One of the most dramatic episodes of the Ardennes campaign took place in the small crossroads town of Bastogne, Belgium. The defense of the town was entrusted to the 101st Airborne Division which carried no heavy artillery or tanks and yet was surrounded by a steel ring of three German panzer divisions that massively outgunned the paratroopers.When the German commander of the besieging forces demanded surrounded from American leader, General Anthony McAuliffe, he received one of the most famous replies in military history: "Nuts."