![]() ![]() The Germans launched their attack in the densely forested Ardennes region comprising eastern Belgium, northeast France, and Luxembourg. The allied command was caught completely of guard, and the surprise German attack broke through the front on its very first day. Winston Churchill called The Battle of the Bulge "the greatest American battle of the war." But that's not what it felt like at the start. It would turn out to be the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front. More than a million men fought in the counteroffensive: 600,000 Germans, 500,000 Americans, and 55,000 British. It was the largest land battle of World War II that the United States directly participated in. The fighting lasted six weeks, from mid-December until the end of January. ![]() The battle got its name came from of the westward-bulging shape of battle lines drawn on a map. The "Bulge" was the largest and bloodiest battle fought by the United States in World War II and the third-deadliest campaign in American history. The end of the war was just the beginning of the end of the war, it turned out. Then, on DecemGermany sprang its Ardennes Counteroffensive, The Battle of the Bulge. The feeling was growing that the war in Europe was almost at its end. The western Allies, having liberated France, were advancing on the Brandenburg gate. The Soviets, for all of the mutual mistrust and growing rivalry among the Allies, was steadily moving in from the east, vivified by the Nazis' humiliating retreat from the very doorstep of Moscow. In early December 1944, German resolve was seen to be near exhaustion. Try it next time you make a buy on Amazon. Make any purchase through the Amazon Smile charity portal, and they'll make a donation to AXPOW-at no cost to you! Just use the link above, and designate part of your purchase price to help fund our POW support activities. ![]()
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