The Battle of the Bulge was fought from 16 December 1944 until – 25 January 1945 and was the last German offensive launched on the Western front and went through the densely forested Ardennes region in Belgium, France, and Luxembourg, a repeat of the operation launched May 1940 which caused the fall of France in six weeks.
The surprise attack caught the Allied forces completely off guard, attacking in a sector held by American units, the US Forces bore the brunt of the attack and sustained their highest casualties for any operation during the second world war. The battle also severely depleted Germany’s armored forces on both the western and the eastern front, and Germany was largely unable to replace them thus this operation served to shorten the war by many months.
Btry C, 702 TD Bn., 2nd Armored Division, tank destroyer on dug-in ramp has plenty of elevation to hurl shells at long range enemy targets across the Roer River.
Members of the 630th Tank Destroyer Battalion, Company “B”, who lost their vehicles during advancement to Belgium, take Infantry positions on a hill covering an approach in Wiltz, Bastogne, Belgium (12/20/44)
A 7th Armored Division antitank gun covers the approach on a road to Belgium (12/23/44)–Railroad crossing near Vielsalm, Belgium.
Tankmen of the U.S. First Army gather around a fire on the snow-covered ground near Eupen, Belgium, opening their Christmas packages (12/30/44) -5th Armd. Regt.
Three members of an American patrol cross a snow covered Luxembourg field on a scouting mission. White bedsheets camouflage them in the snow. Left to right: Sgt. James Storey, Newman, Ga.; Pvt. Frank A. Fox, Wilmington, Del., and Cpl. Dennis Lavanoha, Harrisville, N.Y. (30 Dec 1944). Lellig, Luxembourg
Dudelange, Luxembourg. Painted white to blend with snow-covered terrain, an M-36 tank destroyer crosses a field. (3 Jan 1945)
Members of the 101st Airborne Division walk past dead comrades, killed during the Christmas Eve bombing of Bastogne, Belgium, the town in which this division was besieged for ten days. This photo was taken on Christmas Day. 1944
The members of the 101st Airborne Division, right, are on guard for enemy tanks, on the road leading to Bastogne, Belgium. They are armed with bazookas. 23 Dec 1944.
The 101st Airborne troops move out of Bastogne, after having been besieged there for ten days, to drive the enemy out of the surrounding district. Belgium 12/31/44.
U.S. troops of the 28th Infantry Division, who have been regrouped in security platoons for defense of Bastogne, Belgium, march down a street. Some of these soldiers lost their weapons during the German advance in this area. Bastogne, Belgium (12-20-44)
An American road-block is set up with 30 caliber heavy machine gun, and a tank destroyer is ready for action on Adolph Hitler Straase. 1st Battalion, 157th Regiment, 45th Division (10 Dec 1944)
BASTOGNE, BELGIUM. Troops of the 101st Airborne Division watch C-47�s drop supplies to them. 26 December 1944
An aerial view of Ardennes in Belgium, showing Allied forces and artillery blast holes in a snowy field.
A German SS Panzer trooper geared up for winter during the Battle of the Bulge.
Troops at the front in Belgium
Soldiers dig foxholes in the frozen ground in the Battle of the Bulge.
1st Army GIs search for German paratroopers during the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944.
American infantry from the 290th Regiment crouch in snowy woods near Amonines, Belgium, January 1945.
German prisoners taken during the Battle of the Bulge, circa late Dec 1944
