Turtledove
Advertisement
Battle of the Bulge
Part of World War II
Date 16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945
Location The Ardennes, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany
Result Allied Forces victory
Belligerents
United States
United Kingdom
Canada

France
Belgium
Luxembourgish resistance

Germany
Commanders and leaders
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Omar Bradley
Courtney Hodges
George Patton
Bernard Montgomery

Adolf Hitler

Walter Model
Gerd von Rundstedt
Hasso von Manteuffel
Sepp Dietrich
Erich Brandenberger

The Ardennes Offensive (December 1944–January 1945) was a major German offensive launched towards the end of World War II through the forested Ardennes region of Belgium, France, and Luxembourg on the Western Front. The offensive was called Operation The Guard on the Rhine or Operation "Watch on the Rhine." by the Wehrmacht, and the Battle of the Ardennes by the United States Army. It is known to the general public simply as the Battle of the Bulge because the “bulge” was the initial incursion the Germans put into the Allied Forces’ line of advance, as seen in maps presented in contemporary newspapers.

Literary comment[]

Most Harry Turtledove timelines involving WWII have a Point of Divergence either after January 1945, in which case the Battle of the Bulge has already happened, or before December 1944, in which case the Battle of the Bulge usually never comes to pass.

Battle of the Bulge in The Man With the Iron Heart[]

Several American soldiers who occupied Germany after World War II had survived the Battle of the Bulge. Bernie Cobb came out of the battle with frost-bitten feet. Even at the end of 1945, he had a harder time walking than he did before the battle.

References[]

Advertisement