What are some important points about the Battle of the Bulge?
• The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II.
• The battle lasted for five weeks from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in Europe.
• The primary military objectives were to deny further use of the Belgian Port of Antwerp to the Allies and to split the Allied lines, which potentially could have allowed the Germans to encircle and destroy the four Allied forces.
• The Germans achieved a total surprise attack on the morning of 16 December 1944, due to a combination of Allied overconfidence, preoccupation with Allied offensive plans, and poor aerial reconnaissance due to bad weather.
• The farthest west the offensive reached was the village of Foy-Nôtre-Dame, south east of Dinant, being stopped by the U.S. 2nd Armored Division on 24 December 1944.
• On 26 December the lead element of Patton's U.S. Third Army reached Bastogne from the south, ending the siege.
• The battle severely depleted Germany's armored forces, which remained largely unreplaced throughout the remainder of the war.
• The "Bulge" was the largest and bloodiest single battle fought by the United States in World War II and the third-deadliest campaign in American history.