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
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.
In 1943, the decision was made to attack the Germans in the spring of 1944. It was called Operation Overlord. On June 6, 1944, Allied troops invaded Normandy on the northern coast of France. The invasion was originally planned for June the fifth, but due to bad weather it was postponed until June the sixth. The Allies consisted of the United States, Britain, France, and Canada.
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.
The Brecourt Manor Assault took place on June 6th, 1944, and served as a significant battle during the Normandy Invasion of World War 2. The Germans had a battery of M102 105mm Howitzers from the 1st BN, 6th Parachute Regiment and were defended by a light infantry company armed with MG42 machine guns and fortified by a complex system of trench lines. Using these advantages, the German battery began firing onto causeway exit two leading off Utah Beach – effectively disrupting the landing effort of Allied forces. It was Easy Company of the 101st Airborne division that led the assault on Brecourt Manor in order to facilitate freedom of movement for allied forces 3 miles north of their position. It was D-Day, June 1944, which would be the first combat experience for the men of Easy Company.
Germany knew that an allied invasion of France was imminent. For months, allied spies and intelligence sought to leverage the knowledge gained through the invasion of Sicily and against weaknesses in the German defense of France. General Eisenhower knew that an attack on the coast would not be sufficient to invade because Germany had reserve troops and escape routes. The 101st Airborne division’s task was to seize four causeway exits because it was expected that VII Corps would have difficulty moving inland. The 101st and the 82nd were to jump in 5 hours before the landings on Omaha and Utah beach. The Pathfinders mission was crafted thr...
superior to the German artillery. The BEF was thirty-five miles long. line in the centre of the bulge while the French Army in the area. commanded by General Ferdinand Foch, manned the flanks to the south of the city of the city. At the outset of the battle, French and Foch both retained the hope of launching an offensive of their own.... ...
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.
Have you ever been a part of something big? Maybe a it was a big game or
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.
On 28 July 1914, the war began with the Allies and Central Powers in Europe. The Allied Powers primarily consisted of Britain, France, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, and later the US and Italy. The Central Powers consisted of Austria-Hungary, Germany, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria.
The main countries which were involved in World War II were Germany, Japan, and Italy, which were known as the Axis Coalition, against the United States, the Soviet Union, and many other countries. Overall World War II was seen as the most devastating war in human history. Each country had different types of weaponry and artillery which proved to be vital in the result of the war (World War 1).
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
The Allies, having been in all out attack mode for so long, had an unsurpassed high determination and assurance. The thought that Germany could assemble the supplies, troops, or will to dispatch a hostile appeared to be insane. Truth be told, numerous were at that point posing the questions of when and where the attack on the Rhine ought to be dispatched. "Hitler, using his ability of vital vision, saw an opening in the Allies protections." He saw the Ardennes Forest of Belgium was delicately guarded. The Ardennes Forest had generally been considered as blocked to tanks and in this way impossible for either side. The Allies left just four divisions to guard a front of more than eighty miles. Since the Germans had now been pushed back very nearly to Germany, and in a few spots were at that point battling on German soil, the Allies lost the vital knowledge on troop developments gave by French and Belgium inhabitants. Thus Germany could do real troop developments and developments directly behind the cutting edges. Hitler covertly gathered the twenty-one divisions that would later occur in The Battle of The Bulge without the Allies notwithstanding knowing. Field-Marshal von Rundsted is by and large credited with the arrangements for the hostile, however in fact he was unequivocally restricted to the arrangement. It was Hitler and his quick staff who covertly added to the arrangement, and
...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.
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.