while guiding his officers and soldiers to succeed in meeting his intent. The Battle of the Bulge is where General Patton gained one of his greatest military achievements by using his tactical leadership and logistical genius, which in return helped him turn around the main forces and forced the Germans to drive back in their final counter-offensive. General Patton strongly exercised Mission Command by understanding, visualizing, leading, and commanding what was known as the largest and bloodiest battle during World War II.
(1). The Battle of Arracourt took place in Arracourt, Lorraine Province, France. The Province of Lorraine was along the shortest route from Normandy to Germany through France. Arracourt was a small town located on the Mosselle River on the French and German border. The principle adversaries in the Battle of Arracourt were General George S. Patton’s 3rd U.S. Army led by the 4th Armored Division. The 3rd Army had more than 160,000 Soldier, 1,500 Artillery pieces, and 930 Sherman...
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.
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...
World War II began on September 1, 1939. It all started when Hitler wanted to expand his territory, and he had planned to invade Poland on this day. Then two years later in 1941 Japan bombed America in which is known as Pearl Harbor and General Eisenhower entered America into World War II. America then joined the Allied powers and helped fight against the Axis powers. The major countries that took part as the Allied Powers in World War II was the United States of America, Great Britain, France, and Russia.Their main goal was to stick together and to defend each other from the attacks of the Axis Powers. The Axis powers consisted of Germany, Italy, and Japan.General EIsenhower had been planning an attack on the beaches of Normandy in France.
...estern front. The USSR took advantage of there being fewer troops on the eastern front and pushed their way westward toward Germany. Eventually the USSR reach the heart of Germany and defeat them. Therefore, D-Day and the Battle of Normandy was an important turning point in the war because it made two war fronts which helped the USSR advance to Germany to end the war.
The Germans power struck fear into the Allied countries, which drove Allied leaders to initiate the D-day invasion. Hitler was aware of the Invasion of Normandy, but he wasn’t sure when it was going to take place. Since he was confident in his military power and the Allied forces had dissipated across the Mediterranean, he disregarded the threat. But in November of 1943, Hitler could no longer ignore the invasion. He started taking defensive maneuvers by reinforcing the French beaches, placing mines, and barricading any entrance into France to protect his French territory. The German troops were also at an advantage because, “It [, Omaha,] was defended by the best German troops in the area, tough combat veterans who had recently been sent to Normandy for more training” (Bigelow et al. 267). This scared the Allied leaders because their troops were dropping like flies. During this time, the Russians h...
In December, Bradley's front absorbed the brunt of the German offensive during the Battle of the Bulge. After stopping the German assault, his men played a key role in pushing the enemy back, with Patton's Third Army making an unprecedented turn north to relieve the 101st Airborne at Bastogne. During the fighting, he was angered when Eisenhower temporarily assigned First Army to Montgomery for logistical reasons.
...I without much resistance from the German Army. The German army was reduced to reactionary action after this battle and was unable to go on the offensive for the rest of the Second World War.
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.
The Battle: The Story of the Bulge is not a book about how the American’s used sheer numbers and force to overcome the Germans. It is a story of how the GI, who was independent, cocky, and had poor garrison etiquette, overcame the odds and became an unlikely strong adversary thus winning the battle. I can relate to the GI because I find myself at times to be cocky and not always wanting to take orders I don’t agree with. I think this relation helped me to understand some of the emotions the soldiers expressed throughout the
By the 26th of December, elements of Patton’s 3rd Corps and chiefly the 4th Armoured Division broke through the German lines and relieved Bastogne, as well as securing the vital road junction that would slow Hitlers offensive in its tracks. Following the relief of Bastogne, Patton and the Third army pressed on in continuing their counteroffensive to St.Vith, and to contain the German Easterly advance past the Meuse river. Later the same day, Allied headquarters received news that the German offensive had lost its vital impetus. Throughout the reminder of the Battle of the Bulge, which lasted until the 25th of January 1945, General Patton worked closely with General Bradley and played a key role in successfully pushing the Germans back into
World war two took many people by surprise and is one of the most historical and remembered events in all of history. One battle in Europe that is very well remembered is that Battle of the Bulge, it started December 16th of 1944 and ended in January 25th of 1945. The Battle of the Bulge took place in Belgium, France, and luxembourg and got its name because the countries shape looked like a big bulge. The battle was between Nazi Germany, with their dictator being Adolf Hitler, and America with their presidential leader Eisenhower. During the time of the battle weather conditions were horrible, it was very cold and neither sides had the best war supplies. The soldiers in this battle could not start fires or their enemies would see them, making
Ultimately the battle was not won by either side, but rather abandoned. The lack of decisive military strategy resulted in the British being unable to quickly overtake the Germans, allowing time for reinforcements to be recruited. Ultimately both sides tallied extensive casualties, for a battle which receives little glory for its gruesome history.