Kampfgruppe Von Der Heydte took up a position at Porfays in the forest east of the N-68 and conducted some local skirmishes on small US convoys and even captured some POWs.

Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte, a seasoned paratroop commander and veteran of the airborne assault on Crete,[2]: 88  was summoned on 8 December and told to prepare for a mission, but not given any details.

"[4]: 130 On 13 December, Heydte visited the headquarters of Army Group B near Bad Münstereifel to complain that the resources allocated to him for the operation were wholly inadequate.

Field Marshal Walter Model, who had tried to persuade Hitler to attempt a less ambitious counterattack, replied that he gave the entire Ardennes Offensive less than a 10 percent chance of succeeding.

Their objective was to seize the crossroads and hold it for approximately twenty-four hours until relieved by the 12th SS Panzer Division, hampering the flow of Allied reinforcements and supplies in the area.

[4]: 130 Just after midnight on 17 December, 112 Ju 52 transport planes with around 1,300 paratroops took off during a powerful snowstorm with strong winds and considerable low cloud cover.

[6]: 161  Strong winds deflected many paratroops whose planes were relatively close to the intended drop zone and made their landings far rougher.

[3]: 218 Because of the extensive dispersal of the drop, Fallschirmjäger were reported all over the Ardennes, and the Allies believed a major division-sized jump had taken place, causing the Americans much confusion and convincing them to allocate men to secure the rear instead of facing the main German thrust at the front.

Oberstgruppenführer Sepp Dietrich had scoffed at Heydte's request for carrier pigeons, and none of the unit's radios survived the drop, so he was unable to report the detailed information he gathered.

[7] With only a single day's food supply and limited water, on 19 December Heydte withdrew his forces towards the German lines.