The Effects of the Battle of the Bulge

Battle of the Bulge

The Battle of the Bulge was the last major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II, as well as Hitler’s last major stand of the war. The Battle of the Bulge was the beginning of the end for Hitler’s Nazi empire, with the Nazi’s armies stretched across the east, south and west. The allied armies finally were able to push over the Rhine River in to the Rhineland of Germany, as well as opening the door for the allies to move towards Berlin. The long term effect was that the American and British armies could not reach Berlin before the Soviets and caused Germany to be split into West Democracy and East Communist.

This was the last major stand by Hitler’s armies, and he poured most of his remaining resources into making a breakthrough the allied lines. This mass amount of resources that Hitler poured into this battle may have cost him the war, among other factors. Trying to breakthrough the allied lines cost the Nazis massive amounts of men and tanks, and allied bombers and fighters now had free reign of the skies because the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) was now nonexistent. The war economy of Germany during WWII was going downhill due to a lack of oil/gas for their vehicles, and the factories could not match the output of tanks of the Americans. So this lack of resources and massive push of resources in the Battle of the Bulge contributed to Germany’s loss of the war.

The allied armies finally were able to cross the Rhine River into Germany after they capture the bridges across the Rhine. This was a race against time as the Germans were trying to blow them up to prevent the allies to cross it. This could have destroyed the allies attack plan if the bridges were destroyed, allowing the Soviets to capture the rest of Germany. Although, the allies were able to capture some of the bridges before they were destroyed, allowing the massive amounts of allied manpower to cross the Rhine and push to Berlin and eventually force the Germans to surrender.

The long term effect was that the American and British armies could not reach Berlin before the Soviets and caused Germany to be split into West Democracy and East Communist. At the war’s end, East Europe was given to the Soviet’s and Western Europe was given to America and Great Britain, which laid the basis for the Cold War between America and the Soviet Union. The Russians beat the Americans to Berlin and claimed half of Germany (East) and the eastern half of Berlin, while the Americans got West Germany and West Berlin. Berlin became a symbol of the Cold War with the Berlin air drops and the Berlin Wall. This was all an effect of the Battle of the Bulge holding the Americans back and allowing the Soviet armies to capture Berlin.