Battle Of The Bulge Essay

In the cold winter of December 16, 1944 - January 16, 19453a the Battle of the Bulge marched on. It was the last great battle of World War II in Europe. Thousands of lives were lost during those cold two months. The battle finally ended after tactics, artillery, and espionage were used and exhausted. The battle was Germany’s last stand and America’s greatest battle.1a
Germany was losing the war, badly. After a series of small defeats, Hitler drew his final card: to “advance...German forces...through the Ardennes Mountains of Belgium”4a. His goal was to “retake the port of Antwerp”8a. This attack is known as: the Ardennes Offensive, the Ardennes Campaign, the Battle for Rhine, or the Battle of the Bulge. The Germans took the Allies by surprise despite the fact that the Allies could intercept and translate most German codes. The Germans truly took the Allies by surprise for somewhere between 15,500- 175,000 soldiers were killed in the battle. 75,000 were Allies and 80,000-100,000 were Germans.6a This was a large loss for Germany. It was a bad tactic; Hitler’s Generals advised against the attack 2a. Hitler lost his bet.
The name “Battle of the Bulge” came from the “bulge” the German force created in the Allied

military would not officially desegregate for another few years, the Battle of the Bulge marked the first time the army desegregated in World War II. Out of desperation, the Allies turned to the African American G.I.s more than one during the battle. An estimated, “2,500 black troops participated in the engagement, with many fighting side by side with their caucasian counterparts.2e” Some of the African American divisions suffered many casualties and received a Distinguished Unit Citation. This was the first time a African American unit had received such a prestigious award. Because of this, many generals, including later President Dwight D. Eisenhower, called upon those African American units for their military support later on in World War