Inspired by the Battle of the Bulge thread below, I began thinking about how the forces used in Wacht am Rhein could have been better used on the Western Front.
Here was my post on that thread:
I'd say forget the Western Battle of the Bulge; I'd rather see an Eastern version TL and be interested about how that could go. Imagine an earlier Fruehlingserwachen:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operati...hlingserwachen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_bulge
But with the forces that were at the Bulge+whatever the local reserves are. Blow the Rhine bridges early and more effectively while keeping your troops ready to go in the East where they could make somewhat of a difference.
German strength from both offensives:
Wacht am Rhein (Bulge)
500,000 men
[1]
500 medium & heavy tanks,
1,900 artillery guns and
Nebelwerfers
Fruehlingserwachen (Spring Awakening)
140,000
900
AFVs
So something around 640,000 men (at least. We don't know how many men extra might have been available in '44 in the East that were gone by '45 for the historical Spring Awakening), 1,400 Panzers, and 1,900 artillery pieces. Hefty offensive. Combine that with whatever else is lying around and one could have +1 million men, 2,000 Panzers, 2-3,000 guns, and, if Bodenplatte never happens in the West:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unternehmen_Bodenplatte
About 1,035 aircraft, including 929 fighters and fighter bombers.
Even for the Eastern Front that is a heafy some of forces that might be able to make a signficant dent in the Russians. Obviously not enough to change the ending of the war, but perhaps enough to save some civilians and hurt the Russians pretty bad. Not only that, but Berlin might even hold out longer, creating all kinds of butterflies.
Basically, I am suggesting that Hitler sees some sort of reason and the Western Front is abandoned up to the Rhein with the bridges blown (all of them) and whatever forces that could be saved were. So this means that about half a million men are available for operations in the East, as are the fighters/bombers from Bodenplatte.
The siege of Budapest had started in December right around the same time as Wacht am Rhein, meaning it is likely the forces horded for that offensive would be used to relieve the city:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Budapest
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Konrad
Would these extra forces have made a difference? The major problem with the relief offensive was the lack of food and supply, which the addition of half a million men would exacerbate. However, with an inactive Western front, there is a strong possibility that supplies would be made available for the offensive.
In that case, there is a good chance the southern front could be salvaged for a little while longer. And the lake Balton oil might be staying German for a while.