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The '''Battle of Heartbreak Crossroads''' was fought, beginning one day prior to the start of the [[Battle of the Bulge]], at a vital [[three-way junction]] near a [[Forestry|forester's]] cabin and former border post named Wahlerscheid, astride the [[Siegfried Line]] (''Westwall'').<ref group=notes>The [[Eupen-Malmedy#Provisional Belgian administration, 1919–25|interbellum Belgian-German border]] ran about one km to the southwest of the crossroads. The border post was, prior to [[Eupen-Malmedy#Annexed to Germany, 1940–45|the annexation]] of Eupen-Malmédy on 18 May 1940, the German-side customs house. After annexation it was integrated into the newly
On the eastern side of the Siegfried Line was an excellent road network leading to the [[Roer River]] dams a few miles to the northeast; the Allies' next goal. The Allies had tried bombing the dams without success, and a ground campaign was decided upon. The Americans were assigned to capture the crossroads with the goal of securing a jumping-off point for an attack on the dams, or failing that, force the Germans to blow them up.<ref name="Hersko"/> The dams were important to the Germans because they could be used defensively to control the flow and depth of the Roer River, delaying or even completely blocking Allied advances at will.
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== Ardennes offensive ==
{{main|Battle of the Bulge}}
The U.S. First Army thought the Germans might initiate a spoiling attack to try to break up the U.S. drive.<ref name=spiller>{{cite book|last1=Spiller|first1=Roger J.|title=Combined Arms in Battle Since 1939|date=1992|publisher=U.S. Army Command and General Staff College Press|url=http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/cgsc/carl/download/csipubs/spiller.pdf|location=Fort Leavenworth, Kansas|accessdate=25 June 2015|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626145037/http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/cgsc/carl/download/csipubs/spiller.pdf|archivedate=26 June 2015}}</ref> When the Germans launched a 90-minute artillery barrage on December 16, 1944, at 05:30, the Americans were only aware of what was happening in their sector.<ref name="quarrie">{{cite book|url=|title=The Ardennes Offensive: VI Panzer Armee|work=Osprey Order of Battle Series|last= Quarrie|first=Bruce|year=1999|publisher=Osprey Publishing}}</ref> General Hodges remained convinced throughout 16 December that the counter-attack was nothing more than a spoiling offensive, as did General [[Omar Bradley]] at [[Twelfth United States Army Group|Twelfth Army Group HQ]]. Gerow called Hodges in Paris on the afternoon of the 16th to request permission to call off the attack on Hurtgen and reinforce the 2nd and 99th ID. Hodges said no. The 2nd ID continued to attack eastward throughout 16 December, but late in the evening they were told to hold their lines.<ref name=whiting>{{cite book |first1=Charles |last1=Whiting |pages= 312|title=Battle Of Hurtgen Forest | publisher =Da Capo Press |date=October 9, 2007}}</ref>{{rp|206–209}}
=== Americans break contact ===
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