✦ History

Part of World War II, Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine

Battle of the Bulge

December 16, 1944 – January 25, 1945 · Ardennes, Belgium

Result Allied victory

Germany's last major offensive on the Western Front in World War II, fought 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945 through the Ardennes of Belgium and Luxembourg. Aimed at capturing Antwerp and splitting Allied lines, it achieved total surprise on 16 December, but Allied resistance at Bastogne and Elsenborn Ridge stalled the advance, and Patton's Third Army relieved Bastogne on 26 December. It was the largest and bloodiest battle fought by the United States in World War II, and it destroyed Germany's remaining armored reserves.

On the map Overview Contemporaries

Axis

Allies

Other

Germany
United States
United Kingdom
France
Canada
Belgium
Adolf Hitler belligerent leader Gerd von Rundstedt Walter Model Field Marshal, Commander of Army Group B, which conducted the Ardennes offensive Sepp Dietrich military commander
Dwight D. Eisenhower military commander Omar Bradley George S. Patton military commander Courtney Hodges military commander Bernard Montgomery military commander Brian Horrocks military commander

Strength and losses

United States Tanks lost c. 800

United Kingdom Casualties 1,408–1,462

Civilian deaths
c. 3,000

Units

Army Group B 6th Panzer Army 7th Army (Wehrmacht) 5th Panzer Army 2nd Fighter Corps (Germany) I SS Panzer Corps II SS Panzer Corps XLVII Panzer Corps 116th Panzer Division 11th Panzer Division 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend 15th Panzergrenadier Division 16th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler 212th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) 21st Panzer Division 277th Infantry Division 2nd Flak Division 2nd Panzer Division (Wehrmacht) 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich 352nd Infantry Division 5th Parachute Division 85th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) 89th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) 9th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht) 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen Panzer Lehr Division
12th Army Group US Third Army 21st Army Group 75th Innovation Command 80th Training Command 84th Training Command First Allied Airborne Army First Army (United States) III Armored Corps VI Corps (United States) VII Corps (United States) VIII Corps (United States) XII Corps (United States) XV Corps (United States) XVIII Airborne Corps XXI Corps (United States) 100th Training Division 101st Airborne Division 103rd Infantry Division (United States) 106th Infantry Division (United States) 10th Armored Division (United States) 11th Armored Division (United States) 11th Armoured Division (United Kingdom) 14th Armored Division (United States) 17th Airborne Division 26th Infantry Division (United States) 28th Infantry Division (United States) 2nd Armored Division (United States) 30th Infantry Division (United States) 35th Infantry Division (United States) 3rd Armored Division (United States) 4th Armored Division (United States) 4th Infantry Division (United States) 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division 5th Armored Division (United States) 5th Infantry Division (United States) 6th Airborne Division 6th Armored Division (United States) 70th Infantry Division (United States) 78th Training Division 79th Infantry Division (United States) 7th Armored Division (United States) 82nd Airborne Division 83rd Infantry Division (United States) 87th Infantry Division (United States) 8th Armored Division (United States) 90th Infantry Division (United States) 94th Training Division 95th Training Division 99th Readiness Division 9th Armored Division (United States) 9th Infantry Division (United States) Guards Armoured Division US 1st Division US 2nd Division 173rd Airborne Brigade 16th Infantry Regiment (United States) 18th Infantry Regiment (United States) 41st Infantry Regiment (United States) 504th Infantry Regiment 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion 5th Ranger Battalion 612th Tank Destroyer Battalion 9th (Eastern and Home Counties) Parachute Battalion Eighth Air Force Ninth Air Force Second Tactical Air Force
705th Tank Destroyer Battalion

Battles 3

Also involved 4