In the fall of 1944, most allied soldiers predicted that the war in Europe would be over by Christmas. Fierce fighting was taking place along the German frontier at Aachen and the Hürtgen Forest and the collapse of the German Army in the west seemed imminent. But the German Army was still a foe to be respected and on the 16th of December, it launched a major counter offensive in the heavily wooded area of the Ardennes Belgium, France, and Luxembourg. In the early part of the offensive, the Germans managed to make deep penetrations into the U.S. defenses in that sector. The surprise attack caught the Allied forces completely off guard and it developed into the largest and bloodiest battle fought by the United States in World War II. By January 25th of 1945, the ‘Bulge’ in the allied lines had been completely reduced, severely depleting Germany’s armored forces on the Western Front, crippling their ability to resist the final Allied push to the Rhine. These newest World War II releases focus on this time period and will be developed in depth to allow the collector to represent any of the engagements in the closing days of war in Europe on the western front.