In late 1944, following the successful D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, it seemed that the Second World War was all but over for the Allied forces. On Dec 16, with the winter in site, the German forces launched a counteroffensive that was meant to sway the war into Hitler’s favor. The battle that shortly ensued after this counteroffensive is historically known as the Battle of The Bulge. The Battle of The Bulge initially started with the American forces being outnumbered 250,000 German troops to a mere 80,000 Americans. During this time the American Soldier’s fortitude and character were tested against ultimate adversity. On December 17th, a convoy of Battery B of the 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion was met southeast of Malmedy by a regiment of the German Army commanded by a 29-year old Lt. Col. Jochen Peiper. The captured U.S. troops were then directed to a nearby open field. Lt. Col. Peiper gave the command to his soldiers to execute the U.S. soldiers. 81 U.S. soldiers were killed in one of the worst massacre …show more content…
against the U.S. at this time. Shortly after the defeat of Nazi Germany, 74 former SS men, including Lt. Col. Peiper were tried by the U.S. Courts for the war crimes committed. The Germans also used a very effect trick in order to disrupt the Americans by opening the “The School for Americans”, in which the German commandos were taught to speak English in the troops to partake in the battle, over 75,000 became casualties of war. The German forces on the other hand had over 100,000 casualties during this battle. The Americans Germans also lost around 800 tanks on each side, to include over 1,000 German aircraft fell victim to the Battle of the Bulge. Post WWII artillery fuses were mainly point detonated and had limited effect on ground troops. During the early stages of World War II British military researchers Sir Samuel Curran and W. A. S. Butement invented a proximity fuse under the name VT, an acronym of "Variable Time fuse". Lethality was estimated to increase 50%, compared to these other fuses at the time and designed for targets such as planes, missiles, ships at sea and ground forces. However the inventers were not able to develop the fuse. In late 1940 a physicist at The Johns Hopkins University named Merle A. Tuve was able to make the fuse more reliable under high acceleration of cannon launch. The proximity fuse was the technological breakthrough during the war that it was the level of the atom bomb project. (Adm. Lewis L. Strauss) wrote that, "One of the most original and effective military developments in World War II was the proximity, or 'VT', fuse”. The Pentagon refused to allow the Allied field artillery use of the fuses in 1944, although the United States Navy fired proximity-fused anti-aircraft shells during the July 1943 invasion of Sicily. After General Dwight D.
Eisenhower demanded he be allowed to use the fuses, 200,000 shells with VT fuses or (code named "POZIT") were used in the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944. They made the Allied heavy artillery far more devastating, as all the shells now exploded just before hitting the ground. It decimated German divisions caught in the open. The effectiveness of the new VT fused shells exploding in mid-air, on exposed personnel, caused a minor mutiny when German soldiers started refusing orders to move out of their bunkers during an artillery attack. U.S. General George S. Patton said that the introduction of the proximity fuse required a full revision of the tactics of land warfare. The proximity fuse was used to air bursts artillery shell over ground troops increasing anti-personnel effects on the battle field. Proximity or VT fuse was the pioneer for modern artillery fuses and rounds such as PGK and the
Excalibur. In closing, the Battle of the Bulge was a “momentous battle of World War II, not just because it brought about the end of the German army and the Nazi reign, but also because of the profound effect it had on soldiers who fought in the icy Ardennes (world history WWII, 2013).” This battle also reinforced the importance of Artillery in many operations to come utilizing the new artillery ammunition available to the United States.
It was 1944, and the United States had now been an active participant in the war against Nazi Germany for almost three and a half years, nearly six years for the British. During that period occurred a string of engagements fought with ferocious determination and intensity on both sides. There is however, one day which stands out in the minds of many American servicemen more often than others. June 6, 1944, D-Day, was a day in which thousands of young American boys, who poured onto the beaches of Utah and Omaha, became men faster than they would have ever imagined possible. Little did they know of the chaos and the hell which awaited them on their arrival. Over the course of a few hours, the visions of Omaha and Utah Beaches, and the death and destruction accompanied with them formed a permanent fixation in the minds of the American Invaders. The Allied invasion of Europe began on the 6th of June 1944, and the American assault on Utah and Omaha beaches on this day played a critical role in the overall success of the operation. (Astor 352)
War is what keeps a nation from dying, it is the backbone of a country. This is the shown throughout the course of World War I, also known as “the war to end all wars.” World War I started in the summer of 1914. Archduke Francis Ferdinand, from the Austro – Hungarian Empire was visiting Bosnia. He was shot, along with his wife, Sofia, by a young man from the Black Hand, Gavrillo Princip. What were the three main factors that started World War I? There were three main underlying causes that started World War I: greed, nationalism, and militarism.
...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.
In order to receive a victory in the Battle of the Bulge, General Patton used Mission Command Analysis in order to understand how he can be successful for this mission. The first thing of understanding t...
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.
The 1944 Allied landing at Normandy met a strong, networked German defense that initially disrupted the timing of the invasion, slowed down the Allied advance, and inflicted extensive casualties. The German shore defenses were a result of extensive preparations that began when the German High Command appointed Field Marshal Rommel to defend the western European coast. Rommel believed the best strategy against an Allied inv...
The revolutionary war of the United States of America was a time of many important battles fought in the name of freedom and independence from Great Britain, the greatest military power of the world at the time. One of these famous battles that took part of the history of the American Revolution is known as the Battle of Bunker Hill. Taking place on the night of June 16, 1775, the Battle of Bunker Hill was a battle that resulted in an American loss of the battle, but also hurt the British Army significantly and boosted the American rebels’ morale during the Revolution. The battle took place in Charleston, Massachusetts, specifically on the Charleston Peninsula, which was home to Bunker Hill and Breed’s Hill and had a vital oversight of the Boston Harbor, the most important harbor in the Americas at the time.
The purpose of this speech for the class is to gain better knowledge of one of the most tragic and devastating battles of World War II, the Battle of the Bulge.
World War II was one of the most important wars in history. It featured multiple countries at constant conflict with each other. There were several battles that occurred in this 12 year long war. An example of two of the battles would be the Battle of Britain in the European theater of war, and the Attack on Pearl Harbor in the Pacific theater of war. Only one of these wars saw victory, while the other caused great devastation to the American military.
World War II is cause for much debate over the morals and ethics of wartime attack strategies.
This Battle of the Huertgen Forest is a varied account referencing one of the World War II (WWII) Battles fought in Germany. This battle attests to being one of the bloodiest battles of the war in Germany, a war of attrition. This battle convened from September 1944 – December 1944, culminating in a German counteroffensive that won the final day at Huertgen. Some of the key points brought out in the accounts of this battle were: the number of losses on both the American and German fronts, the terrain needing covered or acquired, key German and American leaders and tactical/strategic advantages, disadvantages.
Trench warfare was introduced in order to bring a barrier between forces. They were dug by soldiers and were very lengthy, but very cramped. Soldiers crouched down for extended periods of time to keep their heads blocked from being a target for the other side. They sat their watching their friends die from disease and from being shot, bombed, or poison gassed while they waited to fire their weapons at the enemy.
The wars on the Western and eastern front differed in many ways. The war on the Western Front took place on the border of France and Germany. At this time, Germany was facing a two front war. Germany came up with the Von Schlieffen plan to make sure they could conquer the war on both fronts. This war called Germany to defeat the French on the West and then rush their forces East and defeat the Russians. This plan relayed on time. In order to achieve this plan they would have to defeat the French in limited time. The Germans had the advantage since their railroads were much faster and more efficient them railroads in Russia.
Either it be in support of infantry units or operating in independent formations. The main U.S. medium tank to see combat in World war II was the M4 Sherman, between 1942 and 1946 American factories produced over 49,000 of them. A fully armed Sherman tank carried 97 rounds of either highly explosive or armored piercing artillery shells, and was protected by 2-and a half inches of frontal armor. A 30 caliber mounted machine gun was used for close combat situations. Depending on the model, it had a top speed of 24-30 miles per hours. In the European theater of World War II their armored vehicles were no match for the enemy’s tanks. Both allied tankers and German counterparts coined the term “fire cracker” for the American Sherman because of its instability. Throughout the campaign the late model German mark IV with its high velocity 75 millimeter gun and an even more powerful Panther and Tiger tanks outclassed most models of the Sherman tank in sheer fire power. Despite the dangers the brave American tankers battled on, however in many areas in Europe and the Pacific thousands of brave tankers met their end in their armored graves due to the sheer power of newly improved German
“Napoleon I had smashed through the German states with ease during the Napoleonic wars. Now a generation later, the roles would be reversed. Even though the war was a short duration, it dramatically changed European history.” The year of 1870 marked as the start of a war that changed the outlook of history as we know it today. This time period from 1870-1871 was known as the Franco-Prussian War, and there were many leading causes and events that took place for a bizarre and wild finish to what would be the beginning of an era for World War I.