In September 1944 Hitler faced the prospect of defeat after more than five years at war. In a desperate bid to regain the offensive he announced a counter-attack, to take place in the Ardennes forests of Belgium. In the early hours of 16th December 1944, the Battle of the Bulge began. Hitler's aim was to split the British and American Allied line in half and capture Antwerp, thereby forcing the Western Allies to sign a peace treaty in his favour. The Nazi plan failed but the Battle, described by Winston Churchill as 'an ever-famous American victory', was the single biggest and bloodiest that US forces experienced during World War II.
