With all this talk about WWII I thought it would be a good time to remind everyone that the anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge is tomorrow (December 16, 1944.).
The "bulge" refers to the "dent" the Germans initially put into the Allies' line of advance, as seen in maps presented in newspapers of the time
At the end of the battle the forces included over a million men, about 560,000 Germans, 640,000 Americans (more than fought at Gettysburg) and 55,800 British.
The official US account lists 80,987 American casualties, while other estimates range from 70,000 to 104,000. British losses totaled 1,400. The German High Command's official figure for the campaign was 84,834 casualties, and other estimates range between 60,000 and 100,000.
The German losses in the battle were critical in several respects: the last of the German reserves were now gone; the Luftwaffe had been broken; and the German army in the West was being pushed back. Most importantly, the Eastern Front was now ripe for the taking. In the East, the German army was unable to halt the Soviet juggernaut. German forces were sent reeling on two fronts and never recovered.
American:
89,987 casualties
(19,276 dead,
23,218 captured or missing,
47,493 wounded)
British:
201 dead,
1400 wounded and missing
Nazi Germany
84,834 casualties
(15,652 dead,
27,582 captured or missing,
41,600 wounded)
Last edited by Kmarion (2006-12-15 12:01:09)
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