The Siege of Bastogne took place in Germany in the year 1944. It was part of the last major German offensive campaign during World War II called the Battle of the Bulge which involved 250,000 German forces and 80,000 forces Americans. Germany's main objective during this operation was to capture the port city of Antwerp, Belgium. The Battle of Bastogne occurred when German forces attacked American forces defending Bastogne, Belgium, which was a major road hub. This battle took place over the course of seven days and lasted from December 20 to 27. During the Battle of the Bulge, the largest battle on the Western Front, the Germans attempted to push American forces from northern France into northwest Belgium. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The Allied forces believed that the Ardennes forest was too thick for the Germans to pass through, so they did not expect an attack to break out. However, Allied forces were stretched thin, which provided an unguarded area for German forces to infiltrate the American lines. The fog was so thick that it prevented Allied air cover from detecting German movements. An additional difficulty for the Americans was that they could not resupply during the thick fog, so they had to use the equipment they had very wisely. Due to the extremely cold temperatures, certain precautions had to be taken with their weapons, the vehicles had to be driven very frequently to ensure that the oil did not coagulate or turn into a solid. The constant zero-degree weather the soldiers fought led to freezing temperatures. There was so much snow that they had difficulty seeing even 10-20 meters in front of them. American soldiers' uniforms were not made for extremely cold climates, so in some cases they froze to death. Before their major attack, English-speaking German forces infiltrated American lines to impersonate American soldiers. These German soldiers obtained American uniforms, weapons, and vehicles, making it difficult for the Americans to identify them because they could not distinguish between enemy and friend. German soldiers acting as American soldiers changed road signs, cut communication lines, and gathered intelligence. This confused the American soldiers and made them suspect traitors. Even after the Americans discovered that they were German forces, some Americans were interrogated to make sure they were not with German forces. Many German troops, along with 1,000 tanks, attacked along a 75-mile stretch in front of the Ardennes. The four divisions stationed in the area were still recovering from past operations. They were extremely tired and some were still in training or completely untrained. Some of these troops were the US 99th and 106th Golden Lions Divisions. They had lost so many soldiers that recruiters brought in African American soldiers as reinforcements. For a brief period of the battle the troops were desegregated. It was the only battle in which the Army authorized integrated combat. The United States suffered the second largest troop surrender during the war. Over 7,500 members of the 106th Infantry Division capitulated at a single moment at the Schnee Eifel. The Germans' first attempt to break the defenses in Bastogne occurred with the 501st's sector at Neffe. The paratroopers held their position despite repeated attacks. The enemy's attention turned to another section of the perimeter further south. German soldiers probed the line in the 327th sector. The enemy.”