On December 16, 1944, the Germans launched the last major offensive of the war, Operation Autumn Mist, also known as the Ardennes Offensive and the Battle of the Bulge, an attempt to push the Allied front line into the west of northern France to northwest of Belgium. The Battle of the Bulge, supposedly because the Germans created a “bulge” around the Ardennes forest area by pushing through the American defensive line, was the biggest contested on the Western Front.
The Germans threw 250,000 troops in the initial assault, 14 German infantry divisions guarded by five panzer divisions against just 80,000 Americans. Their assault took place early in the morning in the weakest part of the Allied line, a poorly protected 80-mile stretch of hilly and wooded forest (the Allies simply thought the Ardennes were too difficult to cross, and therefore an unlikely place to go. a German offensive). Between the vulnerability of the thin, isolated American units and the thick fog that prevented Allied air cover from discovering German movement, the Germans were able to push the Americans into retreat.
READ MORE: Battle of the Bulge: How American Grit stopped Hitler’s last ditch strike
One particularly effective German trick was the use of English-speaking German commandos that infiltrated the American lines and, using uniforms, captured American trucks and jeeps, impersonated the United States military and sabotaged communications. The ploy caused widespread chaos and suspicion among US troops about the identity of fellow soldiers – even after the ruse was discovered. Even General Omar Bradley himself had to prove his identity three times – by answering questions about football and Betty Grable – before being allowed to pass a sentry point.
The battle raged for three weeks, resulting in massive loss of American and civilian lives. Nazi atrocities abound, including the murder of 72 American soldiers by SS soldiers in the Ardennes town of Malmedy. Historian Stephen Ambrose estimated that at the end of the war, “of the 600,000 GIs involved, nearly 20,000 were killed, another 20,000 were captured and 40,000 were wounded.” The United States also suffered its second surrender of troops of the war: more than 7,500 members of the 106th Infantry Division surrendered at the same time to Schnee Eifel. The devastating ferocity of the conflict also made desertion a problem for US troops; General Eisenhower was forced to give the example of Private Eddie Slovik, the first American executed for desertion since the Civil War.
The war would not end until better weather conditions allowed American planes to bomb and strafe German positions.
READ MORE: 8 things you might not know about the Battle of the Bulge
