In the east the Red Army had opened a winter offensive that was to carry, eventually, to and beyond Berlin.Published OctoGerman troops marching in Paris in June 1940.įrance, May 1940. By the end of January 1945, American units had retaken all ground they had lost, and the defeat of Germany was clearly only a matter of time. German strength had been irredeemably impaired. ![]() The Americans suffered some 75,000 casualties in the Battle of the Bulge, but the Germans lost 80,000 to l00,000. Denied vital roads and hampered by air attack when the weather cleared, the German attack resulted only in a large bulge in the Allied lines which did not even extend to the Meuse River, the Germans' first objective. First and Ninth Armies to shift against the northern flank of the penetration, for the British to send reserves to secure the line to the Meuse, and for Patton's Third Army to hit the salient from the south. First and Ninth Armies north of the Ardennes.Īided by stormy weather which grounded Allied planes and restricted observation, the Germans achieved surprise and made rapid gains at first, but firm resistance by various isolated units provided time for the U.S. ![]() Hitler's intention was to drive through Antwerp and cut off and annihilate the British 21st Army Group and the U.S. Allied defenses there had been thinned to provide troops for the autumn defensive. Hitler's generals were opposed to the plan, but the Fuhrer's will prevailed and the counteroffensive was launched on 16 December by some 30 German divisions against Allied lines in the Ardennes region. In December 1944 Adolph Hitler directed an ambitious counteroffensive with the object of regaining the initiative in the west and compelling the Allies to settle for a negotiated peace. German Counteroffensive (Battle of the Bulge).
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