Recalling the Battle of the Bulge ...Victor Davis Hanson

[mystery-ak]

Recalling the Battle of the Bulge
Victor Davis Hanson

Posted: Dec 24, 2019 12:01 AM

Seventy-five years ago, at the Battle of the Bulge (fought from Dec. 16, 1944, to Jan. 25, 1945), the United States suffered more casualties than in any other battle in its history. Some 19,000 Americans were killed, 47,500 wounded and 23,000 reported missing.

The American and British armies were completely surprised by a last-gasp German offensive, given that Allied forces were near the Rhine River and ready to cross into Germany to finish off a crippled Third Reich.

The Americans had been exhausted by a rapid 300-mile summer advance to free much of France and Belgium. In their complacence, they oddly did not worry much about their thinning lines, often green replacement troops or the still-formidable Germany army. After all, Nazi Germany was being battered on all sides by Americans, British, Canadians and Russians. Its cities were in ruins from heavy bombers.

Yet the losing side is often the most dangerous just before its collapse.

more
https://townhall.com/columnists/victordavishanson/2019/12/24/recalling-the-battle-of-the-bulge-n2558428

[PeteS in CA]

What's really sad is that Allied intel had many reports of troop movements toward the area and significant unengaged units being in the area. The upper echelons of command (= some at the #th army level and above) just didn't think the Germans would try to attack. IOW, the Germans could have been stopped entirely or their successes much more limited, but upper command didn't guard against a possibility it didn't want to consider possible.