The Battle of the Bulge was Germany's last major offensive on the Western Front. Hitler aimed to split the Allied armies by launching a surprise blitzkrieg through the densely forested Ardennes Mountains. The 'bulge' refers to the dent the German attack made in the Allied lines. Allied troops, caught off guard in freezing winter conditions, faced a desperate struggle, most famously at the town of Bastogne, where the 101st Airborne Division was surrounded. When asked to surrender, the American commander, General McAuliffe, gave the famous one-word reply: 'Nuts!' With the arrival of reinforcements led by General George Patton and the clearing of weather for Allied air support, the German offensive failed, exhausting Germany's remaining reserves and clearing the way for the final push into Germany.