In late 1944, following the successful D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, it seemed that the Second World War was all but over for the Allied forces. On Dec 16, with the winter in site, the German forces launched a counteroffensive that was meant to sway the war into Hitler’s favor. The battle that shortly ensued after this counteroffensive is historically known as the Battle of The Bulge. The Battle of The Bulge initially started with the American forces being outnumbered 250,000 German troops to a mere 80,000 Americans. During this time the American Soldier’s fortitude and character were tested against ultimate adversity. On December 17th, a convoy of Battery B …show more content…
It was at this time General George Patton (Commander of the 3rd Army) began to relieve the illustrious 101st Airborne Division, who had held Bastogne since the beginning of the battle. The British was finally able to start deciphering the Germans strategy by using a machine known as the Enigma. Allied forces relayed the deciphered information to General Eisenhower as he began to plan the New Year’s offensive. The offensive was short and lasted one day driving troops to the Meuse River. Two days after the New Year’s offensive, the American forces began a two-pronged attack in order to disrupt the German forces from the bulge that was originally formed. Once again the weather began to favor the Germans. The ice and the fog that had accumulated allowed the Germans to set up in a very defensive posture to hinder American …show more content…
During the early stages of World War II British military researchers Sir Samuel Curran and W. A. S. Butement invented a proximity fuse under the name VT, an acronym of "Variable Time fuse". Lethality was estimated to increase 50%, compared to these other fuses at the time and designed for targets such as planes, missiles, ships at sea and ground forces. However the inventers was not able to develop the fuse. In late 1940 a physicist at The Johns Hopkins University name Merle A. Tuve was able to make the fuse more reliable under high acceleration of cannon launch. The proximity fuse was the technological breakthrough during the war that it was the level of the atom bomb project. (Adm. Lewis L. Strauss) wrote that, "One of the most original and effective military developments in World War II was the proximity, or 'VT',