Bastogne was a critical town in the Battle of the Bulge of World War 2.  Seven roads met at this town making it crucial for control of the roadways.  If the Germans could seize Bastogne they had a clear route to the River Meuse.  Had they achieved this, it could have given the Nazis the time they needed to develop their new rockets and jet fighters and possibly turn the tide of the war.

So it was that the 101st US Airborne were sent to Bastogne to "hold the line at all costs."  They set up a defensive perimter around the town and dug in, repelling everything the Germans threw at them; they didn't concede so much as an inch. 

The Germans came to Gnl MacAuliffe of the 101st to offer surrender terms.  The one-word response from the Commander of the US forces in Bastogne was a beligerent "Nuts!"  The Germans commenced to batter the town to annihilation before taking it.  However, they never bargained for the moral strength of the Americans and never set foot in the town of Bastogne. 

Against all odds, a single US Airborne division held of attacks by 3 German Armoured divisions, making this, in the words of Sgt. Don Mallarkey, E Co., 506th PIR, 101st A/B, "one of the greatest feats of arms in modern warfare!"

Easy Company are probably the best known company within the 101st Airborne.  Their story in the Bois Jacques, overlooking the German held village of Foy, is as inspirational as any from the "Battered Bastards of Bastogne."

The 101st were finally contacted and relieved by Patton's 3rd Army, coming up from the South.  The story commonly says that the 3rd Army rescued the 101st, but the Airborne troops see it differently... they were there to hold the town until the 3rd Army could get there... it was not a rescue and they never needed rescuing.  It is possible they would have held the town of Bastogne and pushed the Germans back without the support of the 3rd, due to the poor supplies the Germans had available.

After the Battle of the Bulge, the Germans effectively capitulated and crumbled all the way back to Berlin...Hitler had doiverted most of his useful armies to the Eastern Front to attempt to repel the Russian Army which was closing in on Berlin.

The story of the defense of Bastogne is superbly represented in the HBO TV drama, Band of Brothers, as well as the oscar-winning film, Battleground.