During 19 December, about 100 Germans seized four buildings in the village of Höfen, opening a wedge in the American lines about by After American rifle and mortar fire failed to dislodge them, 612th Tank Destroyer Battalion brought their 57mm anti-tank guns to bear directly on them. Follow up attacks with white phosphorus grenades finally caused the surviving 25 Germans to surrender, while 75 were found dead within the buildings. The German attack on the American extreme left flank was repulsed by artillery and rifle fire. Despite the fierce onslaught, the battalion did not commit its reserves, which in any case only consisted of one platoon of forty men.