1944 allied campaign details.

The battle of Ardennes is also called the battle of the bulge in history. The Battle of Ardennes was the largest counterattack on Nazi Germany's West Line 1944 during World War II, with 65,438+million German casualties, about 700 tanks and heavy artillery, and 1600 aircraft. The allied forces lost about 80,000 people (including 1 1,000 dead, 47,000 injured and 23,000 missing), of whom 77,000 were American soldiers. After the battle of Ardennes, Hitler had no reserve forces to supplement, and the Germans could no longer stop the allied forces from advancing on the western front. Therefore, the Battle of Ardennes deserves to be called a turning point in history by later generations.

1944 after the successful landing in Normandy, the allied forces composed of American and British troops quickly attacked the Germans defending the western front. 1944 in the late autumn, the front line approached Germany, and Germany faced a desperate situation. In order to reverse this situation, Hitler decided to concentrate his forces to launch an offensive on the western front, caught the allies off guard and regained the initiative. To this end, from the end of September, the Fuehrer and his high command began to secretly formulate the Ardennes counterattack plan, the largest position counterattack in the western front.

The plan was named "Rhine Guard". The main idea of this plan is to concentrate superior forces, quickly break through the allied defense lines, cross the Maas River between Liege and namur, seize Antwerp, the main supply port of the allied forces, split the allied forces in two, cut off the rear traffic lines of the US 1 Army Group and the British 2 1 Army Group, create a second Dunkirk retreat, and stabilize the situation on the western front. Then turn to deal with the eastern Soviet Union.

Marshal Lundstedt, Commander-in-Chief of the Western Front, and Marshal Mo Deer, Commander of Army Group B, were surprised by the Fuehrer's ambitious plan, but they dared not say much after persuasion failed. The final plan, including every detail, even the shelling time, was made by Hitler at the base camp. 165438+1October 3, General Jodl, the special envoy of the Fuehrer, rushed to the headquarters of Army B in the Kreiffel pine forest on the western front, and handed over the detailed operational plan of the "Rhine Guard" to rundstedt and Mo Deer with the Fuehrer's personal warning: "No change".

Hitler chose the counter-offensive place at the junction of Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg, that is, Adan Mountain (1940) where the German army broke through the French defense line four and a half years ago. This area is the junction of the US Army/KLOC-0 Army in hodges and the US Army's 3rd Army in george patton. 1 Army is responsible for the north side, and Army 3 is responsible for the south wing. The section from Ayffre Mountain (about 85 miles wide between the two army groups) to Monsau is defended by troops belonging to the 5th and 8th divisions of 1 Army. Hitler thought that the area was "a place where the existing troops could definitely break through" ..... The defense line was so weak that they wouldn't expect us to launch a surprise attack. Therefore, making full use of the enemy's unsuspecting factors and launching a sudden attack in the climate where enemy planes can't take off, we are expected to make a rapid breakthrough. Hitler wanted to "make up his mind to carry out this plan no matter what." He even thought that "attacking from within the western front will probably prove impossible in front of the western front". His plan is not bold. If he has enough manpower and material resources to back him up, he may succeed. But he didn't.

In order to implement this plan, the German government issued an order to establish the People's Guards. The applicants ranged in age from 16 to 60, and a large number of new recruits were recruited soon. After six to eight weeks of short-term training, they were transferred to the western front and joined attack force. 65438+At the beginning of February, the German army * * * assembled 20 divisions under the command of Marshal Mo Deer, commander of the B Army Group, and on the right was the 6th SS Panzer Corps under the command of Dietrich, which had four SS Panzer divisions and five infantry divisions. There are about 640 tanks. The middle road is the 5th armored division under the command of Mantefel, which has three armored divisions and four infantry divisions. There are about 320 tanks. On the left is the 7th Army under the command of Brandenburg, which has four infantry divisions. Its task is to cover the rear side of the 5 th Armored Army and ensure the central attack.

Allied forces have 87 divisions on the western front, including 25 armored divisions. However, there are only six divisions in the Ardennes. Moreover, the senior allied commanders did not anticipate the possibility of the German counterattack, and thought that it was impossible for the Germans to launch a large-scale offensive war at present.

The Germans carried out the battle plan of "Graf" before the attack. The word "Graef" in German refers to the mythical Gryphon monster with wings, and it is very appropriate if it causes huge and amazing chaos in the Allies. The Germans organized an English-speaking commando of about 2,000 people, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Srzeni of the SS. Srzeni is good at adventure. He rescued the Italian dictator Mussolini from the hilltop prison with a glider. Srzeni's commandos dressed as American troops went deep into the allied defense lines in American jeeps. They divided into small teams, cut off telephone lines everywhere, reversed road signs, made the defenders' reserves go in the wrong direction, hung up red strips to indicate that there were mines on the road, and made as much confusion as possible. The American army was frightened by the activities of these German soldiers. Because they give the impression that they don't know how many such units are operating behind the US military. In order to search for these German detachments, American troops stopped vehicles everywhere for inspection. 500,000 American soldiers question each other whenever they meet on the road. Hundreds of soldiers were arrested for being suspicious when answering questions, even Bradley, commander of 12 Army Group, was no exception. However, the second step of this plan, that is, using a complete armored brigade-150 armored brigade, driving American tanks and wearing American uniforms, to March into and occupy the Mas River Bridge, has not been realized. 12 16, an officer of the 66th German Army was captured on the way from the military headquarters to the front, and several operational orders planned with him fell into the hands of the US military, which made the US military respond in time.

16 at dawn on February 6, the Germans split up and attacked suddenly in three ways. Intensive artillery fire bombarded almost all American positions, and American soldiers curled up in sleeping bags woke up from their sleep and climbed into bunkers. I don't know what happened in the panic. With the gunfire, hundreds of searchlights covered American positions, providing illumination for the Germans attacking in the dark. In the chaos, German assault troops launched a fierce attack on American positions under the cover of tanks, and the American troops fell into chaos and suffered heavy losses.

The most important thing in this campaign is the rapid breakthrough of the 6 th SS Panzer Corps, because it is closest to the important section of the Mas River, so the airborne troops are the most valuable here. However, German paratroopers have been used as ground troops since the Crete airborne war of 194 1. Just a few weeks before the battle, the Germans managed to piece together a paratrooper battalion. Led by Lieutenant Colonel Hite. However, Heidt found that half of these paratroopers had no experience in airborne operations, and the transport planes they cooperated with lacked experience in formation flying. Only one-third of the planes managed to reach the target area-most of them were dropped behind the German defense line because of the pilot's mistake-and the paratroopers who reached the target area were very scattered, so Heidt could only concentrate 200 people and could not complete the original task. A few days later, the tired Heidt surrendered to the American army.

Right-wing Dietrich's SS 6th Panzer Corps broke through the American defense line, quickly inserted into Staffordshire, and reached a ferry on the OnBlaive River, advancing for about 30 miles. Its vanguard column of SS armored division "Pepper Combat Team" arrived and occupied the ferry. However, when this column was quickly inserted into Staffordshire, the fuel depot and important bridges with 2.5 million gallons of gasoline were not seized in time, so that American reinforcements used it to set up obstacles (burning gasoline and blow up bridges) and blocked their way forward. Poor road conditions, serious traffic jams and lack of fuel hindered their progress. The notorious "Payper Combat Team" slaughtered several disarmed American prisoners of war and Belgian civilians (including the Marmedi massacre). The 6th Panzer Corps of the SS attacked the Eisenbourne Mountains, and encountered stubborn resistance from the 2nd Infantry Division and the 99th Infantry Division of the US Army, which delayed their advance. Fighting to 18 February 18, the center-right attack of the German 6th SS Panzer Corps basically stopped.

In the first two days after the start of the battle, the US military did not fully realize the seriousness of the problem. The U.S. 1 Army still speculated that the German intention was to counter the U.S. attack on the Ruhr Dam area on the northern front. It was not until the morning of 17 that the main allied commanders admitted that the German full-scale attack had begun. The 7th Armored Division of the U.S. Army went south to reinforce St. Victor, and the 3rd Armored Division 1 went north to enter the threatened area. Eisenhower, commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, urgently dispatched the 82nd and 10 1 Airborne Division to Bastoni-Saint-Witt for reinforcements to stop the Germans from advancing westward. The 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army under General Gavin was sent to the St. Vitus Line, while the 10 1 Airborne Division under General mcauliffe was sent to Bastoni.

In the middle, the 5th Panzer Corps commanded by Mantefel made rapid progress. By 17, the two regiments of the US Army 106 Division were successfully surrounded by a pincer attack, forcing more than 7,000 people to surrender, which was the most serious loss suffered by the US military in the European battlefield. The reinforced American 7th Armored Division arrived at St.Victor of Marseilles Town, which was a very important intersection, including the remnants of the 106 Infantry Division, who successfully resisted the German attack. The German 58th Armored Regiment and the 66th Army launched a new powerful offensive in San Victor and its south area. On February 2 1 day, the US 7th Armored Division was forced to retreat. The Germans originally planned to occupy St. Vitter on February 17, 2007, and the timetable for the German attack was greatly delayed. 18, the 47th Panzer Corps of the 5th Panzer Corps of Mantefel arrived in Bastoni, the highway transportation hub, and the US troops were forced to retreat to Bastoni and Novell.

All four divisions of the Seventh Army under the command of the left-wing Brandenburg crossed the Orr River, among which the 5th Paratrooper Division suddenly arrived in Wilt, 0/2 miles away from Kloc, and built a barrier for the middle troops on the south side, with little progress. However, the Seventh Army made slow progress under the stubborn resistance of the US military.

By February 20 10, the U.S. troops defending face to face had basically stopped the German attack at the two "shoulder angles" broken through, and the German offensive forces had formed a protrusion about 100 km wide and 30 to 50 km deep, and continued to advance.

19, Eisenhower held a meeting of senior generals in Verdun to discuss countermeasures. The meeting decided to adopt the policy of attacking the south and defending the north. The specific deployment is: Barton's American Third Army went north to attack the German salient; Devers's American Sixth Army moved closer to the north to protect Barton's right wing; The American troops in hodges 1 must resist the Germans who invaded the Ardennes from the north and south, hold their positions by the throat in the west, and prepare to counterattack from north to south, and surround the Germans with Barton's American troops 3.

On 20th, the 5th armored division under the command of German Mantefel surrounded the US 10 1 Airborne Division in Bastoni, and the 47th armored division continued to attack the Mas River with two armored divisions. The 5th Paratrooper Division on the right wing of the 7th Army on the southern line of the German army continued to advance, forming the encirclement of Bastoni to defend the American army. The fifth panzer corps advanced rapidly, while the attack of the sixth panzer corps was far behind. Hitler decided to transfer the main offensive task originally planned by the 6th Armored Army to the 5th Armored Army.

12 On February 22nd, Barton led the American 3rd Army to attack from the south. On the same day, the Germans also demanded that the American troops besieged in Bastoni surrender, but only got the answer from 10 1 mcauliffe, acting commander of the airborne division: "Sick!" (English original: "Nuts", which can also be translated as "damn it!" )。 This American slang has a profound meaning and has since become a beautiful talk in the history of World War II. Bastoni became a nail to stop the German advance. The Germans had to spare Bastoni and move forward. 18000 American troops defended the isolated city against the German attack. Until Christmas, the Germans still failed to break through the line of 10 1 airborne division. Because Bastoni, as a transportation hub, was occupied by the US military, a large number of German logistics supplies were blocked on the road, which made the excellent German armored division under attack between Scylla and Charybdis, making it difficult to supply. Bastoni's defense became the decisive link for the Allies to win the whole defense plan. Therefore, 10 1 Airborne Division won the "Excellent Collective Award", which was the only unit in the US Army that won this honor during World War II.

On February 24, 65438, Barton's third army destroyed the barrier built by the German seventh army on the left wing to ensure the central attack. Then Barton ordered Garfield's 4th Armored Division to "run like hell" to rescue Bastoni trapped in the German encirclement. In the early morning of February 26th, 65438+, the battle group of Garfield's 4th Armored Division broke through the German siege of Bastoni. The next day, large troops entered the city along the open road, strengthening the city's defense. After 25th, the German army resumed the battle of Bastoni, and many divisions were transferred to this area one after another and put into siege warfare.

On the 24th, the weather gradually cleared up, and the Allies dispatched a large number of planes to carpet bomb the enemy's transportation roads, which almost paralyzed the German logistics supply organization. At the same time, the Allied Air Force bombed the German 5th Armored Division and armored instructors who had left for Cyrus. Cyrus was the culmination of the German advance, only five miles from the Maas River. So the central front formed a bulge (the Ardennes campaign is also called the bulge campaign or the bulge campaign). On Christmas Day, a fierce battle broke out between the German 2nd Armored Division and the 2nd Armored Division of the US Army 1 7th Army. By the end of that day, 2,500 people were killed, 1 0,050 people were captured, and 8 1 tank (original 88) was lost. The 2nd Armored Division of the US Army won the title of "Activity Hell". On the 26th, the Germans began to retreat. The Germans' hopes of crossing the Maas River were dashed.

1 945 65438+1October1,German troops dispatched 1000, and more than 260 allied planes were destroyed. Then, German ground troops launched a siege to Bastoni.

1 945 65438+1On October 3rd, the Allies turned to counterattack, Barton's third army attacked from Bastoni to the northeast, and hodges's1army attacked from north to southeast. On this day, the Germans also launched the fiercest attack on Bastoni, thus launching the fiercest fighting in the Ardennes. The two sides fought bloody battles for five days, and finally the Germans still failed to win this important town. Although the Germans stopped attacking, they still controlled the prominent part of the allied defense line. At the beginning of the attack, the progress of the allied forces was limited by cold weather and German resistance, and the progress was very slow. Most German troops successfully evacuated from the battle area by fighting and retreating, because most German armored vehicles were abandoned for lack of fuel.

On June 8, 65438 10, Hitler finally ordered the Germans to retreat. 65438+1October 12, the Soviet army launched an attack on the eastern front in advance to cooperate with the action, and Hitler had to deploy troops from the western front to fight on the eastern front. The allies quickly took the opportunity to advance. 65438+1 October 16, hodges's US Army1and Barton's US Army No.3 successfully joined forces. By 65438+1October 28, the Germans were completely driven back to their original positions.

The Battle of Ardennes was the largest counterattack on the Western Front. The Germans were killed17,200, injured 34,439, captured16,000, and lost about 700 tanks and heavy artillery and planes 1600. Allied forces lost about 80,000 people (including dead 1 0,000, injured 47,000 and missing 23,000), including 77,000 American soldiers (dead and missing 2975 1 0, injured 47 1 29). Strategically, Hitler used the main mobile forces in the western front and suffered great losses. After the Battle of Ardennes, the Germans had no reserve forces to supplement them, so they could no longer stop the allied forces from advancing on the western front.