Later that month on 16 December came the last German counteroffensive in the Battle of the Bulge, as over 250,000 German troops, supported by over 1,000 tanks and assault guns assaulted the lines of VIII Corps, some 40 miles to the north of III Corps. The next day Patton, the Third Army commander, warned III Corps that it would likely be ordered to assist. At that time the corps consisted of the 26th and 80th Infantry Divisions and the 4th Armored Division. III Corps was moved north to assist in the relief of Bastogne, Belgium, with the attack commencing at 04:00 on 22 December 1944. The corps advanced north, catching the German forces by surprise on their south flank, cutting them off. The 4th Armored Division was eventually able to reach Bastogne, where the 101st Airborne Division had been surrounded by German forces, and relieve it. During the first 10 days of this action, III Corps liberated more than 100 towns, including Bastogne. This operation was key in halting the German offensive and the eventual drive to the Rhine River.