Albin irzyk 4th armored division

No battle has ever defined an army as did the heroic stand made by the U.S.

Army during the last major German counteroffensive of World War II -- what became known as the "Battle of the Bulge."

Launched over a 60-mile front spearheaded initially by 410,000 German troops who were armed with the latest and heaviest German tanks, the offensive was meant to split American and British forces and drive on to the port of Antwerp, Belgium.

The German High Command believed the allied drive into Germany would be halted, giving them time to field more jet fighters and V-1 and V-2 rockets to force the western allies into a separate peace and thus enable Germany to turn its attention toward the advancing Russians.

Indeed, the weight of the German attack was such that it disrupted Lt.

Gen. Omar Bradley's 12th Army Group and, more importantly, Lt. Gen. George Patton Jr.'s III Army drive into Germany. More important, the assault cut