Battle of the Bulge

Further south, the Germans were attempting to seize the town of Bastogne, which is a vital strategic point due to it being a location where all seven primary roads in the Ardennes converged. Although being outnumbered 5 to 1, the 101st Airborne and 333rd Artillery Battalion were able to stubbornly hold the town of Bastogne even with their lines being broken multiple times and almost losing their entire medical company. They formed a 360-degree perimeter around the town while the German forces continuously attacked different points attempting to find a weakness. Similar to the famous tactical advantage the fishhook line at the Battle of Gettysburg provided, Allied troops were able to quickly communicate and reinforce specific parts of the defensive line as the Germans attacked. On the contrary, the Germans were having to maneuver around the Allied perimeter in order to attack a different position while the Allied forces could reinforce different positions quickly.

On 23 December 1944, the skies finally cleared, bringing with it air support and the much-needed supplies and reinforcements to the 101st in Bastogne. Then, on 26 December, reinforcements from George Patton’s Third Army successfully reached the town of Bastogne from the southwest. With the reinforcements and supplies, the American forces were able to initiate an offensive on the Germans, driving them back to the point where they initially engaged Bastogne.

By the end of the grueling 6-week battle, the Americans had sustained 89,000 casualties with 19,000 being killed. This battle also becomes known as the last German offensive on the Western Front and could no longer maintain any prolonged resistance to the Allied advance towards Germany. This was due to sustaining 120,000 casualties alongside a plethora of tanks and equipment that they had no way to replace.