The 277th Volksgrenadier Division's 991st Grenadier Regiment and the [[294th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|294th Volksgrenadier Division]] were in the Monschau Forest about {{convert|1.5|mi}} southeast of Wahlerscheid.<ref name=colefive>{{cite book |last= Parker |first= Danny S. |date= 1994 |title= To Win the Winter Sky: The Air War over the Ardennes 1944–1945 |publisher= Combined Books |isbn= 0-938289-35-7|page=71}}</ref name=colefive/> The 2nd ID intended to surprise the Germans and advanced without artillery preparation. Their movement forward through the forest went well at first with little resistance,<ref name="Hersko">{{cite web |url=http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-the-bulge-us-troops-fight-at-elsenburn-ridge.htm/1 |title=Battle of the Bulge: U.S. Troops Fight at Elsenburn Ridge |publisher=HistoryNet.com |author=Ralph E. Hersko, Jr. |date=November 1998 |access-date=2010-07-14 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612000346/http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-the-bulge-us-troops-fight-at-elsenburn-ridge.htm/1 |archive-date=2011-06-12 }}</ref> but once they gained the edge of the cleared forest around the pillboxes on December 14, they found themselves facing four pillboxes, six concrete bunkers, a forester's lodge, and a customs house, grouped compactly about the road junction and sited to provide interlocking fire for their machine gun and rifle positions.<ref name=macdonald2/>
[[File:Heartbreak Crossroads.jpg|left|thumb|The intersection at Wahlerscheid on February 13, 1945 after it was recaptured by the 9th ID. The right road leads to Krinkelt-Rocherath, the left to Höfen-Alzen ridge and Monschau, and center into Nazi-held Germany, Dreiborn Ridge, and Roer River dams.]]
