At dawn on Dec. 16, 1944, three powerful German armies attacked through the rugged hills and dense forests of the Ardennes region of Belgium and Luxembourg, using dense fog and bad weather to shield them from Allied air attacks as they struck the weakest part of the American line along a 60-mile front. Seeking an eleventh-hour victory, they aimed to capture Antwerp on the North Sea, split the Allies, and force a negotiated peace on the Western Front. The Germans achieved complete surprise, but tenacious American resistance, despite being initially overrun by superior numbers, slowed and eventually stopped the advance by blowing up bridges, destroying crucial fuel supplies, denying key road junctions, upsetting the timetable, and buying time for reinforcements. Major towns like St. Vith and Bastogne, with their important road networks, saw violent fighting, and though cut off and surrounded, both became islands of resistance that slowed the German push westward. During the siege of Bastogne, Brig. Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe, commanding the troops within the Bastogne perimeter, was sent a demand to surrender or be annihilated and replied with one word: nuts. On Dec. 25, Christmas Day, clearing skies allowed Allied Air Forces to return and pound enemy railyards, supply points, tanks, and ground forces. By Dec. 26, after reaching as far as Celles and creating a bulge of some 60 miles into Allied territory, the German ground advance came to a halt, and with fuel exhausted the Germans were forced onto the defensive. In bitter cold and deep snow, American and Allied forces counterattacked along the entire perimeter of the bulge to regain lost ground. By Jan. 25, 1945, 41 days after the battle began, most of the original line had been restored, and the decimated Germans were fighting a stubborn rear guard action back to Germany. The Ardennes Campaign was crucial to winning the war in Europe: Germany’s last great offensive had failed, and the road now led to total victory and Germany’s unconditional surrender on May 7, 1945. More than 1,000,000 men took part, including 500,000 Germans, 600,000 Americans, and 55,000 British with Canadian, Belgian, and French contingents. Casualties totaled 100,000 Germans, including 24,000 killed, 81,000 Americans, including 19,000 killed, and 1,400 British, including 200 killed. Equipment losses involved 800 tanks and 900 aircraft on both sides.
