rounds that were delivered in the morning and used against the Germans the same afternoon. Over the next three days, offensives made by the Germans were countered with responses from the Americans. In the late afternoon on 26 December the first elements of the long-awaited 4th Armored Division arrived in Bastogne, breaking the siege of the city. Hitler demanded that Bastogne be taken, but even with nine divisions in the fight, the Germans were not able to break in. With the siege broken and additional elements of the 4th Armored Division coming in, Middleton stipulated that the top priority was to get the 964 wounded troops out of Bastogne and into area hospitals. Despite the small opening to the city, it was clear by 27 December that the Germans were throwing their principal effort against Bastogne. In response to this renewed German thrust against Bastogne, Eisenhower released two new divisions on 28 December, the 87th Infantry and the 11th Armored. These units joined the 101st Airborne Division in the corps lineup just in time for a new offensive on 30 December to shrink the bulge created in the allied line. The Americans began their attack at 7:30 that morning, which, coincidentally, was the exact time that the Germans, under General der Panzertruppen (Lieutenant General equivalent) Hasso von Manteuffel scheduled an attack of their own. The 11th Armored Division had difficulty meeting its objectives (for reasons not related to the strength of the Germans), but the 87th Division fought well in the snow, sleet and deepening cold. On 3 January the new 17th Airborne Division relieved the 11th Armored Division, and the corps stretched along a crude 15-mile line due west of Bastogne, with the 101st continuing to hold the city. For the next two weeks the corps moved steadily north in heavy, sometimes even desperate, fighting, and on 16 January they met units from First Army pushing south at Houffalize. Over the following twelve days the combined force pushed the Germans back eastward across the Our River, returning the Allied line to its original position before 16 December battle began, eliminating the bulge created in the Allied line on 16 December. Push across Germany and victory With the front restored to its previous boundary, Bradley summoned his Army and Corps commanders to his headquarters. He wanted Hodges' First Army to advance to the Rhine, while Patton's Third Army would stay