Battle of the Bulge Facts for Kids

The Battle of the Bulge
  • Battle Name: Battle of the Bulge
  • Battle Start Date: December 16th, 1944
  • Battle End Date: January 25th, 1945
  • Battle Belligerents: Nazi Germany, Allies (United States and Britain)
  • Battle Winner: Allies (United States and Britain)
  • Total Casualties: 154,000+

21 Battle of the Bulge Facts for Kids

  1. The Battle of the Bulge was an offensive military campaign on the Western Front during the World War 2.
  2. The Battle of the Bulge is also referred to as the Ardennes Counteroffensive.
  3. The Battle of the Bulge was fought between Nazi Germany and the Allies (United States and Britain).
  4. The Battle of the Bulge was fought between December 16th, 1944 and January 25th, 1945.
  5. The Battle of the Bulge was fought for 1 month, 1 week and 2 days.
  6. The Battle of the Bulge was won by the Allies (United States and Britain).
  7. The Allies victory during the Battle of the Bulge was a huge defeat for Nazi Germany. The fighting depleted the German’s resources on the Western Front, and this helped the Allies break through the Siegfried Line. However, the losses sustained by the Allies delayed their offensive play for five to six weeks.
  8. Nazi Germany launched the Ardennes Counteroffensive (Battle of the Bulge) with the hopes of forcing the Allies into negotiating a peace treaty that was favorable to Germany.
  9. The Allies had 90,000 casualties during the Battle of the Bulge.
  10. The Allies lost 733 tanks and tank destroyers, and about a 1,000 aircraft during the Battle of the Bulge.
  11. The Germans had between 60,000 and 90,000 casualties during the Battle of the Bulge.
  12. The Germans lost 544 tanks, tank destroyers and assault guns, and about 800 aircraft during the Battle of the Bulge.
  13. The Germans started the Battle of the Bulge on December 16th, 1944 at 05:30 with a heavy artillery barrage from 1,600 artillery pieces. The Artillery barrage last about 90 minutes and targeted 80 miles of the Allied Front.
  14. The Germans ended the Ardennes Counteroffensive on January 7th, 1945 when Adolf Hitler ordered the withdraw of all German forces. However, fighting continued for another three weeks until the Allies got back to the original frontlines on January 25th, 1945.
  15. The Germans were very successful during the start of the Battle of the Bulge because they surprised the Allies.
  16. Operation Greif was executed by the Germans under the command of Austrian SS commando Otto Skorzeny. Their goal was to disguise as Allied troops and sneak behind enemy lines, causing damage and confusion.
  17. The Battle of the Bulge was the last major military offensive by Nazi Germany during World War 2.
  18. The Battle of the Bulge is one of the deadliest battles for the United States in military history.
  19. Ardennes Counteroffensive was given the name the Battle of the Bulge by war correspondent Larry Newman. He came up with the name after looking at some war maps.
  20. Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe is famous for his response to a surrender request from Nazi General Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz during the Siege of Bastogne. His reply was “Nuts!”, but the Nazi messengers didn’t understand the response and it was explained to them it basically meant “Go to hell.”
  21. The Battle of the Bulge was the first time African American soldiers were integrated with white soldiers, and they fought side-by-side on the front lines.

Find More Facts About the Battle of the Bulge

About the author
Facts Editor

This is an author profile for articles that are created from a collaborative effort. It is not uncommon that articles on this site were either written, researched or fact checked by several authors and team members. So this author profile will be displayed to reflect that. Our team of editors, writers and fact checkers do extensive research before publishing articles on the site, and we do our best to provide the most accurate information possible.