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Title: The Battle of Bulge
World War II or the Second World War is one of the deadliest events of history. It lasted from 1938 to 1945 and as fought between two groups named as Allies and Axis powers. Axis included Germany, Italy, Japan, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria while the second group called Allies comprised France, Britain, US, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Australia, China, Denmark, Greece, Poland a few others. These were the world's major powers that formed military alliances and several factors that broke out the war between the two nations. The Battle of the Bulge referred to “the greatest American battle of the war” according to Winston Churchill. “The aim of this was to isolate the British and Canadian 21st Army Group and the American 9th Army from the remainder of the Allied front, thereby prompting large-scale surrender and depriving the Allies of their most crucial port” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"4bXaGa8X","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Passmore and Harrison)","plainCitation":"(Passmore and Harrison)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":32,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/rhLtY1cq/items/Q6B2EMPM"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/rhLtY1cq/items/Q6B2EMPM"],"itemData":{"id":32,"type":"chapter","title":"Landscapes of the Battle of the Bulge: WW2 field fortifications in the Ardennes forests of Belgium","container-title":"Bastions and Barbed Wire","publisher":"BRILL","page":"87-107","author":[{"family":"Passmore","given":"David G."},{"family":"Harrison","given":"Stephan"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2009"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Passmore and Harrison, 90). It was the last major attack by Hitler at the end of World War II and in this attack, Hitler aimed to tear apart the Allies in their effort towards Germany. However, he drastically failed in his mission and paved the way to victory for his opponents. This paper will sum up the event of the Battle of the Bulge, its participants, landscape, and a conclusion based on opinion.
Battle of the Bulge lasted for about six brutal weeks, it began in December 1944 and end in January 1945, just a few months before the WWII was over. Another name of Battle of the Bulge is the Battle of the Ardennes. One of the distinguished aspects of this war is, it was fought in the frigid weather conditions. Across 85 miles of the Ardennes Forest., the battle-fatigued American corps was attacked by some 30 German divisions. This battle is also considered as the largest battle in which the US participated. The battle took its name as Battle of the Bulge from the fact that when the Germans moved into the forest to split the British and American forces, a bulge was created that was about 70 miles wide and 50 miles deep ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"rfalZt1m","properties":{"formattedCitation":"({\\i{}The Battle of the Bulge})","plainCitation":"(The Battle of the Bulge)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":34,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/rhLtY1cq/items/56L657GX"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/rhLtY1cq/items/56L657GX"],"itemData":{"id":34,"type":"webpage","title":"The Battle of the Bulge","URL":"https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-battle-of-the-bulge","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",11,27]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (The Battle of the Bulge). The serene and wooded region of the forest was hacked into chaos by the events of the war.
To sum up the events in the Battle of the Bulge, the Germans enjoyed some success in the beginning. As the Germans invaded the corps with a force of about 250,000 soldiers, they found the American soldiers unprepared and battle exhausted. As a result, they captured tow-third of the men from the 106th Division, however, they were stopped by the US general Omar Bradley. The American troops or Allies were able to stop the German attack when Marshal Montgomery’s forces rushed in from north and Bradley’s forces from the south as well. The server weather conditions stopped the Allies to utilized their air power against the Germans. As the sky got clear, the airpower was used by the Allies to destroy the attacking forces by bombers. Meanwhile, both the forces were fighting to acquire the town of Bastogne. Germans were able to surround the town before the Allies and demanded the Allies to surrender, Allies had very few people to defend the town. In response to the surrender Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe, the American commander said just one word, "Nuts!" ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"vGdVA4MB","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Cole)","plainCitation":"(Cole)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":33,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/rhLtY1cq/items/W8K95IFZ"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/rhLtY1cq/items/W8K95IFZ"],"itemData":{"id":33,"type":"book","title":"The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge","publisher":"Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army","volume":"3","author":[{"family":"Cole","given":"Hugh Marshall"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1965"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Cole, 468). It was interpreted as a more negative response to their demand by the German forces. Owing to the better weather conditions, allied aircraft dropped supplies into the town and just a day after Christmas, units of Patton's approached the Third army and released the American troops breaking the German lines ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"d3LcOKbV","properties":{"formattedCitation":"({\\i{}The Battle of the Bulge})","plainCitation":"(The Battle of the Bulge)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":34,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/rhLtY1cq/items/56L657GX"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/rhLtY1cq/items/56L657GX"],"itemData":{"id":34,"type":"webpage","title":"The Battle of the Bulge","URL":"https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-battle-of-the-bulge","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",11,27]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (The Battle of the Bulge). The battle continued for one more week but the Germans had already failed. Allied after announcing their victory on January 25, 1945, they headed towards Berlin. Eisenhower allowed a high number of troops to escape and the surrender of Germany's forced declared the end of the war on May 7, 1945 ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"d3LcOKbV","properties":{"formattedCitation":"({\\i{}The Battle of the Bulge})","plainCitation":"(The Battle of the Bulge)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":34,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/rhLtY1cq/items/56L657GX"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/rhLtY1cq/items/56L657GX"],"itemData":{"id":34,"type":"webpage","title":"The Battle of the Bulge","URL":"https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-battle-of-the-bulge","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",11,27]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (The Battle of the Bulge).
The timing of the war was another major characteristic of this war. Hitler's timing of the attack was very strategic, it was mid of December and in the freezing rain, deep snowdrifts, thick fog, and the fatal low temperatures made the war tougher for the American corps. During this season, about more than 15000 cold injuries were reported that include frostbite, pneumonia, and trench foot. The weather condition of the war was reported by a WWII veteran Warren Spahn and in his book The Love of Baseball, “I was from Buffalo, I thought I knew cold, but I didn’t know cold until the Battle of the Bulge” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"bwFnT5cp","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Ressler)","plainCitation":"(Ressler)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":31,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/rhLtY1cq/items/C965BC5A"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/rhLtY1cq/items/C965BC5A"],"itemData":{"id":31,"type":"article-journal","title":"The Love of Baseball: Essays by Lifelong Fans ed. by Chris Arvidson and Diana Nelson Jones","container-title":"NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture","page":"233-234","volume":"25","issue":"1","author":[{"family":"Ressler","given":"William Harris"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2016"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Ressler).
Adolf Hitler was the ruler of Germany, during the Battle of the Bulge. He was the person who played a key role in this event of war; he assured his people that he will make Germany strong again and he would help them to become powerful again. He used people’s fear to take their advantage and lost about 500,000 soldiers in the west due to war. Another key person was General George S. Patton Jr.; he belonged to the US army and ordered to invade the German forces to protect the allied forces and the US. During World War II, he was one of the most combative US commanders, best known for his expertise for the seventh US army. He was murdered in less than a year after the German defeat. One more prominent person was Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the supreme Allied commander who led the American defense ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"KnOLle2b","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Editors)","plainCitation":"(Editors)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":36,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/rhLtY1cq/items/KPY8VLV7"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/rhLtY1cq/items/KPY8VLV7"],"itemData":{"id":36,"type":"webpage","title":"Battle of the Bulge","container-title":"HISTORY","abstract":"Called “the greatest American battle of the war” by Winston Churchill, the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes region of Belgium was Adolf Hitler’s last major","URL":"https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Editors","given":"History","dropping-particle":"com"}],"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",11,27]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Editors). He provided Patton with the Third Army and directed him to head to the Ardennes.
Many things that make the Battle of the Bulge, a significant event of history. First of all, the weather in which the battle was fought makes it the most significant event of US history. The cold weather resulted in the death of many soldiers. This war is also remembered from its name taken from the bulge created in the Allied lines with the purpose of split British and American forces. The surrender in the event of the battle was the largest in the history of the US, declaring surrender of Bataan as the first. In only four weeks of the battle, almost 19000 causalities suffered and almost more than 15000 were imprisoned according to the US department of defense. Also, it is an example of false optimism in the event of war and unearths the outcomes of such unreal optimism. Hitler failed to comprehend the US army and its commitment to the nation. Furthermore, this war declared it would be the last battle Germans have been able to fight since they lost about 100000 men and a major number of tanks and aircraft from already fatigued supplies ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"WSdbY9wI","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Editors)","plainCitation":"(Editors)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":36,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/rhLtY1cq/items/KPY8VLV7"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/rhLtY1cq/items/KPY8VLV7"],"itemData":{"id":36,"type":"webpage","title":"Battle of the Bulge","container-title":"HISTORY","abstract":"Called “the greatest American battle of the war” by Winston Churchill, the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes region of Belgium was Adolf Hitler’s last major","URL":"https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Editors","given":"History","dropping-particle":"com"}],"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",11,27]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Editors). In my opinion, Germans would have lost the battle otherwise because Americans were still able to pour tens of thousands of men into the battlefield.
According to the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, it was undeniably the bloodiest war of American history. The Allied could have compensated these losses but the Germans had drained all their material resources and human resources as well. The Allies continued their advance and were able to cross into the heart of Germany. Germans had already lost the war as declared by their military supplies, the only reason they felt victory in the start was the inability of the Allies to use their air supremacy. As soon as they were able to show their airpower, they did not allow Germans to take a stand.
Works Cited
ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Cole, Hugh Marshall. The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge. Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army, 1965.
Editors, History com. “Battle of the Bulge.” HISTORY, https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge. Accessed 27 Nov. 2019.
Passmore, David G., and Stephan Harrison. “Landscapes of the Battle of the Bulge: WW2 Field Fortifications in the Ardennes Forests of Belgium.” Bastions and Barbed Wire, BRILL, 2009, pp. 87–107.
Ressler, William Harris. “The Love of Baseball: Essays by Lifelong Fans Ed. by Chris Arvidson and Diana Nelson Jones.” NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture, vol. 25, no. 1, 2016, pp. 233–34.
The Battle of the Bulge. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-battle-of-the-bulge. Accessed 27 Nov. 2019.
