     General Erwin Kaschner of the 326th Volksgrenadier Division was under heavy pressure from higher up. The northern flank of the German attack had completely failed to break through the American lines. Sepp Dietrich, Sixth Panzer Army commander, was furiously demanding greater exertion from the troops. Kaschner had to try a direct frontal assault. And now, on the morning of the 18th, he was ready to go.
     The attack would go in just north of the little village of Hofen, not far from Monschau. The area was defended by the 3rd Battalion, 395th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division and some tank destroyers from 612th Tank Destroyer Battalion.  At 9:00 AM the first barrage started. Artillery, rocket, and mortar fire pounded the American positions. Then ten tanks, seven armored cars, and an infantry battalion came forward.
     At this point, the American artillery intervened. They had already worked out the ranges, and their forward observers were ready. A mighty barrage began to fall on the advancing German troops. The carnage was tremendous; the advancing waves had absolutely no protection against the hurricane of steel in which they were caught. The determined attackers pressed on and some of them made it to the village. But there they were killed by the defending American infantry.
     The German attack collapsed. 554 German dead were counted in and around Hofen; 53 prisoners were taken. Five Americans died and seven were wounded. The 326th Volksgrenadier Division made no further large attacks during the Ardennes campaign, and the sector around Hofen remained quiet. 
/Fire Control
     The most important part of an artilleryman's job is aiming the gun correctly. The vast majority of all artillery fire is indirect fire. The gunner doesn't see the target; he is instead told to drop his shell on a particular location specified on the map. Using a map, he compares his position with that of the target and figures the azimuth -- the horizontal direction to the target. This he sets with a compass. The crew manhandles the gun into approximately the right direction, and then uses a crank to set the precise direction.
     Next, he must set the elevation of the gun -- how high it must be aimed. This depends on the range to the target and the amount of propellant (gunpowder) in the shell. Fortunately, this has all been precomputed for him. All the gunner must do is figure the distance on the map, look up the corresponding elevation on his range table, and set the gun to that elevation.
     The first shot will probably miss by a little. At this point, a "forward observer" steps in. He's a member of the artillery outfit who's up in the front lines. He's in direct radio contact with the gunner. He "adjusts" the fire, telling the gunner to move it a little in one direction or the other.
     The American artillery system was even more advanced than this simplified description suggests. The artillery was all tied together in one big radio net. You could get on the radio net and simultaneously arrange a mass shoot of many different guns. If it was an important target, you could bring hundreds of guns to bear in a matter of minutes. On the Elsenborn Ridge, the artillery of three infantry divisions, the 1st, the 2nd and the 99th, were all tied together. Entire SS Panzer Divisions couldn't break through the wall erected by that artillery./