December 16th marks the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge, so-named due to the massive depression created in the allied lines as shown on maps. This final, massive German offensive was aimed to smash through Allied positions and re-capture Antwerp, a seminal supply line. Hitler had also hoped that a successful attack would so damage the Western-Allies' forces that a cease-fire could be signed, thus allowing the Germans to concentrate their efforts against the oncoming Soviet armies.
The German attack took the US defenders by surprise, resulting in heavy casualties though the former were defeated as reinforcements were brought in to bolster defenses.
This largest US battle of WWII, resulted in 90,000 allied casualties (almost all of them by the US Army) and between 70,000 and 100,000 German casualties.