By the end of 1944, Germany realized that an Allied victory was imminent. As a last-gasp offensive thrust, the Germans planned an operation to split the Allied lines in Belgium, circle around and destroy four Allied armies, and force the Western Allies to negotiate a peace treaty in favor of the Axis powers. After a brutal month-long struggle in freezing temperatures, the German advance was halted, and Nazi leader Adolph Hitler's dreams of world conquest were finally crushed.