This day in history

Nazi leader Adolf Hitler orders a surprise attack on the Allied forces closing in along the Western Front, which became known as the Battle of the Bulge.

The German counter-offensive out of the densely wooded Ardennes region took the Allies by surprise and created a bulge 60 miles deep into the front. Weather prevented the unleashing of the Allies’ air superiority, and for several days Hitler’s desperate gamble seemed to be paying off.

However, the Americans kept up a fierce resistance and on 23 December the skies cleared over the bulge. By 21 January, the Germans had been pushed back to their original line, having lost some 120,000 men in the offensive. The Allies suffered 81,000 casualties, all but 4,000 of whom were Americans.

U.S. and British planes launch Operation Desert Fox, a four day bombing campaign against Iraq, after United Nations weapons inspectors are expelled from the country contrary to assurances given by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

In England, Oliver Cromwell pronounces himself Lord Protector.