From Dec. 16, 1944 to Jan. 25, 1945, American, British, Canadian, Belgian, and French forces fought to stop the final major German offensive of World War II: The Battle of the Bulge was launched in the heavily forested Ardennes Mountains of Belgium. While Allied forces ultimately triumphed, the bitter victory left tens of thousands dead on both sides. Here, in a series of rare photos from LIFE.com, is a look back at the pivotal, brutal, seven-week struggle known as the Battle of the Bulge.
A Snowy Battle and Bitter Victory: January 1945
American infantrymen from the 290th Regiment crouch in the snowy woods near Amonines, Belgium.
Time & Life Pictures/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images.
Polar Trek: Dec. 20, 1944.
One of the most difficult aspects of the Battle of the Bulge was the weather. The extreme cold caused troops to suffer frostbite and often made simple travel dangerous, as demonstrated by this photo of an American tank moving past another gun carriage which slid off an icy road in the Ardennes Forest. January 1945 was the coldest January on record for that part of Europe. Over the course of the battle more than 15,000 Allied troops were treated for frostbite and other cold-related injuries.
George Silk/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images.
Snowbound: Jan. 1, 1945
American soldiers in a snowy ditch in Belgium.
John Florea/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images.
On Patrol: Jan. 1, 1945
1st Army GIs search for German paratroopers.
George Silk/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images.
The Cost of War: Jan. 1, 1945.
Victory for the allied forces came at a heavy price: Nearly 20,000 Americans were killed and tens of thousands more were wounded, missing, or captured. For American forces, the Bulge was the single bloodiest battle of World War II. Here, soldiers tend to the wounded in the Ardennes.
US Army/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images.
Packing Up a Life: Dec. 24, 1944
Here, during the last days of the battle, American GIs help fleeing local residents load themselves and their belongings onto a truck. There were an estimated 3,000 civilian casualties during the conflict.
George Silk./Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Nearing Victory: Jan. 1, 1945.
After the victory of the battle on Jan. 25, 1945, the final triumph over Nazi Germany was in reach. Allied forces pressed their advantage and began the last push toward Berlin. On May 7, Germany agreed to an unconditional surrender. Pictured here: An exhausted American soldier just back from the front lines near the town of Murrigen, Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge.
George Silk/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
An Ever-Famous American Victory: Jan. 1, 1945
A lace curtain shrouds the body of an American soldier awaiting burial in the Bastogne cemetery. "This is undoubtedly the greatest American battle of the war, and will, I believe, be regarded as an ever-famous American victory," Winston Churchill said in the House of Commons following the battle.
