BATTLE OF THE BULDGE
KEY COUNTRIES/PEOPLE:
- The objective was to split the Allied armies by surprising them through the Ardennes to Antwerp.
- Interestingly enough, this had been done by the Germans three times before: in September 1870, August 1914, and May 1940.
- On December 16, 1944, three German armies (more than a quarter-million troops) began the most desperate and also the deadliest battle of the war.
- Weather was bad so it was hard for the Allies to begin to fight back. They started counter-attacking on December 23rd, 1944.
Location:
Ardennes (aka: Ardennes Forest). It is a region with extensive forests, along with rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges that are created by the Ardennes mountain range. There are also river basins. It is mainly in Belgium and Luxembourg, but small areas are in Germany and France.
Image from: http://www.defense.gov/home/Specials/bulge/index.html
Events/significance:
- Germany attacked with a counteroffensive so that Hitler could cut through the Allied forces in a way to turn the tide of the war in his favor.
- Hitler convinced himself that the bond between Britain, France and America was weak in wests Europe and he thought that a huge attack and defeat would break up the alliance.
- The largest battle that Americans fought in during WW2 was the Battle of the Bulge. 600,000 American troops were involved, 81,000 American men were lost, while 100,000 Germans were killed, wounded and captured.
- Many men were killed due to the harsh winter because they didn't have appropriate clothing for the weather and the snow was very harmful.
LINK TO A video about battle of the bulge:
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge
victory?
Germany seemed to be winning for the first 2 days... Allies won the whole thing, though.
CITES USED FOR INFORMATION:
http://www.nationalww2museum.org/see-hear/collections/focus-on/battle-of-the-bulge.html
http://www.army.mil/botb/
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_the_bulge.htm
http://www.army.mil/botb/
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_the_bulge.htm