What exactly was the battle of the buldge?

Question: What exactly was the battle of the buldge!?

All i know is they made some kind of movie, and the germans all spoke englishWww@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

On 16 December 1944 the Germans started their ARDENNES OFFENSIVE!. The 106th Infantry Division, in place on a salient jutting out into Germany were hit with full force!. After three days of battle, two of the Regiments, the 422nd and the 423rd were surrounded!. The 424th, south of the other two regiments, was able to withdraw and join with the 112th Regiment of the 28th Infantry Division!. They formed a Regimental Combat Team and were successful in the oncoming days of January 1945 in helping counter the German attack driving the Germans back through the same area where the 106th had been in position in mid-December 1944!. This German Offensive became known in the U!.S!. Forces journals as The Battle of the Bulge!.

-Battle Facts-
The coldest, snowiest weather “in memory” in the Ardennes Forest on the German/Belgium border!.

· Over a million men, 500,000 Germans, 600,000 Americans (more than fought at Gettysburg) and 55,000 British!.

· 3 German armies, 10 corps, the equivalent of 29 divisions!.

· 3 American armies, 6 corps, the equivalent of 31 divisions!.

· The equivalent of 3 British divisions as well as contingents of Belgian, Canadian and French troops!.

· 100,000 German casualties, killed, wounded or captured!.

· 81,000 American casualties, including 23,554 captured and 19,000 killed!.

· 1,400 British casualties 200 killed!.

· 800 tanks lost on each side, 1,000 German aircraft!.

· The Malmedy Massacre, where 86 American soldiers were murdered, was the worst atrocity committed against American troops during the course of the war in Europe!.

· My division, the 106th Infantry Division, average age of 22 years, suffered 564 killed in action, 1,246 wounded and 7,001 missing in action at the end of the offensive!. Most of these casualties occurred within the first three days of battle, when two of the division’s three regiments was forced to surrender!.

· In it's entirety, the “Battle of the Bulge,” was the worst battles- in terms of losses - to the American Forces in WWII!.
Short HistoryWww@QuestionHome@Com

This battle began on December 16 1944 and was fought in the Ardennes Forest area of Belgium and Luxembourg until January 16 1945!.The German attack was the idea of Adolf Hitler and was code named Wacht am Rhein!.Four German armies including 250,000 troops were assembled in complete secrecy opposite the American positions!.The Americans had absolutely no idea the Germans were there preparing to attack!.Once again the American military was caught asleep!.The goal of the Germans was to reach the port of Antwerp and cut off the British,Canadian,and American forces north of the Ardennes!.Hitler hoped the British would then exit the war!.The attack was eventually a failure but did produce some interesting items!.German soldiers dressed in American uniforms and speaking perfect English spread considerable fear & panic behind the American lines!.Eisenhower hid out for three days in fear of assassination by these German troops!.He didn't meet with his commanders until December 19 at Verdun!.Montgomery was given command of the American First and Ninth armies during the battle!.His behavior moved so many American generals to anger that Eisenhower sought to have Montgomery replaced!.It is said that Montgomery walked into First Army headquarters like Christ come to cleanse the temple!.Eisenhower's son wrote a book titled The Bitter Woods describing the hatred between the generals during the battle!.Patton is usually given credit for winning the battle by moving so fast against the German southern flank and relieving Bastogne!.On January 1 1945 the Luftwaffe attacked airfields in Britian handing out another complete surprise and destroying hundreds of Allied aircraft on the ground!.Most Americans remember the so-called Malmedy massacre perpetrated by 1st Waffen SS Panzer Division!.For the first time since the Civil War,an American soldier was executed by firing squad for cowardice in battle!.Eisenhower gave the order for the execution!.Almost everyone remembers General McAuliffe's reply of "Nuts" to a German demand for surrender of his troops defending Bastogne!.General Patton is buried in Luxembourg with soldiers from his army who were killed during the battle!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

The (Battle of the Buldge) Ardennes Offensive (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945) was a major German offensive on the Western Front and was launched towards the end of World War II!. The offensive was called Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein (Operation The Guard on the Rhine) by the German armed forces (Wehrmacht)!. It was officially named the Battle of the Ardennes by the U!.S!. Army, but it is known to the general public simply as the Battle of the Bulge!. The “bulge” was the initial incursion the Germans put into the Allies’ line of advance, as seen in maps presented in contemporary newspapersWww@QuestionHome@Com

It was Hitler's last attempt to stop the advance of the western Allies!.
He concentrated all his best forces in the west into a small area in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium opposite a weakly held part of the American front line!.
On 16 December 1944 the Germans attacked and took the Americans completely by surprise, advancing quickly with an overwhelming Panzer force!.
The objective was Antwerp to cut off the British 2nd Army in the north from the rest of the Allied forces!.
The Germans hoped to capture fuel dumps and supplies as they advanced to keep their army moving!.
They had great success at first as the weather was too foggy to allow the allied air forces to attack the German ground forces!.
Eisenhower ordered General Patton to bring his divisions up from the south to stem the advance and relieve the siege of Bastogne and General Montgomery to bring elements of the British 2nd Army from the north to protect Antwerp and throw the Germans back!.
This was successful after some hard fighting and the Germans were totally defeated when the weather cleared and Allied air forces could come into action and the German tanks ran out of fuel!.
THe Americans had their highest casualties in any battle but the German Army was too weak afterwards to attempt anything like it again!.
The Battle of the Bulge was considered finished in January1945Www@QuestionHome@Com

In a nutshell, here it is: In an attempt to prolong the war, the German High Command attempted to break the lines of the advancing (from France) Allies, and drive towards Belgium!. The Allied Commanders readjusted some of their troop positions and the line got pushed back!. Hence, it looked like it had a bulge in it!. The attack didn't work!.

Cheers!

?2008 SinisterMatt!. All Rights Reserved!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

The bulge was a salient in the lines during the German offensive known as Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein in December 1944!.Www@QuestionHome@Com