Battle+of+the+Bulge

1944-1945 Winter Battle of the Bulge December 16th, 1944 "It was, without a doubt the greatest American battle of the Second World War and it will, I believe, always be considered as a great American victory."-Winston Churchill



The Battle of the Bulge started on December 16th, 1944. It ended on mid-January, 1945. The battle occurred at the Ardennes, Belgium, at the Seigfried line. Hitler had ordered an attack consisting of mostly tanks to destroy the alliance of Britain, France, and America by trying to achieve one major victory against their forces. While at first successful due to German spying on the Allies and the fact that the weather stopped the Allies from using their superior air force, there just wasn't enough fuel for the German tanks---their fuel plants had already begun being bombed by the Allies. Also, on December 22nd, the weather had cleared, allowing the Allies to use their air force. The Germans eventually ran out of fuel, forcing them to fight on foot and eventually retreat. Although it was an Allied victory, most of the soldiers fighting against the Germans in this battle were American. The significance of this battle was that it showed just how desperate the Nazis were---since D-Day, their military had been in decline, lacking supplies, almost without any way to win the battle because of lack of fuel. Even Hitler's generals knew the attack would not succeed. Even if Hitler had won the battle, the Allies would probably have felt a greater need to defeat the Germans and would hit even harder with their better military.



1/27/45 Dear Mother,

These past weeks have been very tough. Since D-Day, Germany has been really weak. We do not have many supplies, and the Allies have overpowered us. However, Hitler’s crazed mind has a plan for everything. He wanted our Panzer Army to capture Antwerp. We were in the front line, while Brussels is also attacked. Before the battle I didn’t know how this is going to turn out: as a Nazi, I hoped his plan works, but in real life, I hoped that it doesn’t work, and that the war ends soon. During the first few hours it seemed as if we were winning, partially because the Americans were surprised, and also because the weather prevented their Air Force from bombing us. However, the tanks soon ran out of gas, and we were immobile. It was so bad that we were forced to abandon our tanks! The next day the weather cleared, and the Allies mounted their air attacks. We also bombed some of their railroads, but it did not do anything since our tanks were still immobilized. So far in the war, this was the largest battle fought by the Americans, and they lost 81,000 men, while we had 100,000 wounded or captured. Once again, the Allies had another victory. I love you and hope to see you soon!

Love, Matthew



Micah: Location, Who won, Significance, What happened Matt V: Date, Paragraph about what happened, Primary Source, 3 Pictures, Citations

//Citations:// "The Battle of the Bulge." //History Learning Site//. Web. 23 May 2011. . "The United States Army | Battle of the Bulge." //The Official Homepage of the United States Army//. United States Army. Web. 23 May 2011. . "Battle of the Bulge | Flickr - Photo Sharing!" //Welcome to Flickr - Photo Sharing//. Web. 19 May 2011. . "Battle of the Bulge: Cobra King | Flickr - Photo Sharing!" //Welcome to Flickr - Photo Sharing//. Web. 19 May 2011. . "Battle of the Bulge: Air Drop (UPDATED) | Flickr - Photo Sharing!" //Welcome to Flickr - Photo Sharing//. Web. 23 May 2011. .
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