Eighty years ago today, the German army launched its last major offensive on the western front during World War II.

It centered on the Ardennes Forest in Belgium and become known as the Battle of the Bulge.

Standing in the way that day was a Pennsylvania National Guard Division -- the 28th -- known as the Bloody Bucket.

To shed some light on the 28th's heroic stand, I reached out to Walter Zapotoczny.

He is a former 28th Infantry Division, Command Historian, the incoming president of the division's association, an adjunct professor of History at HACC, and the author of 13 military history books -- including his latest -- the 28th Infantry Division in the Battle of the Bulge.