on 18 December, but spent another night there so that he could brief his relief force, the 101st Airborne Division. Not only did that division's acting commander, Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe, show up ahead of schedule, but so did Colonel William Roberts from the 10th Armored Division Combat Command R (CCR), sent by Patton. Another welcome guest arriving later that evening was Major General Matthew Ridgway, commander of XVIII Airborne Corps, en route to his headquarters, but advised by Middleton to stay in Bastogne for the night to avoid capture by the Germans. While Middleton and his guests slept, elements of the 101st Airborne poured into Bastogne all during the night and into the following day. Having conferred with McAuliffe at length the previous evening, Middleton left Bastogne after full daylight on 19 December, and set up headquarters in a school building in Neufchâteau, 17 miles to the southwest. For the next several days, Bastogne was defended by the 101st, along with elements of CCR and some corps artillery assets that Middleton was able to supply. McAuliffe had units scattered in towns surrounding Bastogne, which bore the brunt of attacks by the Panzer Lehr Division and Second Panzer Division. At one point on 19 December, some of McAuliffe's units wanted to fall back, and McAuliffe concurred, calling Middleton for his approval. Middleton's response was, "we can't hold Bastogne if we keep falling back" and the units were ordered to stay. On 20 December, VIII Corps was moved from Hodges' First Army back to Patton's Third Army. Bastogne was being surrounded by the Germans and without adequate weather for airdrops, supplies were running low. By 22 December the Germans felt that their position around Bastogne was strong enough to send in an emissary with a note advising the Americans to surrender the city, or they would be attacked in the afternoon. McAuliffe's famous reply, "Nuts!" was sent back to the German commander. The Germans did renew their attack that afternoon, but it was muted by freshly falling snow, and a stiff American response. The next morning, 23 December, was the eighth day of fighting and the first day that the sun had emerged from behind the thick fog and clouds since the beginning of the battle. The Ninth Air Force was able to send 240 aircraft over Bastogne that day, each dropping about 1200 pounds of critically needed supplies, including artillery