In the dense woods of the Ardennes Forest, during a biting and cold winter in December 1944, American troops found themselves facing a sudden large attack from German soldiers. Undersupplied, partially cut off and dealing with the elements and the Nazi bombardments, U.S. soldiers along with forces from the United Kingdom and Canada faced weeks of brutal combat while holding the line.
Monday, Dec. 16 marks 80 years since the start of the Ardennes offensive, better known as the Battle of the Bulge. Ahead of the anniversary, historians, dignitaries, veterans and active-duty troops have returned to the battlefields of Belgium and Luxembourg.
As part of the events, reenactors donned World War II-style uniforms and gear, bundled up in the kind of haphazard winter gear that troops in 1944 assembled to fight off the cold. There were no artillery shells exploding around them and no wounded being evacuated from foxholes. Instead they took part in maneuvers through the woods of the Ardennes Forest and marched alongside active-duty troops from several nations in parades. At American cemeteries and memorials in Belgium and Luxembourg on Dec. 13 and 14 respectively, heads of state and ambassadors, along with veterans from the battle, gathered to honor those killed in the fighting.
“Few battles in American history reflect that service and sacrifice more than the Battle of the Bulge: 19,000 U.S. soldiers killed; 47,000 wounded; 23,000 missing or captured,” Air Force Brig. Gen. Matt Jones, Deputy Director for Operations, J3, Joint Staff of the Pentagon and a member of the American Battle Monuments Commission said on Friday, Dec. 13 at the Battle of the Bulge Memorial in Bastogne. “The single largest and bloodiest engagement the U.S. fought in Europe in World War II.”
The events are among the last major commemorations for the fighting to retake much of western Europe in 1944. In June, active-duty military, veterans and historical reenactors jumped over western France and landed at the beaches of Normandy to mark eight decades since the triumphant invasion on D-Day. In September more troops jumped over the Netherlands, in recreation of the failed push to the Rhine River that was Operation Market Garden.
Although Operation Market Garden weeks prior had been a major failure and slowed the advance towards Germany, Allied troops were still moving steadily towards the Rhine. The Germans threw more than 200,000 troops against the Allies, trying to break their lines in order to encircle them and halt the advance. Sweeping through Luxembourg and into Belgium, the Nazi’s goal was to take Antwerp. Several parts of the Allied line, including American forces in the city of Bastogne, found themselves trapped and cut off.
Eventually Patton’s Third Army would help break the siege. Some of the troops who relieved the 101st at Bastogne included the 761st Tank Battalion, better known as the “Black Panthers.” Fighting continued into January 1945 as Allies pushed to reclaim seized territory, still dealing with a frozen and blasted landscape. When the fighting was over, thousands were dead. It was a cost that Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, acknowledged while speaking at Saturday’s events at the Luxembourg American Cemetery.
“These sacrifices paved the way for liberation, reconstruction and peace,” he said. “It is our duty never to forget those who gave their lives.”
As part of the anniversary events, members of the 101st Airborne visited gravesites and memorials in and around Bastogne in the past week. On Saturday, they took part in a march through the town, while other members of the XVIII Airborne Corps joined events in Manhay and other towns.
On the anniversary proper on Dec. 16, the American Battle Monuments Commission will host a memorial event at the Ardennes American Cemetery in Belgium, where more than 5,000 Americans killed in the war are buried. Stateside, a wreath laying ceremony is set for 11 a.m. on Monday at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. That event will feature representatives from the United Kingdom and Canada along with veterans.
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