The Battle of the Bulge

After the successful American invasion of France at Normandy in June, 1944, the Allied forces, under General Eisenhower, slowly, but steadily advanced against a retreating German foe. It seemed that the war on the Western Front was in the mopping-up stage, and the Allies (mainly US and British forces) would be able to march right on to Berlin.

By December, there were, however, some serious problems that had to be dealt with before the ultimate victory could be achieved. For one thing, Eisenhower's troops were dead tired. The breakout from Normandy had been tough, and they had seen almost continuous combat since June. Then there was the lack of supplies. As the allied forces moved ahead, supplies could not be replenished as soon as they were needed. The Allied advance, coupled with the lack of deep-water ports, had left the allies with monumental supply problems. The Germans remained in control of some of the main deep-water ports until May, 1945. The ports that the Germans had given up had been only after fierce resistance, and they had wrecked those facilities, so that it took months to get them back into working order.

American General Omar Bradley, in the south, and British General Montgomery, in the north, each lobbied hard for supplies for their respective units to continue their offensives. Sometimes the exchange between the two got quite spirited. There simply were not enough supplies coming into France to satisfy all of the Allied troops.

But things were very bad on the German side. The war in the east, against the Russians, was not going well, and most of the German supplies were being diverted to their Eastern Front. Their Luftwaffe had been largely silenced after the Allied saturation bombings of the German oil supplies, leaving the German armies with no aerial intelligence. All German supplies to the front had to be made at night, as the Allied air cover made day-time supply runs all but impossible.

Hitler felt that he had enough mobile forces left for one more major push on the Western Front---this push would split the Americans and the British, so that each would sue for a separate peace, thus leaving the bulk of the German armies free to fight on the Eastern Front.

Hitler's ultimate goal for this invasion was the Belgium Harbor, Antwerp, the 2nd largest harbor in Europe. To get to Antwerp the Germans would have to advance through the Ardennes Forest, a rugged, heavily forested region---partly in Belgium, partly in Luxembourg, and stretching into Germany. Roads through this region were poor and it was thought (by the Allies) to be impenetrable by tanks and heavy equipment that the Germans would use for a counter-offensive. Hence the region was lightly defended by two inexperienced and battered divisions.

The Germans, however, viewed the Ardennes as their logical pathway to the sea. They had made this attack in 1870, 1914, and 1940---all three invasions had been successful.

On December 16th, 1944, Hitler launched 250,000 troops, 340 tanks and 280 other heavily armed, tracked vehicles, in a surprise blitzkrieg against the American forces (mainly the 101st Airborne Division) in the Ardennes Forest. The objective of the invasion was to control vital bridgeheads west of the Meuse River, on the way to Antwerp.

The German attack completely surprised the Americans, who never-the-less, hunkered down, and faced the attacking Germans for a prolonged battle. In something over a month of fighting, this attack developed into the deadliest and most desperate battle of World War II.

The Battle of the Bulge encompassed three separate parts---1. The Battle for St. Vith, against mainly American forces of the 7th Armored and 101st Infantry, who offered fierce resistance to the German assault. Though St. Vith was given up the battle bought time for the Allied forces. 2. The Eisenborn Ridge. Organized retreat by the 2nd and 99th US divisions blocked the crack 6th Panzer Army (German) access to key roads in the northern Ardennes, essential to the German advance to Antwerp. 3. Bastogne. All seven of the main roads through the Ardennes passed through the little village of Bastogne, in eastern Belgium, making it a key objective for the German advance to Antwerp. From December 16th until the 27th, units of the American 101st Airborne held off the siege of the Nazi 5th Panzer Army, when Bastogne was liberated by American General Patton's 3rd Army, coming from Lorraine, in France---this effectively ended the Nazi invasion of the Ardennes Forest.

The Battle of the Bulge was a key victory for the Americans on the Western Front in. But the triumph came with heavy casualties. The US Department of the Army reports that the US Forces at the Battle of the Bulge suffered some 108,347 casualties---19,240 killed, 62,481 wounded, 26,612 captured or missing. The British, in the north, suffered some 1,400 casualties, while the Germans had some 81,834 casualties of their own.

The weather played a key role in the Battle of the Bulge. Through that entire month it was cold, with either sleet or snow much of the time. The Americans did not have enough winter clothing for all of the men, and cases of frost bite and frozen limbs were widespread. Cloudy and stormy weather led to much of the early success by the German troops.

A shortage of fuel was a key factor in the allied victory. The German advance was seriously stalled when their tanks and planes ran out of fuel. The American stores of oil and gas, which the Germans had hoped to capture and had counted on, were destroyed by the retreating Americans rather than to be captured. The Germans were reduced, toward the end of the campaign, to use some 50,000 horses in hauling supplies to the front.

The Battle produced many heroes; ie. General Patton was widely acclaimed for the speed with which he turned his 3rd Army to relieve the siege of Bastogne, to end the battle.

General McAuliffe, temporary commander of the 101st Airborne, in the defense of Bastogne, received a surrender ultimatum from the German commander, promising annihilation if he refused. Gen. Mac, who did not curse, offered a one word refusal, "Nuts!" The 101st held out until relieved by General Patton's Army.

Audie Murphy was the winner of every military combat award for valor issued by the US Army, as well as awards for heroism from the French and Belgium governments. He was a poor farm boy from Texas, who had gone into the Army when he was just 16, in 1943 (he lied about his age). He was sent overseas and took part in campaigns in Africa, Italy, and the invasion of Southern France. Almost immediately, upon going into combat, he distinguished himself on the battlefield, and had received a battlefield commission in Northeastern France in 1944.

As a 19-year old 1st Lt. Audie Murphy received his highest award, The Medal of Honor, at the Battle of Holtzwihr, in the last days of the Battle of the Bulge, January '45. Murphy's unit of the 3rd Infantry was attacked by a force of some 200 German Infantry, with six tanks. Murphy sent his men back to safety in the forest while he stayed, alone, directing artillery fire upon the German position. When he had exhausted his carbine ammunition he climbed atop a burning tank destroyer, and used that machine gun to fire upon the advancing German soldiers. He held his position until the artillery, and later dive bombers could be brought into play. Though wounded, Murphy finally reconnected with his unit to mount a ground attack, which dislodged the Germans and recaptured their original position, effectively ending the Battle of Holtzwihr.

Ironically, after a post war, highly successful film career, Murphy was killed in a private plane crash in Virginia. He is buried in Arlington Cemetery. He was just 46 when he died.

Source: World War II History, Battle of the Bulge