(Above) Elements of the 38th Infantry digged in east of the Wahlersheid road during the 2nd Division attack towards Heartbreak Crossroads. (US Army photograph). This picture appear in William C.C. Cavanaghs book: ”The Battle East of Elsenborn & The Twin Villages”

(Above) The Wahlersheid crossroads. This is often referred to as the Heartbreak Crossroads and this picture show what kind of battering this terrain took. This picture was taken sometime in early 1945.  (US Army photograph). This picture also appear in William C.C. Cavanaghs book: ”The Battle East of Elsenborn & The Twin Villages”. The maps below show the estimated position of the picture above.

"The northernmost element of the German attack was an attempt by the 67th Corps in the Monschau forest to push through the left wing of the 99th Division's defenses from Höfen to Wahlerscheid. The attack was carried out by the 326th Volksgrenadier Division through forested, hilly terrain not unlike the neighboring Hurtgen forest. Without any significant armor support, the attack was stopped cold by the 395th Infantry of the 99th Division. The positions of the forward rifle platoons had been registered by the U.S. regimental artillery, and in cases where the German infantry reached the forward trench lines, they were pummeled mercilessly while the U.S. infantry remained within the cover of their foxholes. This was the one sector of the front where the German offensive made no significant inroads. An attack the following day met the same results, and the division was withdrawn to its start line where it remained for the remainder of the campaign."

The above is a quote from "Battle of the Ardennes 1944(1)," by Steven J. Zaloga (Osprey series).

Approximate position of the Pillbox in the picture below

The picture above is one of the Pillboxes in Wahlersheid as part of the Siegfried Line. There are several destroyed pillboxes in the area, this one of the more intact ones. This pillbox is facing south and most likely had a heavy machine gun due to its large slit. Picture from May 2007. In Björns right hand an empty ”2.36 Inch M6A1 HEAT” rocket can be seen.

Wahlersheid is a central area of Bill Warnocks book: ”The Dead of Winter”. In the book ”Hill 627” is referred to as the place where three M.I.A from 99th Infantry were found a few years ago. Please also visit the Library Section of this website.

The quote below is taken from the official US Army account of ”The Ardennes - Battle of the Bulge” - by Hugh M. Cole (Page 103).

”The 2nd Division Gives Up the Wahlerscheid Attack”

On the night of 16-17 December the enemy counterattacked at Wahlerscheid. Actually the number of enemy troops available for use against the 2d Division was very small, too few for any telling maneuver out of the West Wall position. The bulk of the 272nd Volks Grenadier Division, holding the sector, had been thrown in to stop the American 78th Division farther north. The 326th Volks Grenadier Division was already engaged in a costly attempt to penetrate the American lines at Monschau and Hofen. As a result the defense at the Wahlerscheid road junction had been conducted on a catch-as-catch-can basis by troops farmed out for brief periods prior to commitment in the counteroffensive. On 15 December, for example, elements of the 990th Regiment (277th Volks Grenadier Division) were relieved by a reinforced battalion of the 751st Regiment (326th Volks Grenadier Division), which, during the night of 15-16 December, was in the process of being relieved by the Replacement Battalion of the 326th. By coincidence the 2d Division attack on the night prior to the 16th engaged and detained troops which both the 277th and 326th expected to use elsewhere on the first day of the counteroffensive.