Belgian townspeople put away their Allied flags and brought out their swastikas,” the center writes. “For those who had lived through 1940, the picture was all too familiar.

The surprise German attack broke through the front on day one as stories quickly spread of massacred soldiers and civilians, according to the U.S. READ MORE: 8 Things You May Not Know About the Battle of the Bulge Army Charlie Sanderson in My Father’s War : Memories from Our Honored WWII Soldiers. “Did you ever see land when a tornado’s come through? Did you ever see trees and stuff, twisted and broken off? The whole friggin’ forest was like that,” said U.S. The formerly serene, wooded region of Ardennes was hacked into chaos by fighting as the Americans dug in against the German advance at St.-Vith, Elsenborn Ridge, Houffalize and, later, Bastogne, which was defended by the 101st Airborne Division. Army, which suffered over 100,000 casualties. The battle proved to be the costliest ever fought by the U.S. Lasting six brutal weeks, from December 16, 1944, to January 25, 1945, the assault, also called the Battle of the Ardennes, took place during frigid weather conditions, with some 30 German divisions attacking battle-fatigued American troops across 85 miles of the densely wooded Ardennes Forest.Īs the Germans drove into the Ardennes, the Allied line took on the appearance of a large bulge, giving rise to the battle’s name. The German troops’ failure to divide Britain, France and America with the Ardennes offensive paved the way to victory for the allies. Hitler’s aim was to split the Allies in their drive toward Germany.

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 offensive in World War II against the Western Front.

Battle of the bulge tank losses