Hitlers Last Gamble

[Deadstick]

Tomorrow marks the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardenne when Hitler launched a massive offensive into the Ardennes, the Americans were initially caught off guard, it proved to be one of the bloodiest Battles of WW2 for the Americans, my Dad was in Brussels with the British Guards Armoured Div at the time when the attack began at about 05 30am on the 16th December with a savage artillery barrage, Dads unit moved down there and the Guards part of XXX Corp were to try and block the Germans reinforcing from the North, i have a diary of Dads and he has a entry from Christmas day snowing and freezing cold

What You Need To Know About The Battle Of The Bulge

On 16 December 1944 the Germans launched a massive attack on Allied forces in the area around the Ardennes forest in Belgium and Luxembourg during the Second World War. They achieved complete surprise and pushed westwards through the middle of the American line, creating the 'bulge' that gave...

www.iwm.org.uk

 

[Kruska]

Tomorrow marks the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardenne when Hitler launched a massive offensive into the Ardennes, the Americans were initially caught off guard, it proved to be one of the bloodiest Battles of WW2 for the Americans, my Dad was in Brussels with the British Guards Armoured Div at the time when the attack began at about 05 30am on the 16th December with a savage artillery barrage, Dads unit moved down there and the Guards part of XXX Corp were to try and block the Germans reinforcing from the North, i have a diary of Dads and he has a entry from Christmas day snowing and freezing cold

What You Need To Know About The Battle Of The Bulge

On 16 December 1944 the Germans launched a massive attack on Allied forces in the area around the Ardennes forest in Belgium and Luxembourg during the Second World War. They achieved complete surprise and pushed westwards through the middle of the American line, creating the 'bulge' that gave...

www.iwm.org.uk

One of many insane military operations, ordered by the Austrian.
But on the other hand, it shortened the war by at least 6 month and thus spared Germany from getting nuked.

 

[Deadstick]

One of many insane military operations, ordered by the Austrian.
But on the other hand, it shortened the war by at least 6 month and thus spared Germany from getting nuked.

Yes but it may have been crazy but still was a wake up call for the allies, then there was the massacre at Malmedy by Peipers 1st SS panzer Div.

 

[Kruska]

Yes but it may have been crazy but still was a wake up call for the allies, then there was the massacre at Malmedy by Peipers 1st SS panzer Div.

It was a total lunatic operation - not a "may" have been crazy offensive.
If it was a "wake up" call for the allies - I am not sure, since the operation had absolutely no military use nor gain for the Germans.

According to documentations - Wehrmacht soldiers had been shot and executed/massacred by allied troops at around the same time, without e.g. US troops being aware at the time about Malmedy.

 

[Deadstick]

It was a total lunatic operation - not a "may" have been crazy offensive.
If it was a "wake up" call for the allies - I am not sure, since the operation had absolutely no military use nor gain for the Germans.

According to documentations - Wehrmacht soldiers had been shot and executed/massacred by allied troops at around the same time, without e.g. US troops being aware at the time about Malmedy.

The objective was to take Antwerp port so it made sense from that point of view.

 

[Kruska]

The objective was to take Antwerp port so it made sense from that point of view.

It doesn't make sense to base an operational success onto 2 weeks of a presumed cloudy sky, taking the capture of allied fuel-dumps into account (since they wouldn't bow them up?) and additionally ignoring a 3 times superior allied manpower, a 10 times superiority on ground hardware, and a 20 times superiority in air-power within a 200km radius.

The previous Wehrmacht losses due to airstrikes and artillery amounted to more then 65% - way before even encountering/combating allied troops in France head on, since the landings in Normandy. So only a total lunatic would order an operation such as the "Wacht am Rhein".

Interestingly, the Hurtgen Forrest battle in 1944-45 (roughly 5 month) didn't involve any significant German tank units - but cost the US forces about the same losses as those of the Ardenne offensive. - with the Germans suffering equal manpower casualties, but not loosing hundreds of tanks and artillery.

 

[1srelluc]

My Uncle was captured during the offensive and spent the rest of the war at Stalag IX-B (Bad Orb).

 

[CrusaderFrank]

 

[Deadstick]

My Uncle was captured during the offensive and spent the rest of the war at Stalag IX-B (Bad Orb).

He was probably lucky, the SS were not taking prisoners for the most part.

 

[eagle7-31]

Tomorrow marks the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardenne when Hitler launched a massive offensive into the Ardennes, the Americans were initially caught off guard, it proved to be one of the bloodiest Battles of WW2 for the Americans, my Dad was in Brussels with the British Guards Armoured Div at the time when the attack began at about 05 30am on the 16th December with a savage artillery barrage, Dads unit moved down there and the Guards part of XXX Corp were to try and block the Germans reinforcing from the North, i have a diary of Dads and he has a entry from Christmas day snowing and freezing cold

What You Need To Know About The Battle Of The Bulge

On 16 December 1944 the Germans launched a massive attack on Allied forces in the area around the Ardennes forest in Belgium and Luxembourg during the Second World War. They achieved complete surprise and pushed westwards through the middle of the American line, creating the 'bulge' that gave...

www.iwm.org.uk

Patton was the only Allied commander who this coming which is why he was able to relieve Bastogne as quickly as he did.