Battle of the Bulge: Germany's Last Major Offensive in WWII

Introduction: Origins of the Ardennes Offensive

According to John Kline, the biggest and most costly battle of World War II began on December 16, 1944 — what the German army referred to as their Ardennes Offensive. On this eventful day, the American 106th Infantry Division was hit with full force by the German army, and after three days of fighting, two of its regiments — the 422nd and the 423rd — were surrounded. This forced the 424th Regiment to join the 112th Regiment, part of the 28th Infantry Division. Working together, these regiments and divisions countered the German attack by driving the Germans back through the same area where the 106th had been positioned in mid-December 1944. This German offensive consequently became known in U.S. Forces journals as the Battle of the Bulge.

This great battle was the turning point in the war in Europe and greatly aided the efforts of the Allied forces in bringing a quick and decisive end to the war and to the Third Reich, headed by Adolf Hitler and his Nazi counterparts.

Hitler's Strategic Planning and the Choice of Ardennes

The war plan that eventually culminated in the Battle of the Bulge was first conceived in the mind of Adolf Hitler — a plan born out of pure desperation sometime in July of 1944 and reconsidered repeatedly throughout August. His greatest concern at the time was the stream of war reports filtering into his secret headquarters in Rastenburg in East Prussia, reports detailing how the Allies were managing to infiltrate Germany from practically every direction. Yet, despite their grim statistics, these reports did not deter Hitler from believing that the war could be reversed in Germany's favor.

For one thing, Hitler knew that the Allies were facing a supply shortage caused by their rapid advance into Germany, and that Allied troops were exhausted and in need of re-arming and reinforcement. These facts, at least from Hitler's perspective, made it conceivable that he had enough time to consolidate his forces and occupy the West Wall — Germany's belt of fortifications stretching from Switzerland to the borders of Holland — which would give him time to plan and execute his master stroke against the Allied forces.²

As a result, Hitler ordered the launching of a major counteroffensive based on what is now known as a Blitzkrieg attack ("Lightning War") — the same strategy that had greatly aided Nazi forces in the early years of the war. In effect, this attack would take the Allied forces completely by surprise and force them to retreat, after which Hitler planned to turn his armies eastward and destroy the next assault by the Russians.

Like many of his wartime schemes, Hitler's plan for his Blitzkrieg attack was clever, and when it finally occurred, the confident Allied forces were completely unprepared and utterly surprised, having believed Germany was ill-equipped to launch such an offensive. Thus, "when the German onslaught hit in the middle of December, it led to a great and bloody struggle and became known — because of the way it bent back the Allied lines — as the Battle of the Bulge."³

In order to launch this attack, Hitler first had to decide where it would take place. He initially considered Italy but abandoned it due to its isolation; he also considered the Eastern Front but was dissuaded when his generals pointed out that the Russians had far too many troops concentrated there. Finally, Hitler settled on the Ardennes region of Belgium and Luxembourg. His primary reason was the terrain — dense woodlands, rolling hills, and deep valleys and ravines — which would make it extremely difficult for the Allied forces to maneuver and push forward.

Hitler also recalled that the German army had occupied this region four years earlier and that his commanders were very familiar with its twisting topography and road system, which would help tank divisions rapidly reach their intended destinations.⁴

German Preparations and the Launch of the Attack

On December 12, 1944, all German forces in the Ardennes area were alerted and quickly mustered into action. The next day, the German army took up positions along a base line on the far side of the Ardennes. Massive guns and howitzers were moved into place approximately five miles behind the base line, and around 5,000 German soldiers were ordered to move the needed ammunition by hand rather than by truck in order to conserve fuel. By the night of December 15, the counteroffensive was in place: 20 divisions with five more in reserve, comprising approximately 300,000 men, 2,000 pieces of artillery, and nearly a thousand tanks and armored assault vehicles.⁵

Many military historians have pondered why Hitler chose December 16 as the date for launching his attack. The date itself holds no special significance, but General Manteuffel had convinced Hitler it was an opportune moment. Manteuffel also persuaded Hitler that the infantry should attack first rather than the panzers, as Hitler had originally planned. The foot soldiers would open paths for the armor, clear out enemy tanks, and allow small units to infiltrate enemy front-line positions before the artillery opened fire. On the evening of December 15, a full moon brightly illuminated the sky, helping to speed the tanks forward across the 28-mile-long front. Manteuffel's planning proved effective — in the pre-dawn darkness, German battalions penetrated American lines and advanced rapidly.⁶

Conclusion: Legacy of the Battle of the Bulge

The Battle of the Bulge served as the final breaking point for Hitler's Third Reich, which was effectively eliminated in April of 1945. Tens of thousands of lives had been lost on both sides, yet the battle stands as one of the greatest military engagements of the war in Europe and has been compared by some historians to the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. On January 18, 1945, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill addressed the House of Commons and praised the American forces for all they had done in the battle.

In that address, Churchill declared that the American troops "have done almost all the fighting and have suffered almost all of the losses" and that the British people must not forget that "American homes will receive the most telegrams of personal loss." He then concluded by summing up the battle's significance: "It is undoubtedly the greatest American battle of the war and will be regarded as an ever-famous American victory over the Third Reich."¹⁹

Bibliography

Davis, Franklin M. Breakthrough: The Epic Story of the Battle of the Bulge. Derby, CT: Monarch Books, 1961.

Dupuy, Trevor N. Hitler's Last Gamble: The Battle of the Bulge, December 1944 to January 1945. New York: HarperCollins, 1994.

Kline, John. "Battle Experience and Related Facts: Battle of the Bulge, December 16, 1944 to January 25, 1945." Internet. Accessed October 16, 2005.

Merriam, Robert E. The Battle of the Bulge. New York: Ballantine Books, 1978.

Winchester, Kenneth. World War II. New York: Prentice-Hall Press, 1989.