What were the key reasons for capturing Antwerp by Eisenhower and Hitler during overlord and Battle of Bulge?

Answer 1

The main reason for Eisenhower was to shorten his line of communication.
At the end of 1944 all supplies were still being sent up from Normandy and the Allies urgently needed a large port nearer to the frontline.
The Battle of the Bulge was Hitler's attempt to cut the Allied frontline in two and isolate the troops in the north.
It nearly worked

Answer 2

Antwerp has a massive port. Armies need massive amounts of supplies to stay in the field. Antwerp was a key port for getting these supplies onto the Continent. Capturing it would, for Hitler, cause the allied armies to slowly falter due to lack of ammunition, food, etc. Eisenhower captured it, because it would, and did, serve as a major port for getting supplies to the continent.

Answer 3

Geography. Antwerp is in great location strategically with respect to the North Sea and the rest of Northern Europe. Controlling Antwerp gave an army a location to build a bastion with easy supply access and dispersal of troops beyond the region.

Answer 4

The Ardennes Offensive, called Unternehmen: Wacht am Rhein (Operation Watch on the Rhine) by the German military, officially named the Battle of the Ardennes by the U.S. Army, and known to the general public as the Battle of the Bulge, started on 16 December 1944.[1] Wacht am Rhein was supported by subordinate operations known as Bodenplatte, Greif, and Währung. Germany's planned goal for these operations was to split the British and American Allied line in half, capturing Antwerp, Belgium, and then proceeding to encircle and destroy four Allied armies, forcing the Western Allies to negotiate a peace treaty in the Axis Powers’ favor.

The Ardennes offensive was planned in total secrecy, in almost total radio silence. Although Ultra, the Allies’ reading of secret German radio messages, suggested a possible German offensive, and the United States Third Army predicted a major German offensive, the attack still achieved surprise. The degree of surprise achieved was compounded by the Allies' overconfidence, their preoccupation with their own offensive plans, poor aerial reconnaissance, and the relative lack of combat contact in the area by the U.S. 1st Army. Almost complete surprise against a weak section of the Allies’ line was achieved during heavy overcast, when the Allies' strong air forces would be grounded. The “bulge” was the salient that the Germans initially put into the Allies’ line of advance, as seen in maps presented in contemporary newspapers.[2][3]

Most of the American casualties occurred within the first three days of battle, when two of the U.S. 106th Infantry Division’s three regiments were forced to surrender. The Battle of the Bulge was the bloodiest of the battles that U.S. forces experienced in World War II; the 19,000 American dead were unsurpassed by those of any other engagement. For the U.S. Army, the battle incorporated more troops and engaged more enemy troops than any conflict before that time. The German objectives ultimately were unrealized. In the wake of the defeat, many experienced German units were left severely depleted of men and equipment, as German survivors retreated to the defenses of the Siegfried Line.

Answer 5

I was never a history buff in school. I
have however read that fuel shortage
for the nazis during the war caused
their downfall, at the end. So my answer to your question as key reason
for capturing Hitler, at least, had to be
fuel for that war.

Answer 6

Quick entry directly into the heart of the Rhineland area and the heart of Germany itself. By by-passing most of the German's forces in occupied Europe a quicker, less deaths-rate end to the war.