to the west of Losheim. It was on the border between U.S. VIII Corps to the south and U.S. V Corps. It was held by a single Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon of 18 men and Task Force X, a tank destroyer platoon of 55 men. The German forces were located on the eastern edge of the Losheim Gap in Losheim and further east. The Siegfried Line between them divided the Losheim Gap. Dietrich's plan was for the 6th SS Panzer Army to advance northwest through Lanzerath and Bucholz Station and then drive through Honsfield and Büllingen. The infantry would continue north through Losheimergraben to push the 2nd and 99th Divisions out of the way. This would allow the 12th SS Panzer Division to advance westward towards a group of villages named Trois-Ponts, connect to Belgian Route Nationale N-23, and cross the river Meuse. It was then another to Antwerp. The Battle During the Battle of the Bulge, some of the best German units, including the 3rd Fallschirmjaeger Division and Sixth Panzer Army planned to assault northwest over the Losheim-Losheimergraben road and along the railroad tracks through the Losheim Gap towards the village of Büllingen, but were held up by the broken railroad overpasses which they destroyed in their prior retreat. These were to be rebuilt on the first day of the offensive. Unable to quickly repair them, the units advanced instead into Lanzerath. In the day-long Battle of Lanzerath Ridge, they took dozens of casualties and were held up by the 18 remaining US troops that dug into a ridge overlooking the village, the 6th Panzer Army's advance was delayed. On December 17th, German engineers repaired one of the road bridges over the railroad along the Losheim-Losheimergraben road and the 12th Division German armor began advancing towards the key road junction at Losheimergraben. Once past Lanzerath, the Germans planned to capture the road network, which was thwarted by the mostly inexperienced U.S. troops who severely limited the German's advance, halting them at the Battle of Elsenborn Ridge. The Germans were forced to reroute their armor and troops to the south over mostly single-lane country roads, severely limiting the speed of their advance and their ability to concentrate their strength on the limited American defenses. In the south, the 5th Panzer Army was given the task of capturing St. Vith and the vital road and rail network. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division