Battle of the Bulge
The Ardennes : Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany
What happened
American commanders Dwight Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, George Patton and Anthony McAuliffe fought the German armies of Gerd von Rundstedt, Walter Model and Hasso von Manteuffel. In December 1944 Hitler launched his last big attack in the West, hoping to split the Allied armies and capture the port of Antwerp. German troops struck by surprise in the snowy Ardennes forest, where fog grounded Allied aircraft, pushing a 'bulge' into the American lines. At the town of Bastogne, surrounded American soldiers held out, and when Patton's army fought through from the south and the skies cleared, the Allies drove the Germans back.
Why it matters
Result: Allied victory. Leader: Arthur Coningham. Why it matters: It was the largest and bloodiest single battle the United States fought in World War II. Germany lost many soldiers and tanks it could never replace.
What came next
The German army fell back to its border defences, called the Siegfried Line, and kept retreating for the rest of the war.
Did you know?
When the Germans demanded that Bastogne surrender, General McAuliffe sent back a one-word reply: 'NUTS!'
Timeline
- 16 December 1944The German attack in the Ardennes begins.
- 20 December 1944American forces at Bastogne are surrounded.
- 22 December 1944McAuliffe replies 'NUTS!' to a surrender demand.
- 26 December 1944Patton's troops break through to Bastogne.
- 25 January 1945The battle ends.