Battle of the Bulge?

Question

Why was the battle fought in Belgium? Shouldn't the allies be in Germany by then?

Why was the battle between Americans and the Nazis? Why wasn't the people of Belgium involved? Where were their own troops?

Answer 1

a) the battle was fought in Belgium because Germany was trying to split the british en american troops en pass to Antwerp to close again this important port.
In the Ardens were not much (and inexperienced) troops.
b) The Allies had some drawbacks : Market Garden, Huertgen Wald and were stopped on the Siegfried line.
c) Why between Americans and the Germans ? Simply the Americans were on the wrong place at the wrong moment.
d) the people of Belgium were heavily involved. A lot of civilians died by bombardments from both sides. The Germans killed in several places civilians as they did in 1914 when they met resistance.
After the battle a lot of villages had almost no more houses that were intact. And that with one of the hardest winters since long.
e) Belgium was occupied since 1940 and was since september only liberated so there were no much troops defend their own country.
The veteran unit of Brigade Piron was with the British troops at the Dutch border figthing against the Germans.
Some new units were newly organised (mostly volonteers from the resistance) and one unit helped to stop the Germans by setting an important fuel depot on fire which otherwise the Germans would have given a lot of (much needed) fuel.
The Belgian SAS crack unit did a lot of reconnaissance on the front line.
A lot of members of the resistance helped the troops with valuable information.

Answer 2

The Germans attacked through Belgium because it was not expected and the US had fewer troops in that area than other. Belgium never had a large army and by the time of the Battle of the Bulge they'd been occupied by Germany for several years and had no army at all. And the reason the battle was primarily between the Germans and US is because the Germans attacked a US controlled sector. The British did get involved in the northern edge of the battle, but the brunt of the attack was directed at US troops.

Answer 3

because it was on of the weaker points in the front line also the battle wasn't only in Belgium but also in Luxembourg fought.
The Belgium civilian people did suffer a lot because it was one of the most harsh winters in years and also some of the German troops did many crimes against the local people
There where Belgium troops involved like the Belgian SAS troops. They did a lot of infiltrations with there armored jeeps behind the German lines
Also the well known story of the fuel depot that was put in flames to block the way for the Germans advancing troops when that was depot was secured by a Belgium guard unit
Something not well known is that also the Brits army was involved they where securing the bridges around Dinant and they succeeded in stopping the last advancing German panzer div. in that sector

Answer 4

The battle was fought in Belgium because the Germans hoped to prevent the Allies entering Germany by splitting American and British forces. The Allied advance had stalled while ports were captured to permit supply to keep up with the vanguard.
Belgium had been invaded by the Germans in 1940, their own troops had been disarmed and demobilised. There were resistance units in Belgium.

Answer 5

Belgium was where the Allied forces were spread the thinnest, as they waited for their supply lines to catch up with them. The attack was a bold move by the Germans in an attempt to split the Allies and thus prevent them from entering Germany until the remainder of the German forces could regroup.
It worked initially and created a large "bulge" in the Allied lines until they were finally stopped in an around the town of Bastogne.

Answer 6

Just a not: My uncle fought at the Battle of the Bulge and was awarded a Bronze medal. He was one of the soldiers in the Army's 442nd, an all Japanese American troop.