The Battle of the Bulge:

Hitler's Last Chance

World War II (WWII) was on the verge of ending as the U.S. and Britain closed in on Germany from the west while the Soviet Union attacked from the east. Deep in the Ardennes Forest in eastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg, Allied troops thought the Germans were close to surrender. The Allied troops thought wrong. Hitler thought of an attack so gruesome that the Allies nearly lost. This was the largest battle of WWII, the Battle of the Bulge.

The Most Devastating Battle in WWII

The Battle of the Bulge was one of the most devastating battles in WWII because of how many lives were lost. This battle began on December 16, 1944 and ended on January 28, 1945. The Allies had about 82,400 casualties (soldiers captured, killed, or wounded.), and the Germans had 220,000 casualties!

Tigers

The Germans introduced brand new tanks, called Tigers that weighed 60 tons, twice the size of the American-built Sherman tanks. Tigers were much more advanced. Each Tiger had a powerful 88-millimeter gun. The Shermans only had a 57-millimeter gun, which was no match against such a tough tank. It was because of these tanks and a thinly secured border that the Germans almost won the battle.

Closing in on Germany

By late 1944, Germany was clearly losing the war. The Russian army was slowly closing in on Germany from the east while American bombers were destroying German cities. Italy had been captured, and the Allies were traveling rapidly through France and the Low Countries (The Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg) toward Germany. Hitler had been planning this attack for weeks, but he kept the plan a secret because one of his officers had tried to assassinate him with a bomb. At this point Hitler was too paranoid to tell people about his plan and he trusted no one. This was one of his last hopes of winning the war. He had everything planned from how long it would take to cross the border to the exact area where the attacks would take place. He even had a small group of English speaking Germans join the Allied army as spies. The spies’ main goal was to destroy equipment, blow up supplies, and start fights in Allied occupied areas.

Behind Allied Lines

In Allied occupied areas, the Allied soldiers thought they would be going back home to their families soon. There was no fighting going on in their area of the Ardennes Forest. As a matter of fact, there hadn’t been much fighting anywhere lately. With little fighting going on, the Allied troops kept the security at the border very thin. The Ardennes Forest seemed like the least likely place for an attack to occur. Unfortunately, the Germans knew how thinly secured the border was. It was because of the thinly secured border that the Germans almost succeeded in this battle.

Even though the Germans achieved total surprise, the Allies didn’t give up without a fight. This greatly surprised the Germans. They figured the Allies were weak and would give up much faster. Luckily, they thought wrong.

The Day Arrives

On December 16, 1944 in the Ardennes Forest of Belgium and Luxembourg, the German army broke through the thinly secured border between Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany. The Germans had one advantage. It was cold and foggy. Since the weather was bad, it was hard for the Allies to retaliate. When the Germans first attacked, they were much stronger than the Allied troops. The troops watched silently as the Tigers crossed the border ready to shoot the first soldier they saw. The Allied troops weren’t going to give up without a fight. Some soldiers got into their tanks while others got their guns, ready to fight for their lives. Some soldiers were unable to use their guns because someone had been messing with them. Some of the guns didn’t have bullets in them so when they tried to shoot, no bullets came out. This was all part of Hitler’s plan. His group of English speaking German spies had done this. The Allied troops knew that if they lost this battle, Germany might win the war. They knew they couldn’t let this happen so they fought their hearts out. On December 23, 1944, the weather finally cleared, and Allied planes finally reached the Ardennes Forest.

The Great Blow

On January 1, 1945 Hitler launched a plan called "The Great Blow." His goal was to eliminate all Allied fighter planes. At 8:00 a.m. German warplanes flew over Belgium, Holland, and northern France. Allied airfields were bombed for over two hours. By 10:00 a.m., 206 Allied aircraft were ruined and many bases were destroyed. Hitler’s plan caused a great deal of damage to the Allies, but the price he paid for it was dreadful. The German army lost 300 planes and 253 trained pilots in the attacks.

We Have Won the Battle

When the Germans lost the battle, they knew that they had lost the war. The Germans had lost too many soldiers in the war. The Allies still had soldiers coming in to fight for them because they had so many countries on their side. The Allies were also able to build aircraft, tanks, and guns much faster than the Germans. The Battle of the Bulge was Hitler’s last attempt to actually have a chance at winning the war, but he lost. The Allies knew they had won the war. It was only a matter of time before it was official.

Johnston. Weasly. The Battle of the Bulge. <members.aol.com/_ht_a/dadswar/bulge/> Last visited: February 2002.

Kline, John. The Battle of the Bulge. <www.mm.com/user/jpk/battle.htm> Last visited: February 2002.

Stein, Conrad R. The Story of the Battle of the Bulge. Chicago: Childrens Press, 1977.

The Battle of the Bulge. <helios.acomp.usf.edu/~dsargent/index.html> Last visited : February 2002.

Send us an email