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Ardennes offensive

Battle of the Bulge
Part of World War II
117th Infantry North Carolina NG at St. Vith 1945.jpg
American soldiers of the 117th Infantry Regiment, Tennessee National Guard, part of the 30th Infantry Division, move past a destroyed American M5A1 "Stuart" tank on their march to recapture the town of St. Vith during the Battle of the Bulge, January 1945.
Date 16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945
Location The Ardennes: Belgium, Luxembourg
Result

Allied victory

  • Western Allied offensive plans delayed by five or six weeks
  • Disastrous offensive in the Ardennes exhausted the resources of Germany on the Western Front. The German collapse opened the way for the Allies ultimately to break the Siegfried Line
  • Soviet offensive in Poland launched on 12 January 1945, eight days earlier than originally intended.
Belligerents
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany
Commanders and leaders

United States Dwight D. Eisenhower
(Supreme Allied Commander)
United Kingdom Bernard Montgomery
(21st Army Group, First U.S. Army, Ninth U.S. Army)
United States Omar Bradley
(12th U.S. Army Group)
United States Courtney Hodges
(First U.S. Army)
United States George S. Patton
(Third U.S. Army)

United States Anthony McAuliffe
(101st Airborne Division)

Adolf Hitler
Führer und Reichskanzler
Walter Model
Army Group B
Gerd von Rundstedt
OB West
Hasso von Manteuffel
5th Panzer Army
Sepp Dietrich
6th Panzer Army

Erich Brandenberger
7th Army
Strength
16 December
6 infantry divisions
2 armored divisions
16 January
22 infantry divisions
8 armored divisions
2 armored brigades
16 December
13 infantry divisions
7 armored divisions
1 brigade
16 January
16 infantry divisions
8 armored divisions
2 infantry brigades
Casualties and losses
United States American
89,500 casualties
19,000 killed,
47,500 wounded,
23,000 captured or missing
700–800+ tanks, tank destroyers, and assault guns destroyed
647 aircraft lost
United Kingdom British
1,408 (200 killed, 969 wounded, and 239 missing)
67,459 – 125,000 casualties
(includes killed, wounded, missing, captured)
600–800+ tanks and assault guns destroyed
~800 aircraft lost, over 500 in December and 280 during Unternehmen Bodenplatte
Approximately 3,000 civilians killed

Allied victory

United States Dwight D. Eisenhower
(Supreme Allied Commander)
United Kingdom Bernard Montgomery
(21st Army Group, First U.S. Army, Ninth U.S. Army)
United States Omar Bradley
(12th U.S. Army Group)
United States Courtney Hodges
(First U.S. Army)
United States George S. Patton
(Third U.S. Army)


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Wikipedia

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