#17_01: Elsenborn Ridge Part 1: Rocherath-Krinkelt - PzC 05 Bulge '44

Rocherath-Krinkelt, Northern Ardennes, Dec.17th, 1944: After penetrating the US front line, the task of the infantry in the 6th Panzer Armee was to pivot to the northwest, to block three main roads leading south from Verviers. The success, or failure, of this task would determine the extent to which the tank routes of the 1st SS and 12th SS Pz Divisions, would be menaced by US intervention from the north. Troops from the US 2nd and 99th Infantry Divisions stubbornly held a line villages but, under intense pressure, they requested to withdraw and set up a defensive position on the Elsenborn Ridge. This ridge is not even marked on any map, and is little more than a line of low hills with lightly wooded slopes, yet it commanded the approach from the south. The determined defense of this ridge, essential to protecting the road net and the artillery positions behind it, was a crucial factor in the early stages of the Battle of the Bulge. [Size, medium]