World War II films from different eras

Battle of the Bulge

A scene from Battle of the Bulge. [Photo/Mtime]

Battle of the Bulge is a 1965 American widescreen epic war film directed by Ken Annakin. The film condensed a battle that stretched across parts of Germany, Belgium, and Luxembourg and lasted nearly a month into under three hours.

In the winter of 1944, the Allied Armies stand ready to invade Germany at the coming of a New Year. To prevent this from happening, Hitler orders an all-out offensive to re-take French territory and capture the major port city of Antwerp. An Allied intelligence officer, Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Kiley, is convinced that the Germans are amassing tanks and troops for an attack but he cannot get anyone to believe him. When the attack is finally launched, he deduces that a shortage of petrol will lead the tanks to a massive Allied fuel depot. Though Allied forces ultimately win the battle, the initial Nazi counteroffensive catches them by surprise and causes many casualties.

The film was one of the most popular movies at the British box office in 1966.