Air Defense In The Battle Of The Bulge

Air Defense in The Battle of The Bulge
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Introduction
The Battle of the Bulge which was also referred to as Ardennes Counteroffensive was a German’s offensive campaign against the Western Front in the Second World War which started in December 1944 (Passmore & Harrison, 2009). This battle was projected to stop the Allied utilization of Antwerp which was a Belgium port and also divide the Allied lines. Additionally, this battle was intended to give the Germans the power to take over and destroy the Allied armies which would have forced the Western Allies to agree to negotiate a peace accord. The battle of the bulge was the first event where air power was utilized to stop a counteroffensive. Accordingly, the paper discusses the role that the U.S army Air defense played during the battle of the bulge.
The U.S Army’s Air defense played a vital role in Allied victory through offering a close air support as well as air interdiction. The Ardennes Offensive had caught the U.S field artillery by surprise which dramatically made the army to think of a strategic plan. The Germans clearly recognized the vital roads that led them to their goal of attacking the American forces in Ardennes and also a way through River Meuse that led them to Belgium port in Antwerp (Carlson, 1999). Therefore, the first days of the battle were successful for the Germans after attacking many of the American armies. Nevertheless, a tremendous U.S air defense began with a simple plan of defending the south and north of Ardennes region to prevent any penetration of the enemies. The U.S army used air attack to destroy the German’s war weapons, motor transport, aircrafts and any significant facilities that replenished the German forces. The U.S Armies in the ground relied on the Air Artillery to drive the bombers to the aircraft and oil plants and also t...