Did the Battle of the Bulge Change the Outcome of the War? Research Paper Example

For most of the World War II, the fight was centralized in Eastern Europe. It was only when the situation reached the Western front with the fall of Adolf Hitler did the war start to deteriorate in 1944. One of Hitler’s last ditched efforts were to stabilize the matter at hand and gained dominant control, however he was not successful. In looking over the history of the world, and the wars that impacted the changes of the present, this paper will look at how the Battle of the Bulge played a significant role in turning the war into a victory for the American forces. The most important factor in World War II, was the Battle of the Bulge was Hitler’s last ditched effort to take back the deteriorating Third Reich. This paper will look at both sides in arguing how important the battle was to Americans, in finally taking over the war. With the help of resources that range from journals, peer-reviewed article, and books, this paper will support the general argument of the significance of The Battle of The Bulge.
The desperation of Hitler and his army was evident in his efforts to take back control.

“His purpose was to knock the Western Allies out of the war with a great victory that would “bring down the artificial coalition with a crash.”8 With this objective accomplished, he would turn to the east and “effectively” concentrate against the Soviets.” (Carter 1)

Amid the second a large portion of 1944, the Nazi realm continuously imploded as its foes attacked from the south, west, and the east. Supplies and assembling dwindled consistently. The once-powerful Luftwaffe had a percentage of the best aircraft military units on the planet however needed fuel to fly them and parts to look after them. Confirmation proposes that Chancellor Adolf Hitler himself got to be dependent on a mixed bag of medications and that he might likewise have experienced syphilis, Parkinson’s sickness, or both. Far differentiated from reality, Hitler put his last any desire for winning the war on the most recent improvements of German innovation. These improvements were both noteworthy and genuine however were past the point of no return and too shoddy to change the result of the war or even postpone it by much. The V1 was the world’s first journey rocket, the V2 the world’s initially weaponized ballistic rocket. Other German advancements included both plane and rocket-pushed airplane. Be that as it may, almost these developments were still exploratory in nature and not prepared for viable use in battle. German researchers were additionally hectically chipping away at the improvement of a nuclear bomb. However, the war finished before they could succeed.

The last target of this assault would be for the Antwerp stronghold, which would part the British and American armed forces in the territory and would deny the gravely needed seaport for the Allies. Hitler felt that his trusted commanders Gerd von Rundstedt and Field Marshals Walter would execute his option. In get ready to be on the offense, both believed that the catch of Antwerp was excessively eager and campaigned, without accomplishment, to end the assault at the Meuse River. To complete the operation, the sixth SS Panzer Army led by General Sepp Deitrich would attack in the north with the objective of taking Antwerp. In the core, the 5th Panzer Army led by General Hasso von Manteuffel would attack with the objective of taking Brussels. While the 7th Army led by General Erich Brandenberger would protect the flank by advancing on the south. Taking advantage of the poor weather conditions, and operating under radio silence, the Germans were able to move the forces into place, as it hampered the efforts of the Allied scouting.  Running low on fuel, a key component of the arrangement was the efficient catch of Allied fuel terminals, as the Germans needed sufficient fuel stores to achieve Antwerp under typical battle conditions. In leading the offense, Otto Skorzeny heralded the special unit that tasked with penetrating the Allied lines disguised as American officers. Their central goal was to spread disarray and upset Allied troop developments. Eisenhower was primarily incognizant in regards to German developments. Accepting the Ardennes to be a calm factor, it was utilized as a recuperation and preparing zone for troopers that had seen substantial activity or were unpracticed. In addition, there were more claims in which a defensive campaign was being planned by the Germans.

On December 16 1944, the Battle of the Bulge took place in which, The Germans assembled the last risk they needed to win the war. The Germans needed to slice the American compels into two sections, in light of the fact that in this way they could undoubtedly be pulverized. The Germans had virtually every playing point conceivable toward the inception; they had the component of shock, and they were better outfitted with snow camouflage and winter attire. Not all that matters went as arranged, however. Pretty much, when the assault got in progress, then again, the Germans started running into unforeseen challenges. (Morelock 184). This demonstrates that regardless of how well officers arranges or prepares for the battled that it still is not hopeless for the opposing side. The Americans were unexpectantly, to the dismay of the Germans, were implementing a hard resistance, in which the Germans were forced to slow dramatically down their efforts. (Morelock 184). An alternate issue was that the infantry was in front of the Panzer Tanks, and the Germans were having congested driving conditions. (Morelock 184).

While many though that the Battle of the Bulge proved to be a success for the American and British armies, Hitler also had a few successes, which if the battle would have went the other way, the war would have been much different. Hitler was assembling a team of 500,000 Germans fighters. The partners were gradually pushing through the Ardennes Forest on the German, Belgium guest, with a power of 600,000 American fastens and 55,000 British officers. Hitler would have liked to amaze the Allies of watchman and rapidly separate the armed force. The associates pushed through this are because they felt this was the most outlandish spot to set up an assault to strike the Allies. The Germans chose it because it was anything but difficult to shroud troops in the slopes. “Wacht-am Rhein” was the codename given by Hitler to describe the area for the Germans. The Americans experienced the range in a thin line to offer backing to the flank where the assault was perceived. At the point of late in the battle, the Germans were on the losing end. At the Eastern Front, the Germans were surrounded by the Russian Red Army. While German urban communities were being crushed by exceptional American bombarding. Through the Low Countries and through France, the Allied armies were rapidly advancing, as the Italian peninsula had been liberated after its capture.   Hitler was aware that the end was close if something was not possible to abate the Allied development. He soon thought of an arrangement to do this.

This gave support to how Hitler had needed to concoct a splendid diversion plan to win and take back control. The German offensive objective was to force its way across the Meuse, through the Belgian Ardennes and recapture Antwerp, in order to reach the sea through the capture of the facilities in the North. The achievement of the operation relied on upon three imperative parts; the velocity of the beginning leap forward. The capture of Allied fuel supplies and interchanges focuses in the middle of Bastogne and St.Vith, and the permittance of the German troops to push through the Allied lines, by enlarging of their breach as they storm Belgium. For this mission to be completed by the German forces, they implored three units, Sepp Dietrich’s 6th Army, in the North the 15th Army, and the 7th Panzer Divisions led by von Manteuffel in the center.  German soldiers that were specifically trained and spoke fluent English, wearing American uniforms, infiltrated the Allied lines, with orders to corrupt the Allied unit’s deployment, and plan in advance of the German troops.

The German troop’s critical issue was their absence of fuel, and the entire “escapade” relied on upon their beginning push catching the supplies of the Allies. In the event they would run out of fuel, they would be sitting ducks. Hitler knew that the Battle of the Bulge was his last effort in winning the war. The plan was to plan a surprise attack on the Allies by marching through Belgium to Luxembourg.  Hitler wanted to attack the Ardennes Forest during Christmas since it was not heavily guarded. On Christmas Eve, the Germans were deep in French territory in which they created a particular bulge, which gave way to the nomenclature, Battle of the Bulge. The attack was intended to part the British and American armed forces into equal parts. Nonetheless, it did not succeed. The German troops were able to get a surprise attack on the forces. According to author Roselyn Miller, “the reason Hitler thought this would be the last battle was because he thought the soldiers of the other side, the Allies, were falling apart and would be easy to beat.” (Miller 111) They had a few accomplishment initially and had the capacity take a ton of area prisoners of war. The allied forces bravely defended themselves against the German troops. Until reinforcements were sent by Britain and the US, they held their ground as long as they could. Once the weather, which was a major factor in the war, was cleared, the Allied aircrafts were able to take flight. “With air superiority achieved, Allied air forces executed their air-to-ground operations to obtain four specific objectives.” (Carter 1) The German forces were running out of ammunition, men and fuel, and proved to be no match for the Allied units. The German forces had to surrender after they were pushed back to the captured land at the start of the battle. The Allied forces obliterated the German armies. It was at these moments in the Battle of the Bulge that the Germans were never able to recover enough men in order to overtake the allied units.

Even on Christmas, Hitler was celebrating his perceived success at the Battle of the Bulge; however, the Western Front brought much destruction on the ground and in the air. General Patton had come from the south by Christmas to push the German army back. The 5th Panzeramee of Von Manteuffel and the 7th Army together, still couldn’t hold back General Patton and the Allied forces. Hitler discharged the ninth & fifteenth Panzer divisions from the reserves, yet even they were insufficient to stop General Collins counter assault. This was the defining moment of the fight. On December 27, von Manteuffel got the fortifications he had been holding up for; however, they were excessively few past the point of no return. Regardless of the fact that they would have been in contact on time he failed to possess the fuel to put them to great utilization. Hitler failed his last offensive, and the Battle of The Bulge was over. However, there were noteworthy misfortunes on both sides. The Battle of the Bulge, which proved to be an upset for German that had heavy casualties. The Americans and other allies had won the Battle and the War. However, they lost close to 80,000 men (including captured and wounded), while over 80,000 men (including wounded and captured) were lost for Germany. For Germany, they lost 324 tanks, and 320 plans, while America lost over 700 tanks and 580 downed planes.  For the Battle of the Bulge, could have been a victory for Germany, if they had the right supplies, fuel, and men, but alas, they did not.

Where the Battle of the Bulge drew, its significance is through many mistakes by Hitler. “Up to that point the German war machine had conquered and subjugated all her enemies (except for Britain), while at the same time Russia had been providing her with much needed resources such as oil and wheat.” (Wright 1) The United States was still neutral, and England’s power was deteriorating.  The allied forces had several factors on their sides, besides from the many blunders committed by Germany. According to experts, The Battle of the Bulge can be divided into three periods. “A period of clear German initiative from 16-21 December 1944, a period in which the initiative was fiercely contested by both parties from 22 December 1944 to 4 January 1945, and a period of clear American initiative from 4-31 January 1945.” (Winton 5)  After Hitler’s troops were defeated, forcing them to retreat from the East to Berlin, where Hitler escaped to. It was at the Yalta Conference in which the Battle of the Bulge really displayed its significance to World War II, as Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and President Roosevelt came together to meet. The Big Three, were able to plan the last phases of the war in which they agreed that the United States and Britain would outfit the Soviet troops with bomber support to take over the East.

It was at the death of President Roosevelt on April 16^th that the Third Reich was beginning to deteriorate. Berlin was overtook with over 3000 tanks crossing the Neisse River, as aircrafts from Allied Forces rain downed on the German troops. Hitler sensing defeat near, still r refused surrender, and defend Berlin into no one was standing. Soon the Allied forces met with the Soviet soldiers in Stehla, marking numerous celebrations throughout the world. Mussolini was captured and hanged, while Hitler killed himself in his underground bunker. On behalf of all the German soldiers, General Alfred Jodl signed the official surrender. On May 8^th, (V-E Day), all the fighting ended.

The Battle of the Bulge was a fundamental component of ending World War II. Although many can see how Hitler had the upper hand throughout the war, as the United States remained neutral, and Great Britain was losing ground. However, through a series of events including, great commanding by the US, air support that proved vital, and strategic battle plans enacted by the President and his staff, the US and other Allied forces were able to win the Battle, and the war. The Battle of the Bulge results proved to be too much for German to recover from. Even with the weapons, people, and army tanks lost, the industries in Germany would take a long time to recover from the lost. Even Americans suffered greater losses than the lives lost, as the memories of the Battle, will be with the survivors until the end of time. There was much after-math to the Battle and the War in which most of European is still recovering from. However, the Battle of the Bulge proved to be a turning point in order to help free those captured countries.

The Battle of the Bulge is an essential element to the course of World War II, due to the fact that it was the last substantial offensive that Hitler could take to win the war. Hitler intended the battle to be a point in which the German forces would split the Allied forces, the Allied forces, and particularly American forces wanted to force peace. The Battle of the Bulge brought heavy losses to the German troops, and this factor disrupted the troops throughout the end of the war. The Battle of the Bulge signaled the end of the tumultuous war in which is still very much a lasting memory. The Battle of the Bulge ruined Hitler and German efforts, and helped to provide a new impact on the way the military deals with different terrains, weather conditions, and depleting Germany of valuable equipment and reserves. Without the Battle of the Bulge, Hitler could have won, instead the Allied forces gained victory, and the rest is history.

Works Cited

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Encyclopedia Britannica. “Battle of the Bulge.” Encyclopedia Britannica. 4 May 2014. Web. 25 Feb. 2015. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/84235/Battle-of-the-Bulge

History.com Staff. “Battle of the Bulge.” History.com. 2009. Web. 25 Feb 2015. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge

Kays, Marvin. “Weather Effects During the Battle of the Bulge and the Normandy Invasion.” US Army Electronics Research and Development Command. August 1982. Web. 25 Feb 2015. http://dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a121480.pdf

Miller, Roselyn Orgden. Smoke Signals. AuthrorHouse. 2014. Book.

Morelock, JD. Generals of the Ardennes. American Leadership in the Battle of the Bulge. Institute For National Strategic Studies. National Defense University Press. 1994. Book.

“The History Place: The Defeat of Hitler.” History Place. 2010. Web. 25 Feb 2015. http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/defeat/battle-bulge.htm

“The Yalta Conference, 1945.” U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian. 2015. Web. 25 Feb 2015. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/yalta-conf

Winton, Harold R. “Airpower in the Battle of the Bulge: A Case for Effects-Based Operations?” Journal of Military and Strategic Studies. Vol. 14, Issue 1. 2011. Print.

Wright, Andrew. “Was Hitler right to invade Russia in 1941?” Military History Online. 2007. Web. 26 Feb. 2015. http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/wwii/articles/invadingrussia.aspx#