Houffalize — Bulge Pinched Out

Houffalize, BE

Houffalize was the meeting point where **American forces** pinched out the German Bulge in January 1945, marking the final collapse of Germany's last great offensive in the West. On January 16, 1945, the **2nd Armoured Division** ('Hell on Wheels') advancing south from the north linked up with elements of **Patton's 3rd Army** pushing north, meeting at the Our River bridge near Houffalize. This junction effectively cut off the remaining German forces in the Ardennes salient and marked the end of the German offensive phase. The town itself had been heavily bombed during the campaign — Allied air interdiction had targeted the road network, and Houffalize was almost completely destroyed. After the linkup at Houffalize, the Allies began pushing the German army back to the Siegfried Line and the Rhine. The battle had cost the United States approximately 75,000 casualties — the largest single-battle American loss of the Second World War — but had destroyed the offensive capability of the German forces in the West.