On December 16, 1944, the Germans launch the last major
offensive of the war, Operation Autumn Mist, also known
as the Ardennes Offensive and the Battle of the Bulge, an
attempt to push the Allied front line west from northern
France to northwestern Belgium. The Battle of the Bulge,
so-called because the Germans created a “bulge” around
the area of the Ardennes forest in pushing through the
American defensive line, was the largest fought on the
Western front.