The northern assault was led by the I SS Panzer Corps. 1st SS Panzer Division was the spearhead of the attack, led by SS "Obersturmbannführer" Joachim Peiper's "kampfgruppe", which consisted of 4,800 men and 600 vehicles, including 35 Panthers, 45 Panzer IVs, 45 Tiger IIs, 149 half-tracks, 18 105mm and 6 150mm artillery pieces, and 30 anti-aircraft weapons. Dietrich's plan was for the 12th Panzer Division to follow 12th Volksgrenadier Division's infantry who were tasked with capturing the villages and towns immediately west of the International Highway along the Lanzerath-Losheimergraben road and to advance northwest towards Losheimergraben. From there they would capture Bucholz Station and then drive through Honsfeld, Büllingen, and a group of villages named Trois-Ponts, to Belgian Route Nationale N-23, and cross the River Meuse. During the actual battle the 1st SS instead bypassed Elsenborn, taking a route further south than planned.