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==Final Battle==
The movie’s climax shows is a tank battle between the Germans and the Americans. This was based on the important Battle of Celles, perhaps one of the most critical encounters between the US and German armies during the fighting in the Ardennes. It shows the American tanks as being inferior to the Germans and this was largely true. However, the movie also shows American tanks engaged in suicidal tactics in a desperate attempt to stop the Germans. In truth, the American tanks had a lot of aerial and artillery support. The American mobile artillery was very important and they managed to destroy many German tanks. The British are not really shown in the movie but at the battle of Celles, RAF Typhoon planes helped to halt the Nazi advance<ref>Toland, p. 213</ref>. The movie gives the impression that the American high command was not really in charge and that the commander on the ground Major General Ernst Harmon saved the day. In fact, Eisenhower directed the American defense and subsequent counter-attack at the Battle of Celles. In general, the depiction of the battle was inaccurate. The only thing accurate about the movie was the scale of the American victory and the German defeat. It is estimated that only one-third of the Panzers involved in the battle escaped the battlefield <ref> Toland, p. 217</ref>.
==How accurate was the movie==
The filmmakers at the end of the movie admitted that the movie was not accurate in the interests of drama and continuity. In fact, the movie was not only inaccurate at times but it was completely wrong. It gives a false impression of the Ardennes campaign and the key characters involved in it. Most Hollywood movies based on historical subjects are inaccurate but the Battle of the Bulge is particularly inaccurate. It infuriated many veterans of the battle. Perhaps the final word on the historical accuracy of the movie should be left with General Dwight D Eisenhower, commander of the Allied forces in Europe during WWII and former American President. Ike hated the movie and he publicly deplored its many inaccuracies. He tolerated other inaccuracies in movies such as the Longest Day but he believed that the producers of the Battle of the Bulge had falsified history in the interests of entertainment and that this was disrespectful to those who had fought and died in the Ardennes. The Battle of the Bulge may be an enjoyable movie but it is certainly not history<ref>Whiteclay and Cuthbert, p. 134</ref>.
==References==
