“ After holding a woodland position all night near Wiltz, Luxembourg, against German counter attack, three men of B Company, 101st Engineers, emerge for a rest., 01/14/1945 From the series: Signal Corps Photographs of American Military Activity, 1754...
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After holding a woodland position all night near Wiltz, Luxembourg, against German counter attack, three men of B Company, 101st Engineers, emerge for a rest., 01/14/1945

From the series: Signal Corps Photographs of American Military Activity, 1754 - 1954

More on the Battle of the Bulge at Prologue: “The Bloodiest Battle - The Battle of the Bulge Loomed Large 70 Winters Ago” →

“ Chow is served to American Infantrymen on their way to La Roche, Belgium. 347th Infantry Regiment, 01/13/1945 From the series: Photographs of American Military Activities, ca. 1918 - ca. 1981 ” More on the Battle of the Bulge at Prologue: “The...
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Chow is served to American Infantrymen on their way to La Roche, Belgium. 347th Infantry Regiment, 01/13/1945

From the series: Photographs of American Military Activities, ca. 1918 - ca. 1981

More on the Battle of the Bulge at Prologue: “The Bloodiest Battle - The Battle of the Bulge Loomed Large 70 Winters Ago” →

Source: catalog.archives.gov

Photograph taken from Captured German Film of German Troops Advancing Past Burning American Equipment: “ “Then WHAM, they hit us. Our line up there in the Ardennes was pretty thin and the Jerries knew it. Old Von Rundstedt massed a lot of stuff...
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Photograph taken from Captured German Film of German Troops Advancing Past Burning American Equipment:

“Then WHAM, they hit us. Our line up there in the Ardennes was pretty thin and the Jerries knew it. Old Von Rundstedt massed a lot of stuff behind the lines and let us have it. I’ll never forget the date- December 16, 1944. We didn’t have many supplies and we didn’t have many men. Captured German films sent back to headquarters began to look like this- Krauts advancing past burning American equipment. Our own pictures were just as sad. We knew we were in for it.” Undated.

Today marks 70 years since the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge, one of the bloodiest battles of World War II. The United States suffered 19,276 fatalities, more than in any other battle in the war.
Early on the morning of December 16, 1944, the German army began a heavy attack on the Allied troops in the Ardennes—surprising the troops there as well as their commanders, including Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower. Thousands of U.S. troops were surrounded at one point. In the end, the Allies committed enough troops that the tired, ill-equipped German army was overwhelmed.

Source: catalog.archives.gov

The Enemy Strikes: The Battle of the Bulge, 1944

Seventy years ago, on December 16, 1944, Allied Forces in Europe were taken by surprise when the Germans launched an attack in the Ardennes region, pushing into France, Luxembourg, and Belgium. The offensive came six months after D-Day and the successful invasion of Normandy, on a misty day when the skies did not permit the use of airplanes. The resulting “bulge” in the front line gave the battle the name by which it is best known. The Battle of the Bulge was the bloodiest the United States would fight in World War II, with 19,000 American soldiers dead by the time the Allies had fought back the Germans and regained their lost ground.

This week’s featured film, The Enemy Strikes, was made by the U.S. Army Signal Corps and distributed to the American public to tell the story of the battle. The film’s message is simple: the war is not over yet. Our enemy will always want to kill us and our soldiers are still paying the ultimate sacrifice. Americans are exhorted to remember that it is too soon to celebrate and that they should continue doing their part on the home front. The film ends with two title cards: “If you have a war job–stick to it!” and then “If you haven’t–get one!”

The Battle of the Bulge proved to be Germany’s last gasp. Allied victory was declared in Europe five months later.

via The Unwritten Record » The Enemy Strikes: The Battle of the Bulge, 1944

Source: blogs.archives.gov