Ardennes 1944: Battle of the Bulge. Hitler’s Last Gamble

The German Counter-Attack

On the 16th of December 1944, the German army counter-attacked the Allies in the Ardennes. The operation involved 200,000 Wehrmacht troops supported by Waffen SS units and what would today be called “special forces” operating in American uniforms behind American lines.

The Rundstedt-Offensive, as the Germans sometimes call it, saw German troops attempting to mount a Blitzkrieg against less than 100,000 US GIs. The tactics were reminiscent of the ones used four years prior, when the Germans rolled over the Low Countries and France in May 1940. However, the Ardennes terrain and the winter weather were factors playing against the Germans.

Challenges for Both Sides

On the other hand, over-confidence on the part of the Allies and lack of situational awareness due to bad weather (no aerial reconnaissance) meant the Allies were completely caught by surprise. Worse, the bad weather also meant Allied air forces could not supply grunts on the ground with air support. Furthermore, the American frontline in the Ardennes was manned by mainly green recruits and beaten-up veterans in need of rest and refit.

In September 1944, Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) imagined Germany beaten by Christmas. By the 16th of December onwards, the Americans were fighting their hardest and bloodiest battle of the war on the Western Front.

Fierce Battles and Heavy Casualties

Eventually, over 600,000 GIs saw action over a one-month period, aided by another 400,000 support troops. Casualties on the US side were frightening and unimaginable by today’s standards: Over 100,000 killed and injured, with some units reporting a 150% casualty rate (meaning both original and replacement troops were killed).

The campaign entered American military folklore, with the Bastogne siege and the now-famous “Nuts!”. The terrain, weather, lack of reserves, spares, and fuel combined with the gallant American resistance thwarted the German Ardennes offensive. It also has to be said that the quality of troops at the German disposal was nowhere as good in 1944 as it used to be back in 1940.