The Battle of the Bulge
December 16, 1944 to January 25, 1945
December 16, 1944 to January 25, 1945
The Battle of the Bulge was the last great German offensive on the Western Front in the Second World War. Codenamed Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein and launched from the dense and thinly populated Ardennes Forest, the Germans tried to punch a hole in the American lines with three armies. The goal was to drive northwest to Antwerp and cut the Allied position on the Western Front in two. The offensive began as a surprise attack on December 16, 1944 on the American First Army, primarily on the Germany/Belgian border. While it saw some initial success, with the overwhelming of American troops in the area and the benefit of poor weather, the attack bogged down as the Germans faced supply problems, stiffening American resistance, and overwhelming Allied air supremacy as the weather cleared. By late December, the German Army had losssed the initiative and the Americans pushed them back out of the "bulge" for the next month. The Americans suffered an unprecedented 75,000 casulaties, but the the failed offensive cost the Germans their last precious reserves of men and equipment. It would go down as one of the most famous battles in American history.
Private Joseph Lachick - 106th Infantry Division