The Battle of the Bulge began on December 16, 1944, when 200,000 German troops and over 1,000 tanks attacked American forces in the Ardennes (between Belgium and Luxembourg). The objective was to thwart the Allied advance towards Germany and to capture their port at Antwerp in Belgium. The attack caught the Americans by surprise and a ‘bulge’ was created in the Allied lines by retreating American forces that was 50 miles wide and 70 miles deep.
The Americans overcame this onslaught through fierce resistance. An example of this was at Bastogne where the 101st Airborne refused to surrender though they were surrounded by German forces. General Anthony C. McAuliffe famously responded “Nuts!” when they demanded that the paratroopers surrender. On December 26th, General Patton’s 3rd Army broke the German encirclement at Bastogne and the German advance slowed down.
Additionally, the Allied air force stopped the German army attack. At the beginning of the battle, Allied aircraft could not provide air support due to cloudiness. On Christmas day, the clouds lifted and aerial attacks resumed.
The Battle of the Bulge ended in an Allied victory on January 25, 1945. In total, 500,000 Americans were engaged in the battle- approximately 19,000 were killed, 47,500 were wounded, and 23,000 were listed as missing. The Germans suffered about 100,000 casualties.
The History Channel website has interesting facts, photographs, and videos about the Battle of the Bulge.
A couple of interesting reads about the Battle of the Bulge are The Longest Winter: The Battle of the Bulge and the Epic Story of WWII’s Most Decorated Platoon by Alex Kershaw and Hitler’s Winter: The German Battle of the Bulge by Anthony Tucker-Jones .
Michael Walsh is an Adult Services Librarian at the Will Library. He is currently reading Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer.