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ARDENNES OPERATION OF 1944-1945

A second front in Europe was opened in the second half of 1944. In Normandy the expeditionary forces of allies successfully carried out the largest landing operation of World War II. The landing of the allied armies in Northern France and their subsequent offensive operations in Western Europe, undertaken in 1944, played a significant role in utter defeat of fascist Germany, had to fight on two fronts.

Remarking the positive role of allied forces landing for a course of military actions in Europe, it is necessary to mean, that in the end of 1944 it could not have the same significance as before during the previous years of war. The second front was opened when, as a result of the heroic efforts and heavy sacrifice of the Soviet people and its army, a deep crisis of the Hitlerite Germany broke out, that pointed to its close collapse.

The operations of the allied expeditionary forces were carried out in the favorable conditions. Striving not to admit the utter defeat in the East, the Hitlerite Command focused all the efforts of Wehrmach up to a limit and mobilized the main forces for waging the war against the Soviet Union. The most efficient forces were sent to the East front. All this essentially facilitated the landing of allied armies on the continent and their subsequent actions.

Seeking for the way out of the critical situation of fascist Germany in the second half of 1944, the German command decided to launch a counteroffensive on the western front. The purpose of the operation (the code name "Watch on the Rhine" – "Wacht am Rhein") was to strike a sudden blow by the forces of 25 divisions (including 7 tank divisions) through the Ardennes (in a southeast of the Belgium) to Antwerp, to defeat Anglo-American troops in Belgium and the Netherlands, thereby having changed a course of war in the West in a favor of Germany.

Hitler`s calculations were built upon the use of the differences between the USSR on the one side and the USA and England on the other for splitting the anti-Hitler coalition. This way the German command planned to avoid the utter defeat and unconditional surrender of Germany and to create thereby the preconditions for negotiations with the USA and England about the separate world honorary for a Reich. Then the German command was going to turn all its force to the East for the continuation of the war against the Soviet Union. The fascist leadership pinned great hopes on a moral victory of possible success in the counteroffensive.

On the 12th of December 1944 at a meeting of the supreme western command, Hitler said: "It is necessary to mean the following. In the world history there hasn`t been such a coalition, as created by our enemies, consisted of so strange elements and pursuing so various purposes… The one, who watches the development of the events closely, cannot but see that the contradictions among our enemies are being intensified day by day. If they are attacked now then at any moment that "single" artificially supported front will crash down similar to a peal of thunder."

On December 16 the German offensive was began by the forces of the 6th tank army SS, the 5th tank army and the 7th field army, consolidated into the group of armies "B" (the Commander – field marshal V.Model). The American troops overtaken unawares were totally confused and couldn`t offer a serious resistance during the first days. The random retreat, turned in some areas into a panic flight, began. By the 26th of December the German forces advanced on a depth of 90 km.

Bringing up the reinforcement the allied command dealt a successful counterblow by the forces of the 3rd American army and aviation. Hence the offensive of the German forces was stopped; the situation on the Western front remained intense in the beginning of January of 1945.

On the 6th of January the English prime-minister Winston Churchill addressed to Stalin for help. In particular it was marked in his message: "The furious fighting is ongoing in the West… I will be grateful, if you let me know, whether we can count on a large-scale Russian offensive on the front of the Vistula or somewhere else within January..."

The USSR, being faithful to the allied obligations, came to the aid of England and the USA. On the 12th of January, 8 days prier the stipulated date, the Soviet troops passed to the offensive in East Prussia (East-Prussian operation) and Poland (Vistula-Oder operation) which broke all the plans of German-fascist command in the West. The Nazis had to send immediately the 6th tank army SS, the main shock force of the army group on the Ardennes direction, and other formations to the East front. The German troops retreated to the initial positions by the end of January.

35 German divisions were destroyed during of the Vistula-Oder operation. The Soviet armies liberated a significant part of Poland and reached the territory of Germany. Carrying out the East-Prussian operation the Soviet armies captured Eastern Prussia, destroyed the outpost of German militarism in the East, and liberated a part of the northern areas of Poland. 25 divisions of the opponent were completely destroyed. These operations became an important part in decision of such a military-political problem, as rendering assistance to the Anglo-American troops suffered by the defeat in Ardennes. The Soviet troops were going to move to Berlin.

However in works of some western historians, seeking to pervert the true reasons of Wehrmacht defeats in the West, there are many falsifications. The role of the victories of the Soviet armed forces in World War II, significance of the Soviet troops offensive from the Vistula to the Oder in failure of the offensive plans of the German Supreme command on the Western front and in an actual rescue of the allied armies in the Ardennes, are ignored.

The maneuvers of the American-English armies are considered by some western authors as the only factor, allowed to foil the plans of the Hitlerites. Moreover, they state that the Soviet Army allegedly took the results of a victory of the allies and launched the offensive through Poland, when "all the German armies were paralyzed in the West".

The historic facts prove the unfoundedness and groundlessness of such falsifications with the all evidence. The opening of the second front when the collapse of Germany had already been predetermined by the defeats of Wehrmacht on the Soviet-German front, where the German armies continued to operate even after the landing of the expeditionary forces of allies in Normandy, couldn`t have and didn`t have any decisive value for the course and the result of World War II.