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Battle of the Bulge. Background. December 1944-January 1945. Major turning point in the war for the Axis Powers. Major German offensive. Geography of the battle. Occurred in Ardennes Forest of Belgium. Dense tree population . Nazis brought tanks through the forest.
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Background • December 1944-January 1945. • Major turning point in the war for the Axis Powers. • Major German offensive.
Geography of the battle • Occurred in Ardennes Forest of Belgium. • Dense tree population . • Nazis brought tanks through the forest. • Perhaps one of the most difficult tasks of the Second World War. • Cold winter months • Tanks vs. trees • Hardships along the way
Hitler’s objective • Split the allied line in half to weaken the relationship between Britain, United States, and France. • This would give Hitler one up on the Allies. • Tried to get Allies to sign a Peace Treaty in Hitler’s favor. • Offensive was planned in complete secrecy
Problems and Implications • Nazis began to run out of fuel for their vehicles. • Lack of fuel forced them to abandon vehicles and walk back to Germany. • Biggest factor of Germany losing the battle • Hitler not listening to his generals and advisors. • Caused him to lose the battle and the war.
Death toll • Americans lost 81,000 troops. • Germany lost 100,000 troops. • One of the bloodiest battles of the Second World War. • One of the bloodiest battles that the Americans fought in during the Second World War.