Bastogne is a charming little town in the hills of the Ardennes in the province of Luxemburg in the south of Belgium. The name 'Bastogne' will forever be associated with the Battle of the Bulge which took place in the last days of 1944. On December 16th 1944 the German army tried to take with a destructive power the American positions in the Belgian Ardennes in an attempt to push through to the north of Belgium to take the strategic important port of Antwerp. The German Offensive with the code name 'Wacht am Rhein' (Watch at the Rhine) succeeded in encircling the town. On December 20th a German envoy demands the Americans to surrender. The answer of General Mc Auliffe is short, but firm: "NUTS". The 101st Airborn Division in Bastogne receives reinforcements sent by General Patton and after several days of severe fights in the surrounding woods the Germans retreat on January 14th 1945. Thousands of soldiers were killed and wounded and the city was completely destroyed.