Why The Battle Of The Bulge

Hitler’s desperate efforts as an attempt to change the outcome of the Second World War consolidated into one battle, The Battle of the Bulge, was one of the historic points in our military’s history because of the historical outcome of the battle, how it relates to the evolution and contribution towards todays military operations, and how some of the contemporary military problems we have today were some of the same issues they faced in World War II. Meanwhile, other issues that the military came across in the Battle of the Bulge, were resolved and trained for future warfare. All these things take factor into how important this battle was to our military history, and how it shaped our modern Army.
On December 1944, the German army executed
Allied tactics involved holding out for enemy forces to run out of fuel and moral, utilizing tough terrain to hinder the enemy’s advancement towards objectives, and initiating counterattacks when the weather permitted the use of airstrikes or supply drops from Allied forces. Enemy forces that depend heavily on fuel and pushing forward into friendly supply lines to capture fuel supplies intact are engaged in a tactic that was used by Nazi forces. When Nazi’s were unable to take supply lines intact their mechanized forces ability to advance could only move one third of the distance to the objective without a proper resupply. If captured supplies are sabotaged or destroyed to deny enemy forces access to a quick resupply, they are entrenched in a weaker position from their offensive maneuver. Also, roads and terrain were too muddy or icy for Panzer units to advance on Allied forces adding more problems for them to push forward on Allied defense positions. A lack of understanding the poor conditions of roads and trails can increase the duration of movements to get to where one is needed to be, but also make it difficult to get resources to the front lines. As a result, an offensive maneuver was delayed over two weeks for Nazi forces. Due to unreliable resupplies for Panzer units Nazi forces were
For the Battle of the Bulge, Hitler planned the Blitzkrieg during a time of Inclement Weather, to give Nazi’s the advantage: The weather was terrible, resulting American air superiority, which could have dominated the Germans, is eliminated. The Nazis held off on their offensive until dense fog and snow arrived and grounded the Allies’ superior air support, leaving both sides to grapple with near-Arctic conditions. Field Marshal Von Rundstedt said “Weather was a weapon the German army used with success”. Today’s military faces a similar problem, without near perfect weather, a mission won’t be approved. Recently, with all the technological advancement, if the illumination is too bright, or the wind is too high, the mission will be put on hold to a later date that benefits our troops. However, if we were in the situation that the Allies faced in 1944, our war planes and fighter jets today have the capabilities to close in and destroy the enemy. The new radar systems, delivery tactics, and methods of engaging our enemy have far advanced since then. Today, we are in a different war with a very different fighting style, and with all the advancements, we face a different set of challenges. Every major military move is under the media’s microscope. The military’s leadership is afraid to face