The Battle of the BulgeThe post-D-Day Allied assault on France was halted by Hitler's unexpected counterattack across the Bulge, resulting in a clash called the Battle of the Bulge. Battle on the Allied front in the autumn of 1944 made it seem likely that the war would end by Christmas. They had liberated much of France in a matter of months and were now marching towards the Ruhr River, which was the gateway to the heart of Germany. However, the Allies had moved so fast that their supply lines had not reached them. The closest dock was the one where they landed on D-Day, and the need for a closer port became more persistent every day. During the Overlord campaign, which saw the landing in France, the Allies had extensively bombed the railways to weaken the German defenses. Without railroads, roads and trucks were the only way to transport supplies. This supply problem led General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, to the conclusion that it was necessary to open a closer coastal port. He chose Antwerp, Europe's largest port, which lay along the Scheldt estuary (Keegan 436-437). Field Marshal Sir Bernard L. Montgomery, commander of the Northern Front, wanted a quick victory. He proposed to continue into Germany, through the Ruhr, and destroy Hitler's means of waging war by demobilizing the numerous factories in the area. Reluctantly, Eisenhower agreed, and on September 17, 1944, Operation Market Garden began. The plan called for Allied paratroopers to secure key bridges and establish a foothold in the area so that the armored divisions could move safely. The Allied First Airborne Army, consisting of the US 82nd and 101st Divisions and the British 1st Division, was to be used in the operation. The task of the Americans was to capture the bridges in the cities of Eindhower and Nirmegan. They managed to do this very quickly with minimal losses. The English, however, encountered more difficulties. Their task was to protect the most distant bridges in Arnhem, but the tank support that was supposed to relieve them was delayed. The Germans there, consisting of the 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions, trapped the British soldiers, killing one thousand and capturing six thousand (Keegan 437). The failure of Market Garden demonstrated to Eisenhower that the supply problem had to be solved.... .. middle of paper ...... On Christmas Day 1944, Operation Autumn Mist was coming to an end. Reinforcements sent from Belgium pinned down what remained of Dietrich's 6th Army Group, and divisions sent from Patton's 3rd Army helped revive the 101st at Bastogne. The weather cleared for a short period of time, allowing Allied air support to be effective for this first time in the battle. Therefore on January 8 Hitler ordered the withdrawal of the remaining forces. Within a month, the Allies lost 34,000 men to death or capture. Germany, in contrast, lost 100,000 men and 800 tanks. Hitler did not recognize the human resources of the US Army and misinterpreted the effect that the Autumn Fog would have on the front. In reality, he merely delayed the impending invasion of Germany by a few months. With Russia closing in on Berlin by the day and the Rhine the only obstacle in Montgomery's way, Hitler's time was running out. The best conclusion of the Battle of the Bulge is Sir Winston Churchill, who said: “It was undoubtedly the greatest American battle of the Second World War and, I believe, will always be regarded as a great American victory..”