The Battle of the Ardennes: Nazi Germany’s Last Gamble

By the end of 1944, with 9 million Allied troops closing in on three fronts, Nazi Germany was beyond saving.

However, the Allies also had some problems.

As the German army retreated from France, they destroyed roads, railways, and bridges.

This caused logistical support on the Western Front to lag behind the advancing troops.

The frontline units were short of supplies and had to halt.

To solve the supply problem, the Western Allied Command decided to establish the port of Antwerp in Belgium as a supply base.

From then on, supplies from Britain would be sent directly to Belgium, bypassing the port of Cherbourg in France.

Hitler noticed the Allies’ intentions.

He knew that once Antwerp was operational, it would be over for him.

So, Hitler made two plans.

One was to order the German V1 and V2 missile units to bomb Antwerp, disrupting Allied operations.

The second was to plan an offensive to capture Antwerp!

According to Hitler’s vision, the German army would concentrate 45 divisions, charge north from the Ardennes mountains to Antwerp, split the British and American forces…