The Battle of the Bulge

Operation Watch on the Rhine

16 December 1944 - 25 January 1945

By: Elijah Sealey, Austin Ho

 Quote

"This is undoubtedly the greatest

American battle of the war and
will, I believe, be regarded as an
ever-famous American victory."
- Winston Churchill
 Introduction
Germans in dire situation
Allies stopped advancement to
Germany
Hitler to launch major Western
offensive
Attack through Ardennes, mirror
earlier success
Divide Allied troops, capture Antwerp
One of the biggest, bloodiest battles
One of the last major German battles
 Ardennes
Forested region in Belgium
Ghost front, no attacks here
Fog and rain reduced vision
to almost zero
Extremely cold and harsh
winter
wounded soldiers froze to
death
No space to maneuver tanks
 Names
German Names
Operation Watch on the Rhine
Ardennes Offensive
Allied Names
Battle of the Ardennes (French)
Ardennes Counteroffensive
Common Name
Battle of the Bulge
 The Leaders
Adolf Hitler (Germany):
Fhrer of Nazi Germany
Wanted Germans to go through
Ardennes
Mirror earlier success, Battle of France
Generals did not believe they could win
Hoped to capture Allied supply depot
Divide American and British troops
Force the U.S. out of the war
 The Leaders
Dwight D. Eisenhower (U.S.A.):
Supreme Allied Commander
Believed Germans were building a
defence
Thought Germany didnt have the
manpower
Unprepared for attack through
Ardennes
 The Offensive Strategy
(Germany)
Commanders did not believe plan will
succeed
Planned and executed with secrecy, avoid
leaks
Required poor weather conditions
Required rapid progress (Blitzkrieg)
Capture Allied fuel supplies
Trained English-speaking Germans Walter Model
infiltrated Allied lines
 The Offensive Strategy
(Germany)
Four German Divisions in offensive
Sixth Panzer Army: Capture
Antwerp
Fifth Panzer Army: Capture
Brussels
Seventh Army: Protect
Southern flank
Fifteenth Army: Defend against
Northern forces
 The Defensive Strategy
(Americans)
False information created belief of German defence
Eisenhower preparing operations in North and
South
Left centre (Ardennes) very weak
American VIII Corps assigned
to Ardennes region
Corps guarded 80-mile front,
normally length
Corps normally made up of
 The Defensive Strategy
(Americans)
American VIII Corps
4th and 28th Infantry
Suffered many casualties in
earlier operation
106th Infantry and 9th Armored
Division
Never tested in combat
14th Cavalry
Made up of 2 squadrons
 German Forces
Luftwaffe
2,400 aircraft
Tried to cripple Allied air force
Guard and support German assault
Low-Skilled pilots led by veterans

Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe Heinkel He 111

 German Forces
Tanks
Initially over 300 tanks
Over 400 reinforcement tanks sent
Low fuel for the offensive
Tiger II/King Tiger
Infantry
Initially 200,000 men
Approximately 100,000
reinforcements
Summary: Large and powerful initial force Panzer IV
 Allied Forces
Air Force
6,000 aircraft
Air superiority over Luftwaffe
Used to drop supplies
Attack German supply depots and troops

P-47 Thunderbolt P-51 Mustang

Tanks
Initially about 240 tanks
Increased to 1,600 tanks
Infantry Allied Forces
Sherman Firefly
Initially 83,000 American men
Increased to 610,000 Americans
55,000 British and 72,000
French reinforcements
Summary: Weak initial force,
reinforcements strengthen defence M36 Tank Destroyer
 Elsenborn Ridge
(December 16-26)
Germans achieve surprise
attack
Allied air force neutralized
Initial artillery barrage
Unexpected heavy resistance
Foul weather and narrow
roads slow tanks
240mm Howitzer M1
 Elsenborn Ridge
Eisenhower realizes Germans mounting offensive
Germans unable to reach Antwerp
Advance halted, lack of supplies and fuel
Forced retreat, left behind tanks and equipment
 Massacres
Malmedy Massacre
Belgium, December 17, 1944
U.S. Observation Battalion
captured by 6th Panzer Army
Approximately 150 U.S. POWs
captured
Forced to line up in a field
SS troopers open fire, 84 killed
Soldiers hid in cafe, burned down
News of execution reach Allies
Malmedy Massacre Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozb6b8T4J5Y
 Massacres
Chenogne Massacre
Belgium, January 1, 1945
Americans wanted revenge
for Malmedy Massacre
American soldiers ordered
to take no prisoners
Executed approximately
60 German POWs
 Battle of St. Vith
(December 16-21)
Vital road junction for Germans
Defended by 7th Armored
Division and 424th Infantry
21st, retreat to area with to
air support
23rd, defence shattered,
forced retreat
Germans fail to meet schedule M4 Shermans
of 17th
 Siege of Bastogne
(December 20-27)
December 21 Germans
surrounded Bastogne
Few medical supplies, lack
of food
Low artillery ammunition
22nd, weather cleared and
planes dropped supplies
26th, 4th Armored Division
breaks through, ends siege
 Siege of Bastogne
(December 20-27)
Nuts! - Anthony McAuliffe
Acting commander at Bastogne
22nd, Germans request Americans
surrender
McAuliffe receives ultimatum, exclaims
Nuts!
Failed to find suitable response
Colonel suggests replying with nuts
Delivered to Germans
 Allied Counterattack
Germans stopped short of the Meuse
River
December 23, weather clears
Air force attack, bomb German supplies
Air-drop supplies to troops
General Hasso von Manteuffel
recommends retreat
Hitler refuses
Germans lose large quantities of
equipment
 German Counteroffensive
Operation Bodenplatte
Luftwaffes major offensive to destroy Allied aircraft
Attacked airfields, destroying 465 airplanes
Luftwaffe lost 277 planes
172 to Allied and German flak guns
62 to Allied fighters
Friendly fire caused by
lack of information
Allies replace planes in
days, Luftwaffe crippled
 German Counteroffensive
Operation Nordwind
Last major German offensive of Western Front
Germans attack weak 70 mile line
Guarded by the Seventh
U.S. Army
Forced to retreat to
defensive positions
Suffered many casualties
Stopped German offensive
 Erasing the Bulge
Allies counterattack, forcing Germans
to retreat
January 7, Hitler agrees to withdraw
all forces
Fighting still continues until
January 25
January 23, Allies recapture St. Vith
25th, returned to initial start line
 Losses
Allies
89,500 American
casualties
1,400 British casualties
Approximately 800
tanks lost
465 aircraft lost
3,000 civilian deaths
 Losses
Germans
German losses: 67,000-100,000 casualties
Approximately 600
tanks lost
277 planes lost
 Mardasson Memorial
Located near Bastogne, Belgium
Honors the Americans who fought
Land given on July 4, 1946
Dedicated on July 16, 1950
It has
10 paintings
Names of the 48 States
Insignia of battalions
Crypt with 3 altars
The Belgian people remember their American
liberators 4th July 1946
 Conclusion
Allied victory, German
operation failure
German tank divisions
and Luftwaffe severely
crippled
Allies prepare to attack
entire Western Front
Last German offensive
in the Western Front
Black soldiers integrated
for the first time
The End