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. US and British Generals believe the enemy is entrenched behind the Siegfried Line - the German defensive wall - awaiting an Allied attack.

Unknown to the top brass, however, the Germans are massing on the other side of the Ardennes Forest with the intention of attacking on December 16 - an action that will become known as the Battle of the Bulge. Hitler plans to break through the American lines then and capture Antwerp, denying invasion forces a deep water port. The Führer's ultimate aim is to drive a wedge between the Allies, enabling the Nazis to regain supremacy in western Europe.

Eddie Kyle's own conflict is on two fronts: with Cravitz, a tough sergeant who takes a instant dislike to him, and the Germans, who Eddie discovers are waiting in force in the small town of Bonneville. Eddie attempts to persuade Cravitz of an imminent German assault, but is ignored. The subsequent attack catches the Americans on the back foot, and Eddie and his comrades are caught in the middle of one of the greatest military conflicts of World War II …