


United States intelligence staff predicted a major German attack, but this still surprised them. Germany moved troops and equipment in the dark. If they did this, Hitler could focus on the eastern front of the war. They hoped this would force the Allies to make a peace treaty with Germany. Germany's goal was to split the British and American Allied line in half, capture Antwerp, and then encircle and destroy four Allied armies. The German attack was supported by several other operations. Map showing the swelling of "the Bulge" as the German offensive progressed The press made up "Battle of the Bulge" to describe the way the Allied front line bulged inward on wartime news maps and became the best known name for the battle. The Ardennes, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germanyġ,300 medium tanks, plus tank destroyers,ġ,900 artillery guns and Nebelwerfers Ħ7,200 – 100,000 killed, missing/captured, or woundedĪpproximately 3,000 civilians killed
