by Dom Califano

This December commemorates the 80th anniversary of Battle of the Bulge – one of the most important battles of World War II. This winter we will remember the Allied Soldiers who fought against Germany’s last ditch attempt at breaking Allied lines and encircle allied troops up north in modern-day Netherlands. 

The Battle of the Bulge took place in Belgium and Luxembourg, mainly in the Ardennes, a heavily forested area of France, Belgium and Luxembourg. The German Army, also known as the Wehrmacht, had been taking heavy losses in the Soviet Union and was now being pushed into Italy and the west by mostly American, British, and Canadian forces. The Battle of the Bulge was an all-or-nothing gamble for the Wehrmacht, which they lost. The Wehrmacht attempted a break-through just like they did before in 1940, pushing through the Ardennes to push to the sea, and get the western allied powers to ask for peace under German terms. This, of course, did not happen and Germany still fell to Soviet and Allied forces. 

During the battle, the temperature dropped to well below 0, leaving vehicles rendered as useless and weapons malfunctioning at times because of the frigid weather. Many wounded soldiers froze to death during the battle. Many of the Allied deaths during the battle were not only caused by the Wehrmacht, but were the result of the silent death that is the winter-cold.

One of the most famous engagements during the battle was the Siege of Bastogne, lasting from December 20th to December 27th, 1944. The out-numbered 101st US Air-born held out against the Wehrmacht for about a week until they were rescued by other US Army infantry divisions. The Germans were not able to annihilate the Americans due to the ammunition and fuel reserves starting to run low. The Germans had given the Americans in Bastogne the chance to surrender to them in a two-hour window. The American General, Anthony McAuliffe, after reading the demand of surrender, responded with the following- 

”To the German commander : Nuts!  The American Commander.” 

The prime minister of the United Kingdom at the time, Winston Churchill, said that Battle of the Bulge was “undoubtedly the greatest American battle of the war, and will, I believe, be regarded as an ever-famous American victory.”