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Battle of the Bulge: Defending the Line
Contemporary media coined the phrase "Battle of the Bulge," for what Allied high command described as the Ardennes counteroffensive. It represented the last major German effort to push the western allies back before they could cross the Rhine. It was intended to drive a wedge into allied lines, separating the American forces from their Allies, and in turn from their supplies. The Germans imagined that by encircling four separate Allied armies, that they could sue for a peace with the Western Allies which would allow them to focus their resources on the Eastern front. Understanding that the effective use of Allied Airpower was the recipe for disaster, the Germans were careful to plan their operation around a period of poor weather. The force of the initial German attack on Dec. 14, 1944 sent U.S. forces reeling – the hard and fast blows being dealt by the German armored units meant that U.S. forces which weren't wiped out, were left without an effective way to regroup. Amidst the chaos however, some units held their positions, waiting for the weather to improve.
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