Battle of the Bulge

June 12, 2023 Dr. Carl Wayne

The Battle of the Bulge was the result of a World War II massive German counteroffensive against the Allied positions. It was carried out through the Ardennes forests, in Belgium, from December 16, 1944, to January 25, 1945. The Wehrmacht's code name for this powerful counterattack was Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein ('Operation Watch on the Rhine'). The Ardennes Counteroffensive was called the 'Battle of the Bulge', because of the nose-like bulge shape that was formed as the German offensive advanced from east to west. It was fought under severe winter conditions in which the American forces suffered the brunt of the German attack. The spearhead of the offensive was led by elite Waffen-SS units, such as the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, equipped with Tiger I tanks , under Colonel Joachim Peiper.

The German Ardennes Counteroffensive was supported by subordinate operations known as Unternehmen Bodenplatte, Unternehmen Greif, and Unternehmen Währung. The German objectives of these operations was to hit and punch holes in the Allied lines, splitting the American and British lines in half, capturing Antwerp, Belgium, in the process, and then proceeding to encircle and annihilate four Allied armies. In this way the Germans could force the Western Allies to negotiate the peace terms in the Axis Powers' favor.

The German attack caught the Allies by surprise, since it had been planned under complete secrecy. Also the Allied Generals were overconfident and underestimated their enemy. Busy with their own offensive plans, they neglected intelligence and failed to assess the real capacity of the battle-hardened and experienced German soldiers, especially the Waffen-SS troops. That was the reason why the German objectives were not known at first. With over 800,000 men committed and over 87,000 American casualties, the Battle of the Bulge was the largest and bloodiest battle that American forces experienced in World War II.

Ardennes Offensive Battle Plan

The German plan called for an attack to capture Antwerp, carried out by the 6th SS Panzer Army, led by Sepp Dietrich; a second attack on the center of the American forces to take the strategic road and rail center of St Vith would be carried out by the 5th Panzer Army, led by General Hasso von Manteuffel; the 7th Army, led by Brandenberger, would attack on the southern flank to create a buffer zone to prevent American reinforcements from attacking the 5th Panzer Army; meanwhile, the German 15th Army would be held in reserve to counter any Allied attack. The most important force was the 6th SS Panzer Army, which was composed of the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte "Adolf Hitler", the 2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich", the 9th SS Panzer Division HohenStaufen, and the 12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjugend".

Summary

The Battle of the Bulge began at 05:30 hours on December 16, 1944, with a two-hour artillery barrage on the Allies positions. The bombing was followed by a powerful armored attack with the majority of the German armored vehicles based at the Schnee Eifel. The Germans moved fast at the beginning, punching gaps in the US 1st and 9th Army lines as they advanced.

Hours before the main attack began, English speaking German soldiers of the Panzer Brigade 150 dressed in American uniforms were infiltrated behind the American lines and created great confusion by cutting telephone lines, spreading misinformation, and changing road signs. The bad weather conditions with low clouds and fog meant that the air superiority of the Allies could not be used as the ground-attack anti-tank planes could not take off, such as the American P-51 Mustangs and the British Typhoons.

Although during the first three days the Germans had advanced 60 miles, from December 19 on they could not capitalize on the initial success. They had breached the Allied lines, making a huge salient, but their fierce attack simply ground to a halt. The reason for this was that their tanks ran out of fuel, and, as such massive offensive was based on armored vehicles, the German attack could not be sustained. Besides, unfortunately for the Germans, by December 22, the weather conditions began to improve and the clouds started to lift. This enabled Allied air operations and their planes could take off, for they had good visibility. With air superiority the Allied forces were now able to mount a counter-attack against the Germans.

Locked in a war of attrition, both sides fought viciously with many deeds of heroism. During the last week of December and the first week of January, there was intensive fighting as the Germans tried to open a second front in Holland. The battle coincided with a period of intense cold and rain and the soldiers on the ground faced very difficult conditions. Trench foot was a common problem for infantrymen who suffered from frostbite.

By mid-January 1945, the lack of fuel was evident as the Germans were forced to abandon their tanks and armored vehicles. The 1st SS Panzer Division, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Joachim Peiper, had to make their way back to Germany on foot.

The result of the Battle of the Bulge was a decisive victory for the Allied armies. Approximately 600,000 Americans participated in the battle, suffering 87,000 casualties, while the Germans 68,000 (killed, wounded and captured)