World War II: Ardennes Campaign (Battle of the Bulge)

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  2. World War II: Ardennes Campaign (Battle of the Bulge)

In late December 1944 German forces staged a massive drive to recapture lost areas in the Ardennes region of Belgium, France and Luxembourg and turn the tide of the war. Ultimately unsuccessful, the offensive lasted from December 16, 1944 to January 25, 1945 when the Allies won a decisive victory in the campaign. Although it became known as the Battle of the Bulge the Allies officially called this the Ardennes Counteroffensive.

21 Army Group General Situation, December 16, 1944 [DDE's Pre-Presidential Papers, Principal File, Box 83, Montgomery Bernard (11); NAID #12125645]

Cable, Dwight D. Eisenhower to Bernard Montgomery, December 19, 1944 [DDE's Pre-Presidential Papers, Principal File, Box 83, Montgomery Bernard (11); NAID #12125646]

Cable, General Dwight D. Eisenhower to General Omar Bradley Regarding Protection of Meuse River Bridges, December 19, 1944 [DDE's Pre-Presidential Papers, Principal File, Box 13, Bradley, Omar N. (5); NAID #12117241]

Telephone Conversation with General Bradley, December 21, 1944 [Harold R. Bull Papers, Box 2, Additional Papers, 1944-1948; NAID #12113396]

Cable, Bernard Montgomery to Dwight D. Eisenhower, December 21, 1944 [DDE's Pre-Presidential Papers, Principal File, Box 83, Montgomery, Bernard (11); NAID #12125649]

Outgoing Message to Every Member of the Allied Expeditionary Force, December 22, 1944 [DDE's Pre-Presidential Papers, Principal File, Box 148, Messages to Officers and Men-Allied Expeditionary Force (A.E.F.) 1943–1948; NAID #12126643]

Cable, Dwight D. Eisenhower to Bernard Montgomery, December 22, 1944 [DDE's Pre-Presidential Papers, Principal File, Box 83, Montgomery, Bernard (11); NAID #12125650]

Cable, Bernard Montgomery to Dwight D. Eisenhower, December 23, 1944 [DDE's Pre-Presidential Papers, Principal File, Box 83, Montgomery, Bernard (11); NAID #12125651]

Cable, Bernard Montgomery to Dwight D. Eisenhower, December 24, 1944 [DDE's Pre-Presidential Papers, Principal File, Box 83, Montgomery, Bernard (11); NAID #12125656]

Diary Entry, December 24, 1944 [DDE's Pre-Presidential Papers, Principal File, Box 169, Butcher's Diary – Oct. 16 – Dec. 31, 1944 (4); NAID #12126625]

Cable, Bernard Montgomery to Dwight D. Eisenhower, December 25, 1944 [DDE's Pre-Presidential Papers, Principal File, Box 83, Montgomery, Bernard (11); NAID #12125674]

Cable, Bernard Montgomery to Dwight D. Eisenhower, December 26, 1944 [DDE's Pre-Presidential Papers, Principal File, Box 83, Montgomery, Bernard (11); NAID #12125681]

Letter, Bernard Montgomery to Dwight D. Eisenhower re operational control of the 12 and 21 Army Groups, December 29, 1944 [DDE's Pre-Presidential Papers, Principal File, Box 83, Montgomery, Bernard (11); NAID #12125686]

Outline Plan of Operations, December 31, 1944 [DDE's Pre-Presidential Papers, Principal File, Box 83, Montgomery, Bernard (11); NAID #12125699]

Letter, Dwight D. Eisenhower to Bernard Montgomery re Montgomery's Outline Plan of Operations, December 31, 1944 [DDE's Pre-Presidential Papers, Principal File, Box 83, Montgomery, Bernard (11); NAID #12125692]

Diary Entry, December 31, 1944 [DDE's Pre-Presidential Papers, Principal File, Box 169, Butcher's Diary – Oct. 16 – Dec. 31, 1944 (4); NAID #12126626]

Cable, Bernard Montgomery to Dwight D. Eisenhower, January 2, 1945 [DDE's Pre-Presidential Papers, Principal File, Box 83, Montgomery, Bernard (10); NAID #12125642]

Diary Entry, January 7, 1945 [DDE's Pre-Presidential Papers, Principal File, Box 169, Butcher's Diary – Jan. 1 – Jan. 28, 1945 (1); NAID #12126630]

Letter, Bernard Montgomery to Omar Bradley, January 12, 1945 [DDE's Pre-Presidential Papers, Principal File, Box 83, Montgomery, Bernard (10); NAID #12125643]

Letter, Dwight D. Eisenhower to George C. Marshall, January 12, 1945 [DDE's Pre-Presidential Papers, Principal File, Box 80, Marshall, George C. (7); NAID #12123688]

Diary Entry, January 14, 1945 [DDE's Pre-Presidential Papers, Principal File, Box 169, Butcher's Diary – Jan. 1 – Jan. 28, 1945 (2); NAID #12126633]

Cable, Bernard Montgomery to Dwight D. Eisenhower re conclusion of Ardennes campaign, January 16, 1945 [DDE's Pre-Presidential Papers, Principal File, Box 83, Montgomery, Bernard (10); NAID #12125644]

Letter, Major General J. Lawton Collins to Major General James L. Collins, January 16, 1945 [J. Lawton Collins Papers, Box 3, 201 File--Personal Letter File--1945 (4); NAID #12113405]

Diary Entry, January 21, 1945 [DDE's Pre-Presidential Papers, Principal File, Box 169, Butcher's Diary, Jan. 1 – Jan. 28, 1945 (3); NAID #12126636]

Ardennes: Translation of Written Questions Answered by Generaloberst Alfred Jodl and Approved by General Feldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel, July 20, 1945 [Walter Bedell Smith Collection of World War II Documents, Box 41, Interviews with High-Ranking German Officers (2); NAID #12130736]

Ardennes Counteroffensive: Additional Interview with Generaloberst Alfred Jodl, July 26, 1945 [Walter Bedell Smith Collection of World War II Documents, Box 41, Interviews with High-Ranking German Officers (2); NAID #12130740]

Battle of the Ardennes: Interview with Lieutenant Colonel Otto Skorzeny, August 12, 1945 [Walter Bedell Smith Collection of World War II Documents, Box 41, Interviews with High-Ranking German Officers (3); NAID #12130741]

“The Ardennes Campaign” by General Courtney H. Hodges, 1946 [Courtney H. Hodges Papers, Box 9, 1946 Ardennes Campaign; NAID #12126303]

Letter, H. R. Bull to Hanson Baldwin, September 12, 1946 [Harold R. Bull Papers, Box 2, Additional Papers, 1944-1948; NAID #12113394]

Memorandum for the Chief of Staff, September 12, 1946 [Harold R. Bull Papers, Box 2, Additional Papers, 1944-1948; NAID #12113395]

Oral History Transcripts:

Oral History Interviews with Thomas J. Betts, Interview #4 only [Dwight D. Eisenhower Library: Oral History Collection, Oral History Transcripts; NAID #621942]

Oral History Interviews with Raymond Hoffman, Interview #9 only [Dwight D. Eisenhower Library: Oral History Collection, Oral History Transcripts; NAID #5711877]

Oral History Interviews with John W. Leonard, Interview #2 only [Dwight D. Eisenhower Library: Oral History Collection, Oral History Transcripts; NAID #5717350]

Oral History Interviews with Elwood Quesada, Interview #5 only [Dwight D. Eisenhower Library: Oral History Collection, Oral History Transcripts; NAID #5718434]

Oral History Interviews with William Simpson, Interview #5 only [Dwight D. Eisenhower Library: Oral History Collection, Oral History Transcripts; NAID #5719366]

Secondary Sources:

Cole, Hugh M. The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge. Washington, DC: Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army, 1965. http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/7-8/7-8_CONT.HTM

Merriam, Robert E. Dark December: The Full Account of the Battle of the Bulge. Chicago: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, 1947. https://archive.org/details/DarkDecember

The Defense of St. Vith, Belgium, 17-23 December 1944: An Historical Example of Armor in the Defense. Ft. Knox, KY: The School, 1949. Print. http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a952910.pdf

Additional Information:

The Ardennes Campaign: Battle of the Bulge Subject Guide

Photographs:

Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 17, 1945 - The 75th Infantry Division troops cross bridge leading to the town of Vielsalm, Belgium.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 15, 1945 - Some of the 83rd Division moving toward the front in the Houffalize sector, Belgium.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 11, 1945 - Pfc M.L. Dickens, East Omaha, Nebraska, Pvt Sunny Sundquist, Bremerton, Washington, Sgt Francis H. McCann, Middleton, Conn., of the 101st Airborne Division near Bastogne, Belgium, set out to rejoin their unit.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 15, 1945 - Infantrymen of the 3rd Armored Division advance under artillery fire in Pont-Le-Ban, Belgium.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 13, 1945 - A crashed plane near Remagne, Belgium.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 12, 1945 - Medics remove an American casualty from the wood near Berle, Luxembourg.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 15, 1945 - The 26th Division Engineers return to their normal assignments after a brief tour of duty as infantry. Belgium
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 14, 1945 - Two parachute infantrymen advance through a snow-covered wooded section near Henumont, Belgium.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 15, 1945 - Rendezvous for two elements of the 84th Division at an abandoned mill near River L'Ourt, Belgium.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 11, 1945 - Snow covered executive post of an artillery battalion near Rotgen, Germany.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 15, 1945 - Infantry supporting Engineers pass a knocked out German tank on their way to front at Compogne, Belgium.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 15, 1945 - First aid in the woods near Tittingen, Germany.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 15, 1945 - The first tank of a tank battalion passes a knocked out German tank on the road from Bertogne to Houffalize, Belgium.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 16, 1945 - A patrol of the 94th Division heads into the woods before the Siegfried Line in Nochern, Germany.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 18, 1945 - German boys in uniform in the Sauer River sector of Germany.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 19, 1945 - The passing of a blizzard in Wanne, Belgium.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 21, 1945 - A house to house search for snipers in Schoppen, Belgium, by men of the 1st Division.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 21, 1945 - Sgt. William Showers of Benezett, Pennsylvania, cleans the snow from the breech of his 57mm anti-tank gun in the woods near Courtil, Belgium.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 21, 1945 - Dead Nazi soldiers laying where they fell in Dendenburg, Belgium.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 23, 1945 - A Mark VI Tiger tank was rendered useless by tanks of th 6th Armored Division in Moinet, Belgium.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 23, 1945 - Sgt. William Phelps of San Antonio, Texas, a tanker of the 42nd Tank Battalion, mends his combat clothes in Steinbach, Belgium. He uses a sewing machine in front of tank and snow covers the ground.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 23, 1945 - Nazi officers were among the first prisoners to be taken by the 7th Armored Division in their drive on St. Vith, Belgium. Snow covers the ground.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 24, 1945 - A German medic carried his supplies in the two U.S. field glass cases hung on his belt when captured by the 1st Army at Butgenbach, Belgium. Snow covers the ground.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 25, 1945 - The 7th Armored Division make ready to move up after having given artillery support to the infantry in their battle for high ground near St. Vith, Belgium. Snow covers the ground.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 24, 1945 - St. Vith, Belgium, after the Germans had been evacuated by U.S. troops. Snow covers the ground.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 24, 1945 - Parachute infantry move on snow covered ground toward the front to keep up the pressure being applied to the Germans beyond St. Vith, Belgium.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 24, 1945 - Members of the 166th Engineers use a mechanical spreader in sanding the snow covered roads near Wiltz, Luxembourg.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 23, 1945 - Restringing "shrimp net" road screen in the Monschau area, Germany, after a violent snow storm brought them down.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 26, 1945 - Overturned German tank provides a bridge for 102nd Infantry Division troops crossing a small stream near Brachelen, Germany. Snow is on the ground.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 26, 1945 - Camouflaged men of the 406th Regiment give the town of Brachelen, Germany, a careful going over in their search for Nazi snipers.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 13, 1945 - Tank of 703rd Tank Battalion, 3rd Armored Division, moves past disabled German tank south of Langlir, Belgium.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 3,1945 - Major General Thomas, Commander British 30th Corps, and Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery study situation maps at VII Corps Headquarters in Belgium.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 11, 1945 - Captain Charles S. Quinn (right) of Louisville, Kentucky, bandages gangrene infected foot of Belgian refugee child in cellar of house in Ottre, Belgium. Captain Quinn is a battalion surgeon with the 83rd Division, First Army.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 15, 1945 - Pfc Frank Vukasin of Great Falls, Montana, stops to load clip in rifle while advancing in snow-covered front line sector at Houffalize, Belgium. In background, two dead German soldiers are wearing camouflage snow suits.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. January 1, 1945 - Major General Maurice Rose (left) confers with Brigadier General Doyle O. Hickey as the column of armor which they are leading is temporarily held up by enemy artillery fire on the outskirts of Floret, Belgium.
Ardennes-Battle of the Bulge. December 26, 1944 - L to R: Major General J. Lawton Collins, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery and Major General Matthew Ridgway after a conference in Mean, Belgium.