Winter set in. Spring promised a new Allied asault that would sweep into Germany from the west. But the Germans did not intend to wait for spring.
In the middle of December, they struck with three Panzer armies in the Ardennes. The attack was swift and unexpected and drove a "bulge" into the American line. The bitter winter turned brutal as armies surged back and forth, leaving trails of blood in the snow.
The Germans struck again, this time in Alsace. They hit hard against a thin line. They attacked with Panzers, SS infantry, and crack paratroops. Again, the Americans fought back with a valiant desperation, throwing in all their reserves; now, in the first days of January 1945, they had emptied their infantry replacement depots from Le Havre to the Ardennes and from Marseilles to Alsace. Everything they had was on the line.
