16 December 1944 began a massive German offensive on the Western Front. The allies did not expect that exhausted Germany would be able to assemble a fist of 250 thousand people and the latest technology.
The Germans hoped to repeat the success of the 1940 breakthrough in the Ardennes of the year, but the forces were too unequal, and the lack of fuel and ammunition could be felt as never before. After a month and a half, the operation choked and returned to the starting line, but Germany already had nothing to compensate for the losses, and the road to the Rhine was opened to the allies.