The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was a crucial moment in World War II’s Western Front. Occurring from December 1944 to January 1945, it was Hitler’s last-ditch attempt to turn the tide of the war around. The Allied forces had already achieved significant victories on the Western Front, and the Germans were on the retreat.The Allied forces' resilience during the battle, despite the losses incurred, signified important psychological victories. The German forces never regained their footing after the campaign, and it signaled the beginning of the end of the Second World War in Europe.

Right: Belgium, 31 December 1944. Soldiers of the U.S. 101st Airborne move out of Bastogne, after having been besieged there for 10 days, having been tasked with driving Wehrmacht troops out of the surrounding district. Photo from the U.S. Army Center of Military History. Click to enlarge.

So much has been studied, researched and discussed on the Battle of the Bulge--in literature, film, and in classrooms--that it seems trite to attempt an effective overview or synopsis of this campaign, also known as the Ardennes Offensive. If the marines suffered extreme tropical heat fighting in their corner of the Pacific, their Army brothers may have suffered worse battling freezing temperatures, lack of proper winter clothing, ammunition, and food. The Bulge was the U.S. Army's largest battle of the Second World War, and may have been the most difficult. The Ardennes Offensive became Hitler's last gasp in Western Europe. His armies were defeated on the Eastern Front, as the Soviet Red Army grew closer to Germany in the beginning of 1945.

The battle was fought in the densely forested Ardennes region of eastern Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of France. The area was termed a "bulge" by the Allies, as it extended their line of control and created a gap in the defenses. The Germans took advantage of the poor weather conditions and unexpected tactics to launch a surprise attack on the Allied forces on December 16, 1944.

The German forces, bolstered by new recruits and equipment, were able to push through Allied lines. The 1st US Army, under the command of General Hodges, was forced to retreat in the face of this new assault. Hitler believed that if he could create a bulge in the American lines and shorten the front, he could push the Allied forces back to the English Channel. The battle, however, did not pan out the way Hitler envisioned. In the end, the Germans failed to achieve a decisive breakthrough, and their losses were significant. 

The Battle of the Bulge was significant for several reasons. Firstly, it delayed the Allied advance. The losses incurred weakened the American forces, and they were unable to start their advance on Germany again until January 1945. The battle also had significant consequences on the German military machine. They lost a significant portion of their equipment, and their losses extinguished any hopes they had for further offensives The battle was also vital from a psychological perspective. Despite the losses incurred, the Americans held their ground, demonstrating the strength of the Allied forces. This was highlighted by General Anthony McAuliffe's famous reply of "Nuts" to the German request for the 101st Division's surrender. This defiance buoyed morale among the Allied forces, and the knowledge that they could hold firm provided impetus for their ultimate victory.

Right: 10 December 1944: An American road-block is set up with .30 caliber heavy machine gun, and a tank destroyer is ready for action on Adolph Hitler Straase. 1st Battalion, 157th Regiment, 45th Division. Signal Corps Photo #6AG-27702/ETO-HQ-44-29123. Photo from the U.S. Army Center of Military History. In the Public Domain.

The preliminary Army report restricted to the First and Third U.S. Armies listed a staggering 75,482 casualties, including 8,407 killed, 46,170 wounded and 20,905 missing. British XXX Corps losses during the campaign were recorded as 1,408, including 200 killed, 969 wounded, and 239 missing. Casualties among American divisions alone totaled a staggering 62,439 from December 1944 to January 1945, including 6,238 killed, 32,712 wounded, and 23,399 missing. It is estimated that a total of 81,000 American casualties occurred, with 41,315 during the defensive phase and 39,672 during the drive to flatten the "Bulge" through January 28th, 1945. An official report by the United States Department of the Army lists 105,102 casualties for the entire "Ardennes-Alsace" campaign, including 19,246 killed, 62,489 wounded, and 26,612 captured or missing.

Even more staggering were the German casualties. The German High Command estimated that they lost between 81,834 and 98,024 men on the Western Front between December 16th, 1944 and January 25th, 1945. The accepted figure was 81,834, of which 12,652 were killed, 38,600 were wounded, and 30,582 were missing. Allied estimates on German casualties range from 81,000 to 103,900, with some authors estimating German casualties as high as 125,000. T.N. Dupuy's estimates based on fragmentary German records and oral testimony suggests German casualties among divisions and brigades alone totaled 74,459 from December 16th, 1944 to January 16th, 1945, including 11,048 killed, 34,168 wounded, and 29,243 missing.

The United States Army Center of Military History's official numbers are 75,000 American casualties and 100,000 German casualties. Approximately 600-800 German tanks were lost during the campaign, with 16–20 being Tigers, 191–194 Panthers, 141–158 Panzer IVs, and 179–182 being tank destroyers and assault guns.

Bibliography

Atkinson, Rick. The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2013.

Boog, Horst, Werner Rahn, Reinhard Stumpf, and Bernd Wegner. Germany and the Second World War: Volume 6: The Global War. Oxford: OUP Oxford, 2001.

Caddick-Adams, Peter. Snow & Steel: The Battle of the Bulge, 1944-45. Oxford: Oxford University Press, USA, 2015.

Evans, Richard J. The Third Reich at War. New York: Penguin, 2009.

Shirer, William L. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011.

Multimedia: Video, Web, Photo, and Discussion

Video: War Stories: The Battle of the Bulge: The Bloodiest Battle The US Fought In WW2 | Greatest Tank Battles  |  From the History Channel: Battle of the Bulge

Photo Album: U.S. Army Archives: Battle of the Bulge

Select websites: The National WWII Museum: Battle of the Bulge  | Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library: Online documents: World War II: Ardennes Campaign (Battle of the Bulge)