The Battle of the Bulge and the Winter Dead of 1944–45

On 16 December 1944, in a freezing dawn fog, the German army launched its last great offensive of the war through the Ardennes forest. The attack carved a “bulge” into the American line and gave the battle its name. Before it was over, it had become the costliest single battle the U.S. Army fought in the Second World War.

Six weeks in the snow

Green divisions and veteran ones alike were thrown into a brutal winter fight. The defense of crossroads towns like Bastogne, held by the 101st Airborne, became legend. By late January 1945 the line had been restored — but at the cost of some 19,000 American dead and many more wounded or captured.

Where the fallen rest

Many of those who died in the Ardennes are gathered today in three cemeteries:

• Luxembourg American Cemetery, where General Patton also lies;
• Ardennes American Cemetery near Liège;
• Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery in eastern Belgium.

Tracing a man of the Bulge

If a relative died in the winter of 1944–45, his unit is the key. The 28th, 99th and 106th Infantry Divisions and the 101st Airborne were all heavily engaged. Search the names directory and read the unit and date together — a death dated in late December 1944 in one of those divisions almost certainly came in the Ardennes.

The cold of that winter is gone. The names remain.