It's known as the "Battle of the Bulge" or the Ardennes Offensive. Everybody in the U.S. Army at the time knew that the German army was defeated and the rumor mill had it that US Troops would be home for Christmas in 1944. Ike was attending a Christmas party and most of the Generals were probably celebrating with confiscated French wine. Front line Troops heard the rumbling of tanks but there was whisky and beer and cheer and what passed for "military intelligence" was probably drunk as well. By the time the fog lifted three weeks later about 20,000 Americans who thought they would be home for Christmas would be dead and another 47,000 would be out of action and wounded.