Bearing the proud nickname "The Golden Lions," the U.S. 106th Infantry Division was routed on the night of December 6, 1944 in what was described by the official historian as "the most serious reverse suffered by American arms during the operations of 1944-5 in the European theater." The division historian himself put it more colorfully: "Panic, sheer unreasoning panic, flamed the road all day and into the night. Everyone, it seemed, who had any excuse, and many who had none, were going west that day."