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Battle of the Bulge Area Today


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Battle of the Bulge summary

Hidden from Allied air surveillance, the Germans massed their forces to attack through the Ardennes hoping to reach open ground beyond the Meuse for a dash to the coast. The offencive started on 16 December 1944

  1. The Germans tried to repeat their 1940 performance and drive the Allies to a new Dunkirk
  2. North: Sixth Panzer Army's infantry units fared badly against 2nd and 99th Infantry Divisions. Center: The Fifth Panzer Army attacked positions held by the U.S. 28th and 106th Infantry Divisions with great success. South: US Army Corps VIII blocks the advance of the 7th German Army
  3. North: Sixth Panzer Army advance but fails to reach army depots. Center: The Fifth Panzer Army reached Bastogne but after 101st Airborn was rushed there.
  4. North: Sixth Panzer Army is blocked by 82nd Airborn. Center: Bastogne is surrounded and bypassed. The race to the west continues.
  5. Center: On the 22/23 December the Fifth Panzer Army is only a few kilometers ahead of Dinant. But stiff resistance, supply problems and the threat to it's flanks make further advance impossible.
  6. Bastogne is relieved from the by Putton and the 4th armor and a counteroffensive begins. Germans counterattack but are forced to withdraw.