The Battle of the Bulge was fought primarily in Belgium and the tiny duchy of Luxembourg. The term Bulge refers to the bulge in Allied lines created by German forces, which were able to penetrate deep into Belgium. There were more US troops involved in this battle than any other battle in US history, up to World War II. The United States suffered nearly 90,000 casualties, with almost 20,000 dead. Great Britain suffered 200 hundred dead and 1400 missing or wounded.
Hitler’s Goal
The goal of the German offensive was to capture Antwerp, Belgium. From there the German army would be able to split the Allies in half, and eventually force the Allies into a peace treaty that would favor the Axis forces. Bad roads, bad weather, and bad leadership would result in a tremendous failure of this unrealistic plan.
German Advantage
Germany had the advantage of total surprise over the allies, who firmly believed Hitler would not initiate further offensive actions so late in the war. German intelligence also fed a steady diet of misinformation to the allies, convincing US generals that Germany was reinforcing troops in the Northern Rhine, at Düsseldorf, Germany. Snowstorms kept Allied planes from aerial reconnaissance to find out the location of German troops.
The Ardennes
The Ardennes, an area of vast forest and hills stretching primarily through Belgium and Luxembourg, was considered a less hostile area than other parts of the Western Front. Consequently, the Allied troops of the Ardennes were mainly new soldiers, brought in for further training, and veteran troops who needed a break from hard fighting. They were all unprepared for the massive assault of December 16. The bulk of US casualties occurred within the first three days of fighting.
Failure for Germany
As the battle waged on, the frigid January weather slowed down supply lines on both sides. It took a month for the Allies to drive German forces back from Belgium. The failure of the offensive severely hurt the German army, causing major loss of both men and weapons it could ill afford. It would be one of two last major offensive actions for Hitler. He would commit suicide in less than four months and the Nazi party would crumble.
The great loss suffered by the United States does not go unrecognized or unappreciated by the people of Western Europe. There are many memorials and museums commemorating the Battle of the Bulge throughout Belgium and Luxembourg. There are twenty-three monuments in Bastogne, Belgium, alone. Diekirch, Luxembourg is home to the National Museum of Military History. Visitors can view the museums extensive collection of American and German military equipment, as well as view life size diaromas based on numerous personal accounts of the battle.
The Battle of the Bulge remains one of the most well known military actions of United States history. There have been many books, movies, documentaries, miniseries, even video games based on the Battle of the Bulge.
Sources:
http://www.criba.be/index.php
http://www.nat-military-museum.lu/pageshtml/curatorsmessage.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_bulge
