What was significance of the battle of the bulge

Were any of your ancestors involved in the Battle of the Bulge? If they were in western Europe from December to January , then the answer is likely yes! You could do the same for photographs and other images you come across. And did you know that learning about the challenges your ancestor had to face can help you and the other members of your family with the challenges you face? FamilySearch Blog. About FamilySearch.

For Latter-day Saints. For the Whole Family. Genealogy Research. In the face of increasing Allied pressure, the Germans began to withdraw from the Battle of the Bulge on January 8, Hubert, on January 16, The American advance continued, eliminating all German gains by the end of January Without halting, US forces challenged the German defenses of the Siegfried Line, now undermanned after the heavy German losses during the Ardennes offensive.

The Battle of Germany lay ahead. The Allies won the Battle of the Bulge. The Germans suffered more than , casualties; the Americans approximately 81, We would like to thank Crown Family Philanthropies and the Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation for supporting the ongoing work to create content and resources for the Holocaust Encyclopedia.

View the list of all donors. Trending keywords:. The next day at Malmedy, Belgium, Kampfgruppe Peiper overtook a group of Americans from the th Field Artillery Observation Battalion and rounded the prisoners into a field. And every tank and half track that came around just fired in the group. And everybody started dropping.

I dropped and could hear guys praying and maybe I was too, you know? The Malmedy Massacre saw over 80 men murdered in one of the most brutal war crimes committed against American troops in Europe. These two incidents, featuring heroism and brutality, set the stage for what was to come in the next six weeks of battle.

Fierce Allied resistance along the northern shoulder of the Elsenborn ridge denied the Germans the northern roads they needed for success. In the center, the Allied defenders at the vital crossroads town of St. Vith fought ferociously and delayed the German timetable for advancement there by nearly a week. On 17 December Eisenhower had already decided to reinforce the American defence at Bastogne, a key town giving access to the limited road infrastructure of the Ardennes.

The st Airborne Division arrived 2 days later. Bad weather at the time also worsened German fuel shortages and subsequently disrupted their supply lines. American infantrymen of the th Regiment fight in fresh snowfall near Amonines, Belgium, 4 January Having limited the German gains, improved weather allowed the Allies to unleash their formidable air attack from 23 December, meaning the German advance ground to a halt.

Despite the German air force damaging Allied air bases in north-west Europe on 1 January , the Allied counteroffensive began in earnest from 3 January and gradually eroded the bulge that had been created in the front. Although Hitler approved German withdrawal on 7 January, combat continued over the following weeks. The last major re-capture was the town of St Vith, achieved on 23 December, and 2 days later the front was restored.