What made the battle of the bulge a major turning point in the war?

Answer 1

There were several clues that Germany was reaching the end of its ability to wage war. Horse drawn artillery, wooden wheels, carts to transport supplies and that some units had teenagers and old men filling the ranks as replacements.

Answer 2

No, it wasn't a turning point. But it was, at the time, a huge shock. There had been, in the west, a real feeling that after D Day the US & Britain would be in Berlin by Christmas 1944. Arnhem changed all that. The Rhine was a huge obstacle, to Patton as much as anyone, and it would remain so until crossed in1945. But the idea of a panzer offensive in the snow covered Ardennes was wholly unexpectedin December 1944.That the Germans had the idea of reaching Antwerp, admittedly using captured Allied fuel, was fanciful indeed, and as for knocking the Allies out of the war, preposterous ! By January 1945 the Bulge was back in US hands, despite Montgomerys' claim of sorting it all out, it remains a successful US counterattack to a surprise last throw of the German panzer forces.

Answer 3

The Battle of the Bulge was not among a series of steps to the ultimate downfall of the Third Reich. The loss of the 6th Army at Stalingrad was the arguable first signal. The Battle of Bulge was a last stand of sort on the Western Front for a German Army starved of supply and most importantly oil. The Battle of the Bulge was a German counter attack. It was their last hope in the West to stop the advance of American and British forces. The breaking of the German stand allowed for the Allied armies to enter the German motherland from the West, ultimately surrounded them on both sides (with the Soviets closing to the east).

Answer 4

It was basically Hitlers last stand.

and

The Battle of El Alamein is often called the battle that turned the tide and signified the beginning of the end of World War II.

Answer 5

The Battle of the Bulge was the last major German offensive in the West during WWII. Allied forces had reclaimed France, and were moving through Belgium in late 1944. The Allies believed Germany to be incapable of mounting a major offensive, and were thus taken by surprise by the unconventional winter offensive through the Ardennes Forest. The Germans hoped to seize the port of Antwerp which would have cut off a major portion of Allied supply lines. Hitler had hoped a logistic interruption could deprive Allied forces of food and bullets and allow him to negotiate a peace with the Allies and focus on Russia. Surprised Allied forces fell back creating the eponymous bulge in Allied lines of battle. Allied forces in the strategically important town of Bastogne were completely surrounded and nearly out of ammunition. Bastogne lay on a crucial rail junction. The allies recognized that Hitler's supply lines would be greatly slowed without Bastogne, and dropped elements of the 101st airborne division into the town in what most thought would be a suicide mission. The defenders of Bastogne refused to surrender and bought enough time for the Allied armor under Patton to break through and relieve them. Without Bastogne the German offensive stalled, and the Allies were able to push back and surround the last effective elements of the German army in the West, ending any hope for Germany of being able to force a draw.

Answer 6

If you mean 'beginning' instead of "begging" , you are still not on the right track . - The beginning of the war in Europe was D-Day. The Battle of the Bulge was was another battle out of many to finish the war.

Answer 7

I do believe so.

The battle of the bulge was a very important battle, it caused the Germans to surender and the french to move out of Italy.

- nick.