<P> The German losses in the battle were especially critical: their last reserves were now gone, the Luftwaffe had been shattered, and remaining forces throughout the West were being pushed back to defend the Siegfried Line . </P> <P> In response to the early success of the offensive, on 6 January Churchill contacted Stalin to request that the Soviets put pressure on the Germans on the Eastern Front . On 12 January, the Soviets began the massive Vistula--Oder Offensive, originally planned for 20 January . It had been brought forward from 20 January to 12 January because meteorological reports warned of a thaw later in the month, and the tanks needed hard ground for the offensive (and the advance of the Red Army was assisted by two Panzer Armies (5th & 6th) being redeployed for the Ardennes attack). </P> <P> During World War II, most U.S. black soldiers still served only in maintenance or service positions, or in segregated units . Because of troop shortages during the Battle of the Bulge, Eisenhower decided to integrate the service for the first time . This was an important step toward a desegregated United States military . More than 2,000 black soldiers had volunteered to go to the front . A total of 708 black Americans were killed in combat during World War II . </P> <P> The battle around Bastogne received a great deal of media attention because in early December 1944 it was a rest and recreation area for many war correspondents . The rapid advance by the German forces who surrounded the town, the spectacular resupply operations via parachute and glider, along with the fast action of General Patton's Third U.S. Army, all were featured in newspaper articles and on radio and captured the public's imagination; but there were no correspondents in the area of Saint - Vith, Elsenborn, or Monschau - Höfen . The static, stubborn resistance of troops in the north, who refused to yield their ground in the cold snow and freezing rain despite the heavy German attacks, did not get a casual observer excited . The images of supply troops trying to bring ammunition and cold food, crawling through mud and snow, to front - line troops dug into frozen foxholes around Montjoie, Elseborn and Butgenbach were not exciting news . </P>

Where did the allies halt the german advance at the battle of bulge