"This battle," Hitler said, "is to decide whether we shall live or die."Skilfully, secretly, he assembled three German armies-24 divisions, 250,000 men, 970 tanks and 1900 pieces of artillery. Taking advantage of the harsh winter, he picked a place where the Allied forces were water-thin-four American divisions and one armored cavalry regiment-and unleashed a devastating attack to annihilate the outnumbered defenders. Thus started the greatest pitched battle ever fought by the United States in its history-the engagement that destroyed forever the myth of the vaunted superiority of the German soldier.