Battle of the Bulge
In September of 1944 all signs pointed to a resounding Allied victory and the end of WWII. Everyone believed this was the case except for one man, Adolph Hitler. Refusing to resign Germany to defeat, he began planning a massive counterattack as early as August of 1944. The stalemate along the western front combined with the Allied logistical problems provided him with the preparation time and the precise location to execute this attack, the Ardennes. Hitler had earlier ordered the formation of a new reserve to be used in a November offensive and once the location for the attack was decided a massive buildup of German troops began. Hitler believed the dense forests and bad winter weather, which grounded the Allied air forces, could conceal this buildup. Hitler's master plan was code-named Wacht Am Rhein or "Watch on the Rhine" and would be useless without the personnel and equipment to execute it. In the fall of 1944 the German army was stretched all over Europe and was showing the strain of 5 years of war. On the western front the Germans were outnumbered 2-1 in troops, 15-1 in aircraft, and 20-1 in tanks causing Hitler to adapt some drastic measures to overcome these odds (Dworschak 3). Some examples of these mea
6 million gallons of fuel, and 66 divisions to the Ardennes prior to the offensive(Dworschak 5). Ammunition was moved forward by hand and straw was deployed on the roads to mask the sound of moving vehicles,as German aircraft flew low over American lines to help conceal the noise. Hitler had predicted these logistical problems the allies were enduring would give him the time to mass his forces and execute his master plan. The weakest area now became the 100-mile sector in the Ardennes forest. Only a few high ranking German officers were briefed on the plan and they were ordered to do all of their own mapmaking and administrative work. These preparations took more time than Hitler had anticipated and caused him to postpone the attack 5 separate times before finally deciding on 16 December 1944 as the day for the offensive to commence. Courier delivered all message traffic concerning the attack. Dietrich was to attack along a 25-mile front and hold the lines while four crack SS panzer divisions raced 26 miles to the Meuse and then on to Antwerp. in Dworschak 13) along the western front. Hitler's plan called for Army Group B, under the command of Field Marshal Model to attack along a 60-mile front between Monshau, Germany and Echternach, Luxemborg. Despite the weakness in the Ardennes the Allied high command saw no chance of a German offensive in the region or anywhere else. These reports were disregarded as meaningless and any thoughts of an attack by the Germans in the Ardennes were quickly dismissed. The German rail system used over 2,000 trains, traveling under the cover of darkness, to move 145,000 tons of supplies, 4. Many of Hitler's generals asked him to postpone the attack until all the logistical pieces were firmly in place but he refused and on the night of 15 December issued the attack order.
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Acceptance Essays
