Battle of the Bulge

The Battle of the Bulge was one of the most important battles in the European Theater during the Second World War. It was also “The largest and bloodiest battle in American History”(4). The Battle of the Bulge was fought from December 16th 1944 to January 25th 1945 (4). The battle occurred in the Ardennes forest which is located in 4 countries, Luxembourg, Germany, France and Belgium. The Ardennes forest is heavily populated by trees and supposedly incapable of allowing tanks to travel through it. The notable cities in which the Battle of the Bulge was fought are Bastogne and St. Vith (4). The Americans lost over 100,000 troops to casualties making it one of the costliest battles in the European Theater of World War II and in the entire history of the United States Army (2). The Germans lost around 85,000 soldiers to casualties in this engagement in addition to a rather large loss of vehicles and equipment.

The Battle of the Bulge took place as a last ditch desperation attempt by the German Wehrmacht which is the German word for Army. The main intent of the attack was to divide the Allies and dramatically affect their ability to supply themselves (1). The battle began on December 16th, 1944, when the Wehrmacht gathered 200,000 troops and 1,000 tanks in a last-ditch attempt to swing the war in the favor of the Axis. On the first day of the offensive the Germans attacked the Allied front in the region of the Ardennes Forest, a seventy-five mile stretch of very dense forest. Prior to the attack the Ardennes Forest had been a quiet spot on the front where Allied units had been sent for “rest and seasoning”(3).

The German attack began this attack on the Ardennes Forest by parachuting troops behind the American lines with intentio...

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...I without much resistance from the German Army. The German army was reduced to reactionary action after this battle and was unable to go on the offensive for the rest of the Second World War.

The Battle of the Bulge was a very important battle in the European Theater of the Second World War and will always be remembered as the death blow to the German army which made victory in the second World War even more attainable for the Allied armies..

Works Cited

"The Battle of the Bulge." The Battle of the Bulge. History Learning Site, n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.

"Battle of the Bulge." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.

"Battle of the Bulge." Http://www.army.mil. United States Army, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.

Farrell, Kevin W. "The Battle Of The Bulge." Army Magazine 63.12 (2013): 34-38. Military & Government Collection. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.