Ardennes, Belgium, 11 December 1944: Rookie infantryman Eddie Kyle is sent to join a forward unit just 12 miles from the enemy front line. He and his buddies are told that the area is regarded as a quiet zone, since US and British Generals believe the Germans are entrenched behind the Siegfried Line - their defensive wall - awaiting an Allied attack.

Unknown to the top brass, however, the Germans are massing on the other side of the Ardennes with the intention of attacking on 16 December - an action that will become known as the Battle of the Bulge. Hitler plans to break through the...