Side by side, the Allies and former enemy Germany together marked the 75th anniversary of one of the most important battles in World War II, the Battle of the Bulge, which stopped Adolf Hitler’s last-ditch offensive to turn the tide of the war.
At dawn on Dec. 16, 1944, over 200,000 German soldiers started the most unexpected breakthrough 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.
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. After a month of fighting, the move into Germany was unstoppable.
Photo: AFP
照片：法新社
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. Yet somehow, the Americans blunted the advance and started turning back the enemy for good, setting Allied troops on a roll that would end the war in Europe less than five months later.
(AP)
同盟國和過去的敵人德國，肩並肩共同紀念「突出部之役」七十五週年。此為第二次世界大戰中最重要的戰役之一，粉碎了阿道夫‧希特勒想逆轉頹勢的最後一擊。
Photo: EPA-EFE
照片：歐新社
一九四四年十二月十六日破曉時分，二十多萬名德國士兵穿越比利時與盧森堡交界阿登丘陵的茂密森林，展開最令人措手不及的突襲。突擊行動、寒冷冰凍的天氣，再加上疲憊的美軍，德軍充分利用這樣的情勢進攻而穿透了前線，推進之深，讓此役被稱作「突出部之役」。
美軍最初的兵力寡不敵眾，但仍頑強抵抗、拖延德軍攻勢，撐到增援部隊趕來，而在耶誕節前扭轉了戰役的局勢。交戰一個月後，盟軍攻入德國已勢不可擋。
希特勒原本希望藉由這次進攻來迫使美英聯軍求和，以改變第二次世界大戰的進程，好讓德國能夠專心對付東面迅速逼近的蘇聯軍隊。但美軍卻想辦法阻擋了德軍的進攻，並讓德軍之後再也沒有反擊之地，於是盟軍連連獲勝，此後不到五個月便結束了二戰在歐洲的戰事。
Photo: Reuters
照片：路透
（台北時報林俐凱譯）
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