Krinkelt-Rocherath

The German 277th Division tried to push Americans of the 99th Infantry Division out of the two adjoining villages, which contained an important road junction that could lead to the Elsenborn Ridge – which the Americans needed to hold the northern shoulder of the “bulge.” 

American resistance was fierce and both sides threw more troops into the desperate fighting.  In the end, the Americans held the twin villages for three days before executing a withdrawal, which gave the Americans time to set up a defense along the Elsenborn Ridge that the Germans would never crack.  It was a prime example of the tough fighting by American infantry that won at the end the Battle of the Bulge.