Battle of the Bulge (2nd Printing)

In the winter of 1944, American and British forces reached the German border from the North Sea to Switzerland. Many thought the Third Reich would soon be finished. But the Germans had carefully gathered reserves of men and tanks to hurl into a final counter-attack.

Fortunately for the future of western civilization, they had Adolf Hitler shaping the offensive’s goals. German panzers would storm through the Allied lines in the Ardennes, a tight region of forested hills in eastern Belgium. From there, they would drive across Belgium to the key port of Antwerp. British armies to the north would be cut off and forced to surrender. The Western Alliance would break apart in an orgy of blame. Nazi Germany would be saved.

The Germans more or less attempted to carry out Hitler’s insane orders. American forces gave ground slowly, and then pressed in on the Germans from all sides in what became known as the “Battle of the Bulge.” The German defeat destroyed the reserves that might have extended the war for many months.