War has played a key role in the history of the United States, from the nation's founding

right down to the present. War made the U.S. independent, kept it together, increased its

size, and established it as a global superpower. Understanding America's wars is essential for understanding American history.

Welcome to Key Battles of American History,

a podcast in which we discuss American history through the lens of the most important battles of America's wars.

Here is your host, James Early.

Music your host, James Early. Hello and welcome to another episode of Key Battles of World War II in Europe, our 10,000-foot

survey of the Second World War in Europe and the areas around it.

I'm your host, James Early, as always, and my co-host, as always, is

Sean McIreiber. Well, in our last episode, we talked about the slow advance toward the

Siegfried line, as the Western Allies had broken out of the beachheads, made their way

from northern France, Normandy down into central France, and then pushed eastward.

And then they kind of just parked for the winter because, well, one, it was winter, and two,

supplies were short. They needed to get caught up on supplies, get some more ports opened.

But the Germans decided not to just sit there and wait.

The Germans had a surprise plan, and so that's where we're going to talk about today.

Another massive, epic battle, huge battle, the Battle of the Bulge.

So without any further ado, let's get started.

In the early hours of December 16th, the pre-dawned stillness experienced by the thinly held

American line at the eastern edge of the Ardennes Forest was shattered by a massive German

offensive.

After a summer of rapid advance and a frustrating fall of dogged resistance in their advance

...