Battle+of+Bulge

=Battle of Bulge=

= Extras! =

__Hitlers Plan__
====The battle of the Bulge started in December 16,1944. Hitler was convinced that the alliance between France, Britain, and America in western Europe was not strong and that a major attack and defeat would break up that alliance. So, he ordered a massive attack against American forces. The attack was first know as the Ardennes Offensive, but because the initial attack by the Germans greated a bulge in the Allied front line, then it become more commonly know as The Battle of the Bulge. At Bastogne members of the 101st Airborne Division held out the German attack, completely cut off from supplies.====

====Hitlers plan was to use three armies on the allies which would disable their accord and also take the huge port of Antwerp were the Allies were getting lots of supplies. Hitler believed that his forces would be able to surround and Cut-off Canadas first army, Americas first and ninth armies and Britains second armies.====

====The battle started with a two hour bumbardment of the Allies front lines that was followed by a huge armoured attack at the Schnee Eifel.The Allies were surprised by the attack. And before the attack, english speaking German soldiers dressed in American uniforms went behind the lines of the Allies and passed false information, causing havoc. And also changing road signs and cutting telephone lines. The weather was cloudy and foggy so that ment that the Allies couldn't use their supirior air force to defend themselves.====

[[image:7thperiodamericanhistory/massacre.jpg]]__The Malmedy Massacre__
====The Malmedy Massacre took place during the Battle of Bulge on December 17th, and was one of the worst atrocities against prisoners of war during World War II. Men from Battery B of the 285th Feild Artillery Observation Battalion were ordered to move to St Vith in the Ardennes. Their route took them past the town of Malmedy. When they were by Malmedy they met up with their //__**Lieutenant Colonal David Pergrin**__//.====

====Pergrin had heard that Germans were on the route that the men were taking to get to Ardennes so he advised them to take a different route to avoid the Germans. However, the officers of Battery B followed their original orders and ignored Pergrin's advice. Their journey took them "Baugnez Crossroads". The Battery was only half-way to 'Baugnez Crossroads' when their vehicles were attacked by two tanks lead by **//__Joachim Peiper__//.**====

Battery B was clearly outnumbered, so they surrendered. 113 American prisoners-of-war had survived the attack and were assembled into a feild near the Crossroads. Colonal Pergrin heard the attack by Peiper and went to investigate. When he got to the Crossroads three men who had gotten awaytold him about a massacre that had taken place. Hitler had orded peiper that no prisoners were to be taken and that a 'wave of terror' was to accend on the Allies.

Outcome of Battle

Allies Strike Back
====By December 22nd. The weather started to clear up, so the allies used their air power to counter attack the Germans. On December 24th, sixteen German jet-bombers attacked rail yards in a attempt to keep the Allies from bringing in supplies. However, they run out of fuel so they didn't have any sucess with that plan====

====By January 1945, the lack of fuel was starting to show for the Germans. Once Joachim Peiper, the leader of the attack of the Malmedy Massacre, had ran out of fuel on their vehicles and had to walk back to Germany on foot.====



Outcome of Battle
====In the end, it was the Germans lack of fuel that really cost them. All of Hitlers Massive attack used so much fuel that they couldn't keep up with the counter-attacks. And the allies bombed fuel plants in Germany, destroying their supplies. The battle of the Bulge was the largest battle fought by Americans in World War II. 600,000 American troups were involved in the battle and they lost 81,000 men and the Germans lost 100,000 killed, wounded and captured.====