Abstract
The paper examines the battle that became the turning point in World War Two, greatly aiding the efforts of the Allied forces to bring a quick and decisive end to the war and to the Third Reich. On December 16, 1944 the German army began their "Ardennes Offensive" in the Ardennes region of Belgium and Luxembourg. The "Battle of the Bulge", as it became known, is Adolph Hitler's "last stand" against the Allied forces. Hitler knew that if the Americans managed to penetrate the German front lines, it would signal the beginning of the end for the Third Reich. The paper takes the student through the history of the battle and how the Allied forces, though ill-prepared and utterly taken by surprise, managed to fight back to victory. This battle serves as one of the greatest military engagements in the war in Europe, and some historians compare it to the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War. It is also the worst battle, in terms of loss, to the American forces during World War II.

From the Paper
"According to John Kline, the biggest and most costly battle of World War II began on December 16, 1944 which the German army referred to as their Ardennes Offensive. On this eventful day, "the (American) 106th Infantry Division. . . were hit with full force" by the German army, and after three days of fighting, "two of the Regiments, the 422nd and 423rd, were surrounded" which forced the 424th Regiment to join the 112th Regiment, part of the 28th Infantry Division. And working together as a massive armed team, these regiments and divisions "countered the German attack (by) driving the Germans back through the same area where the 106th had been in position in mid December 1944." Thus, "this German offensive became known in the U.S. Forces journals as the Battle of the Bulge." "

Tags:allied, onslaught, forces, nazi, counteroffensive, manteuffel, battalions, ss, troops, fortification