resistance was strong. Allied air attacks overnorthern France made it difficult for Rommel to move his reserves. Hitler becameconvinced that the Normandy landings were a bluff and the main assault would comenorth of the Seine River. Hitler believed this because Patton was being used as a decoyand he did not believe that Patton would not be involved in a major offensive. As aresult of this belief, Hitler refused to release the divisions he had there and insisted ondrawing in reinforcements from more distant areas. By the end of June, Eisenhower had850,000 men and 150,000 vehicles ashore in Normandy. Later that year, General OmarBradley gave Patton command of the Allied Third Army with which he pushes acrossWestern Europe to stop the Germans at the Battle of the Bulge. Bradley andMontgomery sent their army groups north and east across the Seine on August 25.Montgomery's troops seized Antwerp on September 3, and the first American patrolscrossed the German border on September 11. Gasoline and ammunition were limitedand were being brought from French ports on the channel coast over 500 miles of roadsand railroads. The Battle of the Bulge was extremely important in winning the war. OnJuly 25, Bradley began the attack. Montgomery took over the British Second Army andthe Canadian First Army. Bradley took over command of the Twelfth Army Group whichconsisted of the U.S. First and Third armies under General Courtney H. Hodges andGeneral George S. Patton. Following the Normandy invasion in June of 1944, Alliedforces went through France but became delayed along the German border in September.On December 16, the Germans began a counteroffensive through the Ardennes countryand advanced 31 miles into Belgium and Luxembourg. They created a bulge in theAllied lines, but their advance was stopped near the Meuse in late December. TheAmericans put up a strong opposition and were able to hold Saint-Vith and Bastogne.The Germans managed to avoid ...
