Battle of the Bulge (World War II) war movies

Battle of the Bulge 16 December 1944

In December 1944 American soldiers were concentrated more on the preparations to return home for Christmas than on pressing on towards Berlin. German army seemed to be in pieces and it was matter of weeks or even days when they will surrender. But Hitler had other plans - he withdrew what was left of his special forces away from the front, and they were preparing for the push that would stop the Allied invasion and change the face of the conflict. His target was the port in Antwerp, used by the Allies to unload the troops and equipment that was later send to the front. The way to achieve that goal was surprising attack of armoured divisions through dense forests in Ardennes mountains, just like they already did back in 1940. And the element of surprise worked perfectly - they attacked the Allies where and when they were least expecting any brave actions from Germans. Hitler prepared strong tank units armed with Panthers, Tigers and brand new Tiger II tanks (also known as King Tiger), but was unable to provide them with enough fuel to reach Antwerp, so their secondary goal was to collect supplies of oil while they were attacking through Belgium.

American troops in the area were not prepared to face the armoured enemy, thus Germans were advancing quickly, but soon flaws in the plan begun to emerge. First of all the King Tiger tanks were far too heavy for some of the bridges in Ardennes, they were too wide for the narrow roads and, since it was new construction, they often were breaking down with no way of fixing them in field conditions. This slowed down the offensive, but nevertheless Germans were progressing. Also Hitler dropped small units of paratroopers behind Allied lines, who were dressed in American uniforms and did all they could to create havoc among the US Army - they changed the road signed, posed as American military police and diverted troops from their destinations. One thing that worked well in German plan was the weather - they chose the days in which clouds would be low and thus would not allow Allies to make use of their air superiority to perform air strikes or air supplies.

One of the key points in German plans was taking over the small town of Bastogne, which was crossing for few important routes. Unfortunately for them Bastogne was defended by American 101st Airborne Division, which not only repelled all the attacks, but also despite being surrounded and cut off from supplies, rejected the offer to surrender (the exact famous answer being "Nuts!").

The German offensive caused Allies to pull their forces from other parts of the front and send them to Belgium. General Patton made the logistic miracle and within 48 hours he changed the direction of his offensive - soon two of his divisions attacked Germans from the flank, thus being relief forces for the troops surrounded in Bastogne (although 101st veterans still insist they were in no need to be rescued).

During the offensive few well remembered events took place, like siege of Bastogne, Malmedy massacre, famous Patton move that flanked the Germans, the Chenogne massacre. Overall it was a brave and well prepared attack that failed rather due to material and human shortages - Tigers and Panthers were able to defeat any American tanks, but without fuel they were useless. The troops that were supporting the offensive were nowhere near what Hitler could have sent at the beginning of the war - they usually were old or young men with only basic training. The offensive was last German attempt to change their fate during World War 2.

M4 Sherman

Tiger tank

M36 Jackson

Panther tank

King Tiger tank

War movies about Battle of the Bulge

Battleground 1949

Small group of American soldiers are trapped near Bastogne by German offensive and very cold winter.

They Were Not Divided 1950

British tankmen join the operations in Europe after the Normandy landing.

Battle of the Bulge 1965

Based on true events surrounding the last German offensive during World War 2.

Patton 1970

The portrait of famous American general during the World War 2.

A Midnight Clear 1992

During Battle of the Bulge American scout unit face the Germans in the forest, but they don’t act the way Americans would expect.

Band of Brothers 2001

Real story of American paratroopers unit during World War 2 and their way through the worst battles of the conflict in Europe - from D-Day to crossing of Rhine.

Hart’s War 2002

When murder is commited in the prisoners of war camp the trial has to take place and young Lieutenant Hart will have to face a tricky challenge.

Saints and Soldiers 2003

Four survivors of the Malmedy massacre are stuck behind enemy lines - with one rand three bullets they have to find a way of surviving and returning to Allied forces.

Company of Heroes 2013

Small unit of US Army is stuck behind enemy lines, but soon they realize the whole future of the world depends on their next moves.

The Monuments Men 2014

In 1943 Frank Stokes persuades his superiors that there is a need to start a new kind of fight with the Nazis - the fight for presevation of works of art that can be destroyed during the fights or stolen by the Germans. He established the Monuments Men unit.

War games about Battle of the Bulge

Tigers in the Snow (1981)

Early strategy game about one of the key battles of World War 2, Battle of the Bulge, the famous last offensive of Germany that took place in December 1944.

Call of Duty (2003)

World War 2 shown from point of few of British, American and Soviet soldiers.