📅 On This Day in Military History
1 event across history
Germany's last major offensive in the West. Through fog and overcast that grounded Allied air power, three German armies attacked through the Ardennes, creating a 'bulge' in Allied lines and nearly splitting them. American forces were encircled at Bastogne; General McAuliffe's reply to German demands for surrender was a single word: 'NUTS!' When the weather cleared, Allied air power destroyed the German spearheads.
Germany's last throw of the dice in the West. The offensive consumed Germany's last armored reserves and accelerated the final collapse. The war was over in Europe by May 1945. American casualties of 75,000 made it the costliest US battle in Europe.
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