Several years ago, I watched a PBS Special that covered the events leading up to the "Battle of the Bulge" during WWII.
It was the autumn of 1944 and Germany had been beaten back behind its borders. The Nazi war machine was in tatters and the repeated bombing raids of the Allies all but assured that Hitler’s forces would never rise again.
Around the perimeter of Germany’s borders, the Allies spread a thin line of forces. One person observed that Allied forces were was so scattered that a man could slip between its lines without being observed.
All across Europe, there was celebration. Parties, dances, speeches all rejoicing in Germany’s defeat. The war was effectively over. The only problem was (pause) somebody forgot to tell Germany.
Even as his forces were being shattered and driven back Hitler was devising a plan for one last onslaught. Underground factories churned out more weapons, armament and ammunition. More of Germany’s young and old men were conscripted and trained for war. And as Europe rejoiced, Hitler planned.
His goal was not to drive back the Allies into the sea, as much as it was to divide the British to the North and Americans to the South, so
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