 The 501st was the first to fight at Bastogne when one of its battalions ran into the enemy near Neffe, a few kilometers out of Bastogne.Thus began the defense of Bastogne in which the 501st gave up not one foot of ground, and in which the division, and its comrades in arms, stopped cold everything the Germans could throw at them, ruined Hitler's offensive time table and eventually won the 101st the first presidential unit citation ever awarded to a full division.Once again, the 501st paid a dear price of 580 killed, wounded or captured.