December 16
1944 Battle of the Bulge
On this day, the Germans launch the last major offensive of the war,
Operation Mist, also known as the Ardennes Offensive and the Battle of the
Bulge, an attempt to push the Allied front line west from northern France to
northwestern Belgium. The Battle of the Bulge, so-called because the Germans
created a "bulge" around the area of the Ardennes forest in pushing through
the American defensive line, was the largest fought on the Western front.
The Germans threw 250,000 soldiers into the initial assault, 14 German
infantry divisions guarded by five panzer divisions-against a mere 80,000
Americans. Their assault came in early morning at the weakest part of the
Allied line, an 80-mile poorly protected stretch of hilly, woody forest (the
Allies simply believed the Ardennes too difficult to traverse, and therefore
an unlikely location for a German offensive). Between the vulnerability of
the thin, isolated American units and the thick fog that prevented Allied
air cover from discovering German movement, the Germans were able to push
the Americans into retreat.
One particularly effective German trick was the use of English-speaking
German commandos who infiltrated American lines and, using captured U.S.
uniforms, trucks, and jeeps, impersonated U.S. military and sabotaged
communications. The ploy caused widespread chaos and suspicion among the
American troops as to the identity of fellow soldiers--even after the ruse
was discovered. Even General Omar Bradley himself had to prove his identity
three times--by answering questions about football and Betty Grable--before
being allowed to pass a sentry point.
The battle raged for three weeks, resulting in a massive loss of American
and civilian life. Nazi atrocities abounded, including the murder of 72
American soldiers by SS soldiers in the Ardennes town of Malmedy. Historian
Stephen Ambrose estimated that by war's end, "Of the 600,000 GIs involved,
almost 20,000 were killed, another 20,000 were captured, and 40,000 were
wounded." The United States also suffered its second-largest surrender of
troops of the war: More than 7,500 members of the 106th Infantry Division
capitulated at one time at Schnee Eifel. The devastating ferocity of the
conflict also made desertion an issue for the American troops; General
Eisenhower was forced to make an example of Private Eddie Slovik, the first
American executed for desertion since the Civil War.
The war would not end until better weather enabled American aircraft to bomb
and strafe German positions.