Battle of the Bulge

Battle of the Bulge (also called Ardennes Campaign)(December 1944-January 1945), last serious German offensive in the west against the Allied armies advancing into Germany in World War II. Following the Allied Normandy landings of June 1944, Allied forces swept through France but stalled along the German border in September. On December 16, taking advantage of weather that kept Allied aircraft on the ground, the Germans launched a surprise counter-offensive through the hilly and wooded Ardennes country and advanced 50 km (31 mi) into Belgium and Luxembourg. Their aim was to divide the American and British forces and recover the vital seaport of Antwerp, Belgium. They created a “bulge” in the Allied lines, but their advance was halted near the River Meuse in late December. Managing to avoid being cut off by an Allied pincer movement, the Germans withdrew to their own lines in January, but heavy losses, including some 220,000 casualties, contributed to their final collapse in the following spring.