Battle of the bulge masstransit holland5/19/2023 It was quite possible that the enemy might swerve south at the Meuse, following the historical invasion route past Sedan and on to Paris instead of turning north toward Liège and Antwerp. But there could be no certainty in the early phases of the German counteroffensive that such a diagnosis was correct. Within forty-eight hours of the launching of the 1944 attack the Allied high command diagnosed the enemy intent as that of driving to the Meuse in the vicinity of Liège. The events of 1940, however, demonstrated that modern armies could cross the Meuse speedily, either by surprise or by an overwhelming concentration of force. As a complement to the natural strength of this barrier the Belgian Government, before World War II, had limited the number of bridges spanning the Meuse. There are some fairly level approaches to the Meuse crossing sites there also are long stretches of steep banks bordering the channel, some of them are cliffs nearly three hundred feet high. Although rather shallow, the Meuse averages a width of 120 yards in its main course and is fed by so many streams that its current is unusually rapid, particularly in the winter season. Actually, of course, the river channel changes direction as it passes through Belgium, running south to north between Maastricht and Liège, generally following an east-west line between Liège and Namur, and bending sharply at Namur to assume a south to north orientation. This river, throughout history, has been the natural line of resistance against an enemy advancing from east to west over the Belgian highlands. Chapter 22-THE ARDENNES: BATTLE OF THE BULGEĪcross the western edge of the Ardennes massif runs the Meuse River.
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