Battle of the Bulge began 61 years ago

Reported by the BBC here:

The Germans have mounted a series of counter-attacks on the Western front allowing them to re-cross the borders of Luxembourg and Belgium.
On the second day of what now appears to be a full-scale counter-offensive, the Germans are attacking with tanks and aircraft along a 70-mile front guarded by American forces in the Ardennes region.

The main thrust has been launched from the northern Ardennes near the town of Monschau. Two further attacks have taken place further south.

German paratroops have been dropped behind Allied lines. Allied army reports say some of them have been "mopped up", others are still at large.

It was a very near thing.