Well, okay, here goes:

In the war movies concerning the Battle of the Bulge (e.g. Band of Brothers), we are always treated to these heroic American infantry holding off the German panzers.

Now, I know they're just movies, but I'm confused. The Americans seem to be armed with small arms, some grenades, and maybe a machine gun or two. And they're always "critically low on ammunition."

How is it that these men can hold off the German armor? I mean, you can't stop a Panther with an M-1 or a grenade.

Now, obviously, these guys did it in real life, so I'm missing something. How did it really happen? What stopped the German armor from just rolling through the positions?

And thanks for the kind responses.