Battle of the Bulge

The Battle of the Bulge took place during World War II. It started on December 16th, 1944 and lasted until
January 25th, 1945. The Allies had already captured the German town of Aachen. This battle was the
German’s last major attempt at taking down the Allies. The Allies had been approaching the German
border, so Hitler sent troops into the Ardennes Forest in Belgium. Hitler was interested in capturing
Antwerp, a port in Belgium. “Hitler believed that by taking advantage of Allied complacency and the bad
weather, he could launch an offensive that would shatter the American lines in the Ardennes and rapidly
advance toward Antwerp in Belgium. Once Antwerp had been seized, Hitler would drive a wedge between
the American and British armies” (Anderson 5).
This battle was named ‘Battle of the Bulge’ because of the shape the Germans made in the Allied lines; a
bulging form was created when the Germans attacked. “Thinking the Ardennes was the least likely spot for
a German offensive, American Staff Commanders chose to keep the line thin, so that the manpower might
concentrate on offensives north and south of the Ardennes” (Battle of the Bulge). The Battle of the Bulge
took place in the “coldest, snowiest weather ‘in memory’ in the Ardennes Forest” (Battle of the Bulge).
Hitler’s goal was to split the Allies into separate groups so that it would be easier for him and his men to
capture the Port of Antwerp. The German army was running low on supplies, because of the attacks on
their supplies by the Allies, and needed to stock up somehow. Hitler thought this battle was a good way to
screw with the Allie’s supply lines.
Eight German tanks tried plowing through the Allied frontlines, but it didn’t work. The only thing they did
was create a bulge in the defense lines. Since the weather wasn’t nice, planes couldn’t be flown to drop
bombs. George S. Patton, Jr. was the General on the Allie’s side. Anthony McAuliffe was the General on
the German side. The German army never made it passed the Meuse River, which was one of Hitler’s
objectives. The objectives Hitler set at the beginning of the battle were never met. “Their goal was to reach
the sea, trap four allied armies, and impel a negotiated peace on the Western front” (Battle of the Bulge).
Luckily the weather started getting better around December 22, 1944. This allowed the Allies to use planes
because they could now see where they were flying. The German’s wanted to start a second battle front in
Holland, but the fighting was too hectic and intense.
By the time January rolled around, fuel was running low on both sides. Some German’s had to abandon
their vehicles because they were running out of gas. The unit led by Lieutenant-Colonel Joachim Peiper,
had to actually walk back to Germany. This unit, the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler,
was responsible for the Malmédy Massacre that occurred on December 17th, 1944. Peiper and his unit were
known for being vicious towards civilians. The troops captured 120 Americans, took them into a field, and
shot them all with machine guns.
It is thought that the German’s didn’t even have a chance at winning the battle. They were always lacking
the fuel they needed to supply all their armored vehicles. The Allies had bombed their fuel supply, so that
means the German’s were always short of fuel. “…Allied bombing of fuel plants in Germany meant that
such supplies did not exist” (The Battle of the Bulge).
Over one million men fought in the Battle of the Bulge: about 500,000 Germans, 600,000 Americans, and
55,000 British. One hundred thousand Germans were either killed, wounded or captured. Eighty one
thousand Americans were killed, wounded, or captured. One thousand four hundred British were killed,
wounded, or captured. “The Battle of the Bulge was the largest engagement on the western front, and the
largest that American soldiers-who did most of the fighting-had ever been a part of” (Encyclopedia of
American History). This battle proved that Americans would not give up without a fight. “By the end of
January 1945, American units had retaken all ground they had lost, and the defeat of Germany was clearly
only a matter of time” (Battle of the Bulge). Nazi Germany eventually surrendered in May of 1945 because
of the lack of manpower and equipment.
Most men in the war had to wear a cotton poplin jacket that was not fit for the present winter conditions. To
supply a little extra warmth, they would layer up in extra shirts, jackets, undershirts, sweaters, or anything
else they could find. Some of the lucky men in the armored units got to wear winter combat jackets, which
was basically like a blanket in a jacket with a collar and cuffs. A downside to this, though, is that these
coats were heavy and it was not easy to move in them. Plus, if they got wet, they became even heavier.
Ammunition belts were always fasted over the top layer of clothing, no matter what it may be. All G.I.’s
wore a metal helmet that was lined in fiber. “Quality footwear was also a problem. As a result, huge
numbers of G.I.’s succumbed to ‘trench foot’ during the final winter of the war” (Anderson 6). Trench foot
was an infection of the foot and the feet would gradually go numb and turn different colors. Gangrene
usually ensued because of this and amputation was a likely path to take.