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The Battle of the Bulge, December 16, 1944 to January 25, 1945: British forces combined with significantly larger U.S. Army forces in what was the largest and bloodiest battle fought in World War II. When a German offensive threatened the Ardennes Forest in Belgium, France, and Luxembourg, then manned with 83,000 troops, General Dwight David Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander, increased the American troop level to 610,000, primarily from First Army. He also proportionally increased military hardware.
This decisive Allied victory toward the end of World War II resulted in approximately 19,000 Americans killed, 47,000 wounded, and 23,000 captured or presumed dead. British losses were 200 killed, 969 wounded, and 239 missing and presumed dead. Combined German casualties were between 67,200 and 100,000. Various German movements in the area led to the inconclusive count. The German army never recovered from this massive loss of manpower and equipment.
Rings of Trust Page 5
