     At 11:30 AM on December 22nd, four Germans waving a white flag appeared at an American outpost three miles south of Bastogne. They had a message for the American commander. "To the U.S.A. Commander of the encircled town of Bastogne," it began. It demanded the surrender of the American forces, warning that they would be annihilated by massed artillery fire if they refused. It was signed, "The German Commander." The message was typewritten on two sheets of paper, one in German, the other in English.
   Colonel Joseph Harper brought the request to General Anthony McAuliffe, commander of the American forces in Bastogne. "General," he said, "I have a surrender request from the Germans."
McAuliffe read it quickly and then threw the papers to the ground with a contemptuous exclamation: "Aw, nuts!" He'd half-expected it to be a request to surrender to him. Asking him to surrender was preposterous. Without further comment, he left to check one of the outposts.
   When he returned, the Germans were still waiting. They had delivered a formal military communication and had a right to a written response. McAuliffe wasn't sure what to say. One of his officers suggested that his initial reaction would fit the bill. Everybody laughed and applauded the suggestion. McAuliffe laughed, too. He sat down and penned a short message:

   To the German Commander:
       Nuts!
            -- The American Commander

/Bastogne
     Why was Bastogne so important? Look at the map: Bastogne is the focal point of the roadnet in the southern Ardennes. By holding Bastogne, McAuliffe blocked the movement of German supplies over the entire southern portion of the battlefield. Because the American northern shoulder had held firm, the southern part of the Ardennes was the decisive sector. The Battle of the Bulge would be won or lost here -- and Bastogne was the key.
   Hitler knew that. In the initial planning for the attack, he had insisted that two towns, Bastogne and St. Vith, had to be taken quickly. They were the primary objectives for the first 48 hours of the attack.
   The Americans realized the same thing as soon as the attack started. Within 10 hours of the attack, the American corps commander, Troy Middleton, was gathering his forces around Bastogne. The shattered remnants of the 28th Infantry division retreated to Bastogne. 
   When Bastogne was not taken in the first two days, Hitler demanded its immediate fall. This may have been one reason for the German ultimatum to McAuliffe. Later in the battle, the Germans made desperate attempts to break the American defense and capture the town. They all failed. Bastogne was relieved by Patton's men on the 26th of December./