Information: - World WarII (often abbreviated to WWII or WW2), also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the world's nationsincluding all of the great powerseventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. In a state of "total war", the major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust (in which approximately 11 million people were killed) and the strategic bombing of industrial and population centres (in which approximately one million were killed, and which included the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki), it resulted in an estimated 50 million to 85 million fatalities. These made World WarII the deadliest conflict in human history. - The 6th Panzer Army ("6. Panzer-Armee") was a formation of the Heer, formed in the Autumn of 1944. The 6th Panzer Army was first used as an offensive force during the Battle of the Bulge, in which it operated as the northernmost element of the German offensive. The army was subsequently transferred to Hungary in early 1945 and used in both offensive and defensive actions there. The final battles of the 6th Panzer Army were fought in Austria until the collapse of Nazi Germany, at which point the army was completely demoralized. The remnants of the army eventually surrendered to the United States Army. Army commander throughout the army's existence, SS-"Oberstgruppenfuhrer" Josef Dietrich said in early 1945: "We call ourselves the "6th Panzer Army", because we've only got 6 Panzers left". - France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans and had a total population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary semi-presidential republic with the capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse and Bordeaux. - The Luftwaffe was the aerial warfare branch of the combined German Wehrmacht military forces during World War II. Germany's military air arms during the First World War, the "Luftstreitkrafte" of the Army and the "Marine-Fliegerabteilung" of the Navy, had been disbanded in May 1920 as a result of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles which stated that Germany was forbidden to have any air force. - The High Fens , which were declared a nature reserve in 1957, are an upland area, a plateau region in the province of Liege, in the east of Belgium and adjoining parts of Germany, between the Ardennes and the Eifel highlands. The High Fens are the largest nature reserve or park in Belgium, with an area of ; it lies within the German-Belgian natural park "Hohes Venn-Eifel", in the Ardennes. Its highest point, at above sea level, is the Signal de Botrange near Eupen, and also the highest point in Belgium. A tower high was built here that reaches above sea level. The reserve is a rich ecological endowment of Belgium covered with alpine sphagnum raised bogs (not "fens" as the name would imply) both on the plateau and in the valley basin; the bogs, which are over 10,000 years old, with their unique subalpine flora, fauna and microclimate, are key to the conservation work of the park. - The Battle of the Bulge (16 December 1944 25 January 1945) was the last major German offensive campaign of World War II. It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in Belgium, France, and Luxembourg, on the Western Front, towards the end of World War II, in the European theatre. The surprise attack caught the Allied forces completely off guard. American forces bore the brunt of the attack and incurred their highest casualties of any operation during the war. The battle also severely depleted Germany's armoured forces on the Western Front, and they were largely unable to replace them. German personnel and later, Luftwaffe aircraft (in the concluding stages of the engagement), also sustained heavy losses. - Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. It is a small, densely populated country which covers an area of and has a population of about 11million people. Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Latin Europe, Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups: the Dutch-speaking, mostly Flemish community, which constitutes about 59% of the population, and the French-speaking, mostly Walloon population, which comprises 41% of all Belgians. Additionally, there is a small group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area, and bordering Germany. - The Battle of Lanzerath Ridge was fought on December 16 , 1944 , the first day of the Battle of the Bulge , near the village of Lanzerath , Belgium , during World War II. It was fought between two squads of 18 men belonging to an American reconnaissance platoon , four U.S. Forward Artillery Observers , and a battalion of about 500 German paratroopers . During a day - long confrontation , the American reconnaissance men inflicted dozens of casualties on the Germans and bottled up the advance along a key route for the 1st SS Panzer Division , which had been selected to spearhead the advance of the entire German 6th Panzer Army . The Germans finally flanked the American forces at dusk , capturing them . Only one American , a forward artillery observer , was killed , while 14 were wounded : German casualties totaled 92 . The Germans paused , believing the woods were filled with more Americans and tanks . Only when SS - Standartenfuhrer Joachim Peiper and his Panzer tanks arrived at midnight , twelve hours behind schedule , did the Germans learn the woods were empty . Due to lost communications with Battalion and then Regimental headquarters , and the unit 's subsequent capture , its disposition and success at delaying the advance of the 6th Panzer Army that day was unknown to the U.S. commanders . Lt. Lyle Bouck considered the wounding of most of his men and the capture of his entire unit a failure . When the war ended five months later , the platoon 's men , who were split between two prisoner - of - war camps , just wanted to get home . It was only after the war that Bouck learned that his platoon had prevented the lead German infantry elements from advancing and had delayed by about 20 hours their armored units ' advance . On October 26 , 1981 , after considerable lobbying , a Congressional hearing , and letter - writing by Bouck , every member of the unit were finally recognized for their valor that day , making the platoon the most decorated American unit of World War II. What entity does 'battle of lanzerath ridge' has the relation 'start time' with?
16 december 1944