Them “crack troop” 17th SS were “crack” alright. Right up until they ran into the 23rd Tank Battalion of the U.S. 12th Armored Division.
I’m sure they were excellent combat troops, but the best troops on earth would have difficulty taking a fortified hilltop castle defended by armor and machine guns. One has to wonder what they thought they were going to accomplish, even if they did take the castle...At that point in the war, even the most devoted nazi should have thought ‘why bother?’
According to wikipedia (so taken with a huge grain of salt) there was one SS soldier with the defenders as well.