The Battle of the Bulge also known as the Ardennes Campaign of WWII was an attempt to break the Allied lines at the Ardennes Forest and drive a wedge between the American and British armies. Adolf Hitler launched his last counteroffensive in the West. He planned to capture the Belgian port of Antwerp, disrupt logistics, trap Allied forces, and perhaps achieve a negotiated peace in the West. Spearheading the thrust were two German Panzer (armored) armies – the Sixth Panzer Army and Fifth Panzer Army- plus the Seventh Army composed primarily of grenadier replacement units, plus paratroopers who were to be dropped ahead to capture bridges and block reinforcements. This battle would take place over one of the coldest moreover, harshest winters during the war. This battle was the largest in WWII leaving over 81,000 in addition, 100,000 Germans dead. The post D-Day Allied …show more content…
The rivalry between highly esteemed men such as Patton and Montgomery, and others, could get a bit ugly at times. Surrounded by members of the press, these once-obscure soldiers had become world famous. Every comment, every inflection of their voices was noted- and the temptation to play for the history books at this great hour was enormous. For the Germans, the Battle of the Ardennes, as they call it, had costly. They lost over 100,000 soldiers and 600 tanks. Replacing those assets by this late date was not possible Surviving Germans rushed home to take up defensive positions in western Germany. In all, they had accomplished nothing other than to postpone certain invasion by about six weeks. For Adolf Hitler, the Battle marked the end of eight years of offensive maneuvers in the West, large and small, dating back to his occupation of the Rhineland. Meanwhile, in the East, the Russians had launched an earth-shattering attack involving 300