The Ardennes Offensive (called Unternehmen: Wacht am Rhein (Operation Watch on the Rhine) by the German military (Heeresgruppe B), officially named the Battle of the Ardennes by the U.S. Army, and known to the general public as the Battle of the Bulge), started on December 16, 1944. Wacht am Rhein was supported by subordinate operations known as Bodenplatte, Greif, and Währung. Germany's planned goal for these operations was to split the British and American Allied line in half, capturing Antwerp, Belgium, and then proceeding to encircle and destroy four Allied armies, forcing the Western Allies to negotiate a peace treaty in the Axis Powers’ favor.
