Black volunteers helped win the Battle of the Bulge

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Army on Thursday awarded medals and restored the ranks of five African-American soldiers who fought both the Germans and segregation during World War II.

In December 1944, the Nazis launched a massive counter- offensive to halt the Allied advance toward Berlin. On a 50- mile front along the German-Belgium border, surprised American troops retreated as the Battle of the Bulge began.

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The Allied commander, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, took unprecedented action: He temporarily desegregated the U.S. Army and called for black volunteers to help turn the tide of the battle.

More than 2,000 African-American soldiers left their units to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with their white counterparts on the front lines. Many of the soldiers even accepted demotions in order to fight alongside whites. After the battle was won, they were sent back to their segregated units and eventually discharged from the service as privates.

More than 50 years later, five of those African-American soldiers were honored for their battlefield bravery.