Battle of the Bulge

A Hollywood war film inspired by real events, but known to be not very faithful to the historical truth of World War II Battle of the Bulge. A Panzer brigade, led by the fictional Colonel Hessler (played by Robert Shaw and inspired by real Waffen SS officer Joachim Peiper) leads a German secret counter-attack against the Allied front in the heavily wooded Ardennes sector of Belgium/Luxembourg. An American Intelligence officer (Henri Fonda) tries in vain to persuade his superiors of the German intentions. The Americans are surprised, with heavy casualties. Hessler's initial success ends as his unit runs out of gas. German commandos dressed as American soldiers (Operation Greif) are portrayed in the film, as well as the Malmedy Massacre of American POWs. All the characters portrayed in the movie are fictional. Some are based on real individuals. The film was made in Spain, and some of its battle scenes take place on open, rolling plains in bright sunshine. The historical battle, however, took place in poor weather in winter (December/January) in one of Europe's most dense forests. The film simplifies the outcome of the battle to the Germans' desperate shortage of fuel, which was only partly responsible for the Germans ultimate demise. Absent from this movie's version of events are three rather significant facts that weighed heavily in the final outcome of the battle. The first is General Patton's U.S. 3rd Army relieving the encircled crossroads town of Bastogne, which would break the German supply line. The second being the weather greatly improved, which allowed the previously grounded (due to fog & snow) Allied air forces to attack anything that moved on the ground, and destroy or immobilize it, which they did to great effect. The third being the contribution of the British Army.