In the winter of 1944, American and British forces reached the German border from the north sea to Switzerland. Many thought the Third Reich would soon be finished. But the Germans had carefully gathered reserves of men and tanks to hurl into a final counter-attack. The American forces gave ground slowly, and then pressed in on the Germans from all sides in what became known as the `battle of the bulge.` battle of the bulge covers the battles from the southern sector of this campaign via 50 scenarios, all taking place in December 1944 and January 1945.