Moscow was the first turning point. During the summer, the Germans had moved their armies deep into Russia. The Russians had been taken aback at first by the Germans’ strategy of using large groups of tanks to clear the way for infantry and they lost land. Then, they tried to counter with tanks of their own, but it was too little, too late. The Germans shattered their lines one by one into little pockets. While the infantry was left behind to clear out the pockets, the tanks raced to Moscow, but they were stopped by the mud caused by the autumn rains. The infantry caught up with them and they again tried to advance on Moscow when winter dried the ground, but this time, the Russians were ready. The Germans attacked from the north, west, and south in a three-way pincer movement. The Germans were stalled west of Germany by repeated counterattacks by the Russians, who had more experience fighting in the snow. In the south,

In late 1944, Germany was clearly losing the war. The Russian army was steadily closing in on the Eastern front, while German cities were being devastated by intense American bombing. The Italian peninsula had been captured and liberated, and the Allied armies were advancing rapidly through Western Europe. Hitler knew the end was near if something couldn't be done to slow the Allied advance. He soon came up with a plan to do this. Hitler assigned the attack to be somewhere between the Aachen area and the southern Luxembourg-France boundary. This location was favorable because there was only one Allied armored and four Allied infantry divisions at this location. Hitler was confident the Allies would not be able to react in time to stop the offensive. His plan was dependent upon speed and accuracy. The terrain would provide the speed and the woods would provide the cover. Also key to the plan was the weather. Hitler was hoping the attack would occur during weather that would prevent the Allied Air forces from being effective. On December 6, eight German armored divisions and thirteen German infantry divisions launched an attack on five divisions of the United States army. The Germans first bombarded the Allies with artillery. The 5th and 6th Panzer armies broke into the Ardennes through the Loshein Gap against the American divisions protecting the region. The 6th Panzer Army then headed north while the 5th Panzer Army went south. The 6th Panzer army attacked the two southern divisions of US 5th Corps at Elsborn Ridge, but accomplished little. At the same time the 5th Panzer Army was attacking the US 8th Corps some 100 miles to the south. This corps was one of the newest in Europe at the time and their lack of experience was exploited by the Germans. They were quickly surrounded and there were mass surrenders. On December 17, the American 7th Armored divisions engaged Dietrich's Sixth Panzer Army at Saint Vith. Saint Vith was a major road that led to the Meuse River and to Antwerp. The American division was successful in halting the German advance and this caused the Germans to take a detour. This slowed the Germans down and altered the timing of the attack plan. Bastogne was a strategic position that both the Germans and Americans wanted to occupy, this lead to a race between the Americans and the Germans. The Americans managed to get there first and occupy the city. The Germans were not far behind and quickly surrounded and laid siege to the city. This city was an important strategic location for the Allies because this city could be used as a base to launch a counteroffensive. The Americans at Bastogne were relieved when the 7th Corps moved down and enlarged the U. S. line. This allowed Patton's 3rd Army to counterattack the Germans surrounding Bastogne. The Third Army was then able to push the Germans past the border of Bastogne. The Allies launched a counteroffensive two days before the New Year. This counteroffensive involved the U.S. Third Army striking to the North while the U.S. First Army pushed to the South. They were supposed to meet at the village of Houffalize to trap the German force. The Germans did not go easily however and the Americans had a hard time. On January first, Hitler launched a plan he called "The Great Blow." The goal of this plan was to eliminate Allied air power. At 8:00 AM, German fighter airplanes swarmed over Belgium, Holland, and northern France. For more than two hours Allied airfields were bombarded. By 10:00 AM, 206 aircraft a

Some topics in this essay:
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