World News | US, Allies Mark 80th Anniversary of WWII Battle of Bulge

Bastogne (Belgium), Dec 13 (AP) The United States, its European allies and a dwindling number of veterans are marking on Friday the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, one of the most important and deadly battles in World War II which stopped Adolf Hitler's last-ditch offensive and opened the way for the full Nazi defeat.

At dawn on December 16, 1944, over 200,000 German soldiers threw Hitler's last hopes in a unexpected attack through the dense woods of Belgium and Luxembourg's hilly Ardennes. Making the most of the surprise move, the cold, freezing weather and wearied US troops, the Germans pierced the front line so deeply it came to be known as the Battle of the Bulge.

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It set up one month of intense and dramatic fighting that ultimately made sure the Allied advance on Berlin could continue. Initially outnumbered, US troops delayed the attack enough in fierce fighting to allow reinforcements to stream in and turn the tide of the battle by Christmas.

The remembrance and celebrations started already on Friday for organisational reasons.

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Germany is now an ally of the United States and its wartime partners in NATO.

Hitler had hoped the advance would change the course of World War II by forcing US and British troops to sue for peace, thus freeing Germany to focus on the rapidly advancing Soviet armies in the east.

After the fighting in the Battle of the Bulge ended on January 28, 1945, Allied forces invaded Germany, eventually leading to the Nazi surrender and the end of the war in Europe. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)