Still, many men would die trying while others died to stop them, then force defeat on the Nazi regime.Īmerican forces bore the brunt of the attack and incurred their highest casualties of any operation during the war. Unfortunately for German ambitions, they did not have the tanks, aircraft, fuel or offensive punch left to even reach Antwerp. If the attack were to succeed in capturing Antwerp, four complete armies would be trapped without supplies behind German lines. The offensive was intended to stop Allied use of the Belgian port of Antwerp and to split the Allied lines, allowing the Germans to divide the Allied armies and stave off looming defeat for a little while longer.

It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of eastern Belgium, northeast France, and Luxembourg. It took place from December 16th, 1944 to January 25th, 1945. It was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The Battle of the Bulge, named for the bulge in American lines created by the German attack, is also known as the Ardennes Offensive. It soon turned into a bloody battle zone when the German Army launched a surprise counterattack. The nearby Ardennes Forest, where Americans had fought Germans in WWI in 1918, looked to be a quiet sector. American and French armies attacked the fortified Siegfried Line and Metz farther south, while other Americans bogged down in close and bloody fighting in the Huertgen Forest.

Canadians advanced a second time into the Netherlands in hard winter fighting. The British slowly retook the Scheldt estuary to allow use of the key port of Antwerp. But then a rapid thrust into the Netherlands was blocked by recovering German forces, compelling the Allies to retreat out of Holland.

M5A1 13 ton High-Speed Tractor – USA | ARTILLERY TRACTORĪfter the breakout from Normandy at the end of July 1944, and the Allied landings in southern France on August 15th, 1944, the Allies advanced toward Germany’s borders very quickly. M16 Half-Track / M45 Quadmount – USA | PERSONNEL CARRIER/ANTI-AIRCRAFT Jagdpanzer 38 Hetzer – GER | TANK DESTROYER

Main battle tank ww2