The real Band of Brothers: The untold story of the US soldiers who held the line against a massive German onslaught until their comrades arrived and took the glory for the key battle (26 Pics)

Story of how the 110th Infantry, 28th Division dug into fox holes in the middle of the Ardennes forest revealed

It stands as one of the classic stories of true grit and defiance against Hitler's army in their last major offensive

Without their brave stand at onset of the offensive, the 101st Airborne may not have reached Bastogne in time 

The images are found in a book called The 110th Holds in the Ardennes by Walter S. Zapotoczny Jr, which tells the tale of how the 110th infantry 28th division held a line through the Ardennes forest against Hitler's army.

An American soldier in the Ardennes Forest - The Ardennes Offensive, Battle of the Bulge, as it is commonly called took place from December 16, 1944 to January 25 1945 and stands as one of the classic stories of true grit and defiance against a strong and determined enemy

The 110th Infantry, 28th Infantry Division, manning defensive positions during the conflict 

28th Infantry soldiers marching towards Bastogne - without their brave stand at the onset of the German offensive, the 101st Airborne may not have reached Bastogne in time and the war would have been prolonged 

Standing in Hitler's way were the 110th Infantry, the center regiment of the 28th Infantry Division

Aimed at driving to the port of Antwerp through Luxembourg and Belgium, Hitler launched his last military reserves in one last gamble but the 110th Infantry, 28th Infantry Division, stood in his way 

Believing that he could buy time to fight off the Red Army until his super weapons could turn the tide, Hitler opted for a major counter offensive to split the Allied Coalition

American soldiers come across dead German soldiers in Bastogne during the offensive 

A US soldier on bedrolls after the first night in the Battle of the Bulge 

28th Division Soldiers in the Hurtgen Forest during the conflict at the end of 1944

Damian Lewis played U.S. Army Major Richard Winters in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers (pictured)

Steven Walters and Rich Warden in the 2001 miniseries, Band Of Brothers, which portrays the true story of the Easy Company, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division in the US Army

Stars of HBO's epic war drama included Damian Lewis, Scott Grimes, and Frank John Hughes

The HBO series captured the imagination of viewers when it dramatised the Easy Company's battle in Europe as part of WW2

Band of Brothers is a 2001 American war drama miniseries based on historian Stephen E. Ambrose's 1992 non-fiction book of the same name

German soldiers advance past a knocked-out US halftrack during the battle 

US soldiers rest on rubble after a battle during the conflict

Young German prisoners of war during the Battle of the Bulge - it was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War Two

Soldiers queue up for a hot meal as World War Two came to an end 

German soldiers stop for a cigarette break during the end of the Second World War

An American soldier grins as he holds up captured weapons during the offensive over the winter 1944/1945

The American soldiers held the line as long as possible so the German advance could be slowed

The battle severely depleted Germany's armored forces, and they were largely unable to replace them

American ambulances advance with the troops during the winter offensive in 1944

German prisoners of war - The phrase 'Battle of the Bulge' was coined by contemporary press to describe the bulge in German front lines on wartime news maps, and it became the most widely used name for the battle

American soldiers in a snow trench - it was the largest and bloodiest battle fought by the United States in World War

The American troops besieged in Bastogne held out. When on 22 December the Germans offered their commander, Brigadier-General Anthony McAuliffe, either surrender or annihilation by massed artillery, his celebrated reply was 'Nuts!