For what it's worth -- the only difference between "deleting" and "offloading" an app is the fact that offloading leaves behind the apps's user data, saved files and settings, so it's all still there when/if you redownload the app.
So, you did actually delete the app off your phone. Of course you did, because that's what freed up the space in your otherwise limited phone storage. If it wasn't deleting the app, where do you think that extra space was coming from?
I'll also say that offloading or deleting, on a daily basis, any of the apps I use, and then reacting this way when the strategu backfires, seems more insane to me.