page_title: Battle of Elsenborn Ridge
section_title: German units
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Elsenborn Ridge / Background / German units
context_page_description: The Battle of Elsenborn Ridge refers to the northernmost German attacks during the Battle of the Bulge; the area from Elsenborn Ridge itself to Monschau was the only sector of the American front line attacked during the Battle of the Bulge where the Germans failed to advance. The battle centered on the boomerang-shaped Elsenborn Ridge east of Elsenborn, Belgium. In this region, Elsenborn Ridge marks the westernmost ridge of the Ardennes, rising more than 2,000 feet above sea level; unlike the uplands further north, east and south, it has been extensively logged. West of Elsenborn Ridge, where the land descends in gentle hills to the cities of Liège and Spa, was a network of Allied supply bases and a well-developed road network. The Germans planned on using two key routes through the area to seize Antwerp and force a separate peace with the United States and Britain. Capturing Monschau, the nearby village of Höfen, and the twin villages of Rocherath-Krinkelt just east of Elsenborn Ridge, were key to the success of the German plans, and Hitler committed his best armored units to the area.
context_section_description: 1 SS-Panzerkorps
  1 SS-Panzerdivision
  34 Panzer IVs
  37 Panthers
  10 Jagdpanzers
  30 Tiger IIs
  3 Fallschirmjäger Division
  12 Volksgrenadier-Division
  6 StuGs
  12 SS-Panzerdivision "Hitlerjugend"
  38 Panthers
  39 Panzer IVs
  47 Jagdpanzers
  277 Volksgrenadier-Division
  6 Jagdpanzers
  2 SS-Panzerkorps
  2 SS-Panzerdivision "Das Reich"
  58 Panthers
  28 Panzer IVs
  28 StuGs
  9 SS-Panzerdivision "Hohenstaufen"
  35 Panthers
  56 StuGs
  39 Panzer IVs
  21 Jagdpanzers
  67. Armeekorps
  272 Volksgrenadier-Division
  326 Volksgrenadier-Division
  Adolf Hitler personally selected the best troops available and officers he trusted for the counter-offensive. The lead role was given to Sepp Dietrich's 6th Panzer Army, while 5th Panzer Army was to attack to their south, covering their flank. 6th Panzer Army was given priority for supply and equipment and was assigned the shortest route to the ultimate objective of the offensive, Antwerp. 6th Panzer Army included the elite of the Waffen-SS, and totalled four armored, or panzer, divisions and seven infantry divisions in three corps. 6th Panzer Army's 1,000-plus artillery pieces and 90 Tiger tanks made it the strongest force deployed. Although Dietrich's initial sector frontage was only 23 miles (37 km), his assault concentrated on less than half that ground. Relying on at least a 6:1 troop superiority at the breakthrough points, he expected to overwhelm the Americans and reach the Meuse River by nightfall of the third day. The German assault force also included many volksgrenadier units. These were new units formed in the fall of 1944 by conscripting boys and elderly men, men previously rejected as physically unfit for service, wounded soldiers returning from hospitals, and transfers from the quickly shrinking German navy and air force. They were usually organized around cadres of veterans.
  Von Rundstedt believed the operation would decide the outcome of the war. A German document captured by 394th Inf. Regt. on 16 December contained his orders:
  Soldiers of the West Front: Your great hour has struck. Strong attacking armies are advancing today against the Anglo-Americans. I don't need to say more to you. You all feel it. Everything is at stake. You bear in yourselves a holy duty to give everything and to achieve the superhuman for our fatherland and our Fuhrer!
caption: German 6th Army progress during the offensive
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