On December 16, 1944, Hitler launched his "last gamble," believing he could split the Allies by driving from the Ardennes to Antwerp and forcing the Canadians and the British out of the war. The surprised allies found themselves fighting two panzer armies. The harsh winter conditions and the savagery of the battle became comparable to the Eastern Front. The Ardennes-involving more than a million men-would prove to be the battle that finally broke the back of the Wehrmacht. This deeply researched work gives us the definitive account of the Ardennes offensive, which was to become the greatest battle of World War II. Book jacket.