16th December 1944 Battle of the Bulge begins

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January 18, 1945
The Bulge is Reduced to a Slight Curve


The bulge caused by the German advance has been reduced to a slight curve in the front lines.

 

What You Need To Know About The Battle Of The Bulge
The Allied counterattack in early January succeeded in pushing the Germans back and by the end of the month the Allies had regained the positions they held six weeks earlier.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said the Battle of the Bulge was 'undoubtedly the greatest American battle of the war'. It was also one of the bloodiest. The Allies could offset these losses, but Germany had drained its manpower and material resources. The Allies resumed their advance and in early spring crossed into the heart of Germany.

 

Great post. Love following the 80th anniversary of these battles.

 

16th December1944

http://www.army.mil/botb/
The Enemy Strikes
In late 1944, during the wake of the Allied forces' successful D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, it seemed as if the Second World War was all but over. On Dec. 16, with the onset of winter, the German army launched a counteroffensive that was intended to cut through the Allied forces in a manner that would turn the tide of the war in Hitler's favor. The battle that ensued is known historically as the Battle of the Bulge.

 

These photos surfaced on FB the Sherman tank at Magoster/Beffe in the Ardennes. A very evocative symbol of the Ardennes Offensive, also due to the After the Battle Magazine. The tank wreck featured on the front cover of the No.4 edition of this Magazine, dedicated to the Battle of the Bulge.




Until 1984 the tank lay unattended by the road side

 

17th December 1944

Malmedy Massacre

The Malmedy Massacre: the Survivor Story of Sergeant Henry “Roy” Zach

 

Battle for Krinkel/Rocherath & Elsenborn Ridge Dec 1944



Presentation is a bit dull ...but informative. There are more presentations in this series.

Among them Domaine Butgenbach



Same area is also covered and analyzed by Steven Zaloga:



His book is recommended, as is the book of William C.C. Cavanagh and Hubert Meyer's two volume history of the 12.SS Pz Division:



A must read is the auto-biography of Charles B.MacDonald, "Company Commander". Captain MacDonald led a company of the 2nd US Inf Division (23rd Infantry Regt) in this battle.

 

Allied support for Americans during the Battle of the Bulge

Battle of the Bulge: Allied Support - The Tank Museum

 

The dead of winter:



The actions in the early days of the Battle of the Bulge in the German-Belgian border region have fascinated me for years. Especially those of the 99th US Infantry Division (Checkerboard). In the late 1980s, I combed the entire forest area there, not to dig, but mapping the foxhole lines still visible in the forests.

Good presentation: I much like the calm and thoughtful style of Warnock.

The 99th US Inf Division stand along the German/Belgian border:

 

https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-battle-of-the-bulge

 

https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/s...e-documents/ardennes-battle-bulge/033-042.pdf
24/12/44
Cable Montgomery to Eisenhower

 

BBC - History - World Wars: The Battle of the Bulge

The American troops besieged in Bastogne held out. When on 22 December the Germans offered their commander, Brigadier-General Anthony McAuliffe, either surrender or annihilation by massed artillery, his celebrated reply was 'Nuts!'.

St Vith had been taken by 5th Panzer Army on 23 December, but two days later Manteuffel's most advanced units were fought to a halt by US 2nd Armoured Division three miles short of the Meuse. They were then subjected to a merciless pounding as they came to a halt, their petrol tanks empty. By now the mist that had masked the German concentration and initial assault had cleared, and Allied fighter-bombers ranged the battlefield.


... the mist that had masked the German concentration and initial assault had cleared ...


On 26 December, Bastogne was relieved by US 4th Armoured Division. Hitler ordered his generals to slog on, but the game was up. On 29 December Major-General FW Mellenthin, on his way to join 9th Panzer Division near Houffalize in the centre of the salient, noted:

 

BBC - WW2 People's War - Timeline

The offensive was over almost as soon as it had begun. Many units were overrun and a few fled in panic, but most of the American forces resisted the attack promptly and tenaciously enough to bring it to a halt within days. The strategically important town of Bastogne, garrisoned by the US 101st Airborne Division, was completely surrounded but never fell; the 101st acting commander, Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe, famously replied to a formal surrender request with one word: 'Nuts!' Patton's Third Army, advancing from the south, relieved Bastogne on 26 December. Manteuffel asked Hitler's permission to withdraw and prepare for the inevitable counter-attack. Hitler replied by ordering his armies to remain in the Ardennes salient - and to take Bastogne.

 

Commonwealth troops casualties
Battle of the Bulge
While many date from the British Expeditionary Force’s attempt to stem the tide in May 1940, the majority date from December 1944 to January 1945 at the height of the infamous Battle of the Bulge.
https://www.cwgc.org/our-work/blog/...mmonwealth-troops-at-the-battle-of-the-bulge/
For the Ardennes Offensive, codenamed Operation Autumn Mist, Germany assembled a force of some 400,000 men, later rising to 450,000, over 2,500 tanks and armoured fighting vehicles, and more than 4,000 artillery pieces.

Initially facing the German onslaught was around 200,000 US infantry, including lightly armed paratroopers, around 400 tanks, and some 1,900 artillery guns.

They were reinforced as Allied commanders rushed troops into the area as the battle raged into January.

By the end of the battle, some 700,000 Allied soldiers were in the Ardennes battlefield, backed by 10,000 tanks and armoured fighting vehicles, and more than 3,000 artillery pieces.

This demonstrates the incredible preponderance of materiel available to the Western Allies but make no mistake: the fighting in the Bulge was desperate, bloody and difficult.

In the public imagination, the Battle of the Bulge was fought purely by American troops against the German Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe.

Indeed, the US experience has been detailed in TV shows, movies, video games, and books, rightly lauding the incredible effort undertaken to stem the German advance.

But what many people do not know is that around 55,000 Commonwealth troops also fought in the Battle of the Bulge.

 

On This Day: January 1945 | National Army Museum

3-5 January 1945
On 3 January 1945, Allied forces including British XXX Corps and the 6th Airborne Division counterattacked against German forces in Belgium. The previous autumn, the German Army had launched its final offensive in the West, the so-called Battle of the Bulge. After weeks of heavy fighting, Allied forces emerged victorious.

 

Battle of Bure - Wikipedia
The Battle of Bure was part of the Battle of the Bulge, which lasted from 3 to 5 January 1945 during the final months of the Second World War. The battle was fought as part of the Allied counterattack to force the Germans from ground that they had captured and which had forced the Allies on the defensive. XXX Corps with British 6th Airborne Division attached, was to clear the area east of Dinant, Rochefort, Grupont and Bure in Belgium. Bure was secured after nearly three days of heavy fighting whilst Gupont and Rochefort were both cleared with little resistance and the advance continued.

 

Good on you Clive.

Always remember, never forget,

Jim.

D-DAY 80 YEARS ON

 

The counter offensive had began on the 3rd January but for the 51st Highland Division operations commenced on the 9th January. 153 Brigade advanced first clearing the enemy from Hodister and other villages south west of the Ourthe valley.
Ardennes - Battle of the Bulge, January 1945 | 51st Highland Division

 

Found this map of the Ardennes Salient on FB: 116th Panzer Division Der Windhund 's Post:

 

Where IS 5st Div in that map? I'm going crosseyed triying to find it. They were northwest of Bastogne, right?