Introduction -- Prologue. Toward an American philosophy of command ; The making of six corps commanders ; The coming of the Bulge -- Phase I: German initiative in action. The Germans attack, the Allies react ; V Corps halts the German Schwerpunkt ; VIII Corps slows the flood ; XVIII (Airborne) Corps stands in the breach ; III, XII, and VII Corps prepare for battle -- Phase II: initiative in flux. The struggle for initiative: tension in the Allied camp ; III, VIII, and XII Corps fight for initiative in the south ; XVIII (Airborne), VII, and V Corps fight for initiative in the north -- Phase III: American initiative in action. Closing the Bulge: more tension in the Allied camp ; VII, XVIII (Airborne), and V Corps close the Bulge from the north ; VIII, III, and XII Corps close the Bulge from the south -- Epilogue. Conclusions and epilogue.