The division was stretched thin over a 22-mile (35 km) front, and all three regiments were in the line with no reserve. The untested troops of the US 99th Infantry Division had been placed in the sector during mid-November because the Allies thought that the area was unlikely to see battle.

: 259–271 Capturing Monschau, the nearby village of Höfen, and the twin villages of Rocherath-Krinkelt just east of Elsenborn Ridge, were key to the success of the German plans, and Hitler committed his best armored units to the area. The Germans planned on using two key routes through the area to seize Antwerp and force a separate peace with the United States and Britain. West of Elsenborn Ridge, where the land descends in gentle hills to the cities of Liège and Spa, was a network of Allied supply bases and a well-developed road network. In this region, Elsenborn Ridge marks the westernmost ridge of the Ardennes, rising more than 2,000 feet (600 m) above sea level unlike the uplands further north, east and south, it has been extensively logged.

: 33 The battle centred on the boomerang-shaped Elsenborn Ridge east of Elsenborn, Belgium. The area from Elsenborn Ridge itself to Monschau was the only sector of the American front line attacked during the Battle of the Bulge in which the Germans failed to advance. The Battle of Elsenborn Ridge refers to the northernmost German attacks during the Battle of the Bulge.

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