The Germans were looking for a place to attack and on January 9 they selected the town of Hatten. Once again they made a mistake.
Defending the town of Hatten was the 1st Battalion of the 242nd Infantry. Behind them, only a mile away in the town of Rittershoffen, was the 2nd Battalion of the same regiment, which had just moved up after its engagements at Gambsheim. On the other side were elements of the 25th Panzer Grenadier Division and the 21st Panzer Division. Used in the battle against the 242nd men were about 1,050 enemy troops, all combat veterans and recognized as among the best in Hitler's army. They were equipped with 30 Mark V tanks and 10 self-propelled guns.
 2nd Bn moved to Rittershoffen&media=https://ww2history.eu/media/com_mtree/images/listings/o/8376.jpg){kind=link}