While the Battle of the Bulge was a very important battle, the D-Day invasion was of far greater importance. By the time of the Battle of the Bulge was fought, victory had already been assured.
My Italian grandfather’s brother died at the Battle of the Bulge. God bless his patriot soul forever.
anniversary of that today.
Historically inaccurate. "Watch on the Rhine" (December 16) against the US 1st army was followed by "Nordwind" (December 31) against the US 7th/French 1st armies.
And, of course, on the eastern front, there was 'Spring Awakening' (Plattensee Offensive - Lake Balaton Offensive) in March, 1945
The Battle of the Bulge was probably the hardest fight the US military has ever engaged in. German soldiers testified that it was as brutal a battle as any they had on the Eastern Front. If you include the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest just to the north of the Bulge battle zone, this short time period in the history of the US military was its bloodiest.
The Bulge was the last chance the Nazis had to slow the onslaught of the Allied invasion into Germany.
A strategic retreat at that point might have been just as effective as duking it out in the Ardennes, but as one 101st soldier commented, “they’ve got us surrounded... the poor bastards.”
The Nazis left us with no choice but to fight it out.
My father-in-law was captured on Christmas Eve in the Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge. They were eating at the time. All of the sudden Germans were standing over them. His buddies had removed their helmets to hold their dinner and had to drop them and leave them. He was still wearing his and was thankful for head covering in the following days during the long march to Germany.
In today’s world the politicians would have won the Battle of the Bulge but then abandoned Belgium to the Nazi’s.
General George S. Patton was the only WW 2 Commander who knew it was going to happen.
Or, as we like to say it Auf Deutch, Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein or Ardennenoffensive.
My dad was in the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, the Battle of the Bulge, the capture of the bridge at Remagen and the liberation of Burgesgarten as a First Div Army Ranger. 2 purple hearts, silver star and bronze star. Almost never spoke of it.
Bump!