Instead, the regiment fought its way through the woods virtually unsupported in a battle of attrition against three german divisions and elements of two. Battle of the kasserine pass tunisia campaign mar 23, 1943. The hurtgen forest and the roer river dams, 19411945. This is the first time ive seen an article about the details of the battle in which my father, leon c. Twentyeighth infantry division attacked from the south side of vossenack to the mestrenger.
South of germeter off highway 399 is the german military cemetery ehr. A flourishing resort since the 1500sthe german travelguide publisher karl baedeker had called it the oldest european wateringplace of any importancespa reached its zenith in the 18th century with visits by peter the great and other potentates keen to promenade beneath. World war ii american involved battles timeline created by superity. Make educational timelines or create a timeline for your company website. Laying on the germanbelgian border, just east of the roer river, the forest was about 50 square. The battle of debrecen begins as german and soviet forces advance against each other in eastern hungary. In the central sector of the west wall defensive line lay the dark and almost impenetrable hurtgen forest. The battle of the hurtgen forest axis history forum. The 22d infantry entered the hurtgen forest expecting a lowcost success. The hurtgen forest and the roer river dams, 19441945. To mark the 75th anniversary of the battle of hurtgen forest, chris hartley talks about his book, the lost soldier. The battle of hurtgen forest is very well researched and contains excellent details and descriptions of attacks, battles, battlefield exploits and heroics.
The battle of the hurtgen forest on the germanbelgian border in september to december 1944 is rightly remembered as the meat grinder, when us troops endur. Hemmingway is referring to a world war i battle in which the british suffered heavy casualties 29 charles b mcdonald, the siegfried line campaign, washington d. Excellent information on the battle of hurtgen forest in. How and why so many wonderful young people were sacrificed and for what purpose poses an interesting question. It has been said that the battle for the hurtgen forest was based on a plan that was criminally stupid. Army, division after division were sent into the hurtgen forest on the. Churchill and stalin discuss spheres of influence in the postwar balkans. The first american unit involved in the hurtgen forest battle was the 9th infantry division. The name is sometimes anglicized to be spelled huertgen or hurtgen. The battle caused numerous casualties on both sides. In this new series well take a look at the 28th infantry divisions campaign in the hurtgen forest. The most notable feature of that battle was the nearepic struggle to get a handful of m4 tanks and m10 tank destroyers down the steep and narrow forest trail.
Fighting in the hurtgen forest resulted in tens of thousands of american casualties. The site of one of the bloodiest battlegrounds for u. From september 1944 to february 1945, american and german forces fought over the hurtgen forest, an area of wooded hills on the border between belgium and germany. The 22d pulled out of the forest on 3 december and headed for luxembourg. By september 1944, the allied offensive in western europe had swept from the normandy beaches all the way to the west wall. Battle of the hurtgen forest september 19 december 8, 1944 september, 1944. Mission 6 battle of hurtgen forest allied campaign. The battle for the hurtgen forest there are stories that may need a half century or more to age before being told, giving memories and bitterness a chance to fade and giving those involved, time to have passed into history. The battle of the huertgen forest timeline home scarlet.
It was the longest battle on german ground during world war ii and is. I was unaware of author charles whiting before, and after reading just a few chapters, i did a little research to find out just who he wasi. C office of the chief of military history, department of the army, 1963, pp. The definitive account of one of world war iis bloodiest campaignsthe fivemonth battle between american and german forces in the huertgen foresttold through the words of the men who were there. It was one of the most fierce and bloody battles of world war ii. Battle for the hurtgen and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. In the course of research and interviews while writing a series of books on world war ii, i became increasingly aware of the campaign for the huertgen forest. Hells forest is a grandtactical simulation of that enormous campaign. Maria casseri, a coahuilla indian basket maker, at work, california. I make maps mainly for the call to battle mod when i have free time. And the lack of real meaning in the hurtgen forest battles. Battle of hurtgen forest september 19 december 8, 1944 september, 1944.
The ferocity and horrors of this long running engagement rank near the top for world war ii. This is a lessknown but very impressive battle during the allied 1944autumn offensives in western europe. The operation that lasted for several months was intended to tie up the german forces to stop any reinforcement to the north and also to capture the frontlines from the flanks. Ninth infantry division had bloody fights at germeter and vossenack in october 1944. Schlacht im hurtgenwald was a series of fierce battles fought from 19 september to 16 december 1944, between american and german forces on the western front during world war ii, in the hurtgen forest, a 140 km 2 54 sq mi area about 5 km 3. The allies failed to capture the area and the germans held it.
Hurtgen forest in october 1944 suffered, in thomas. From september 1944 to february 45, in the longest battle ever fought by the u. Yet the battle of hurtgen forest is largely forgotten. Battle of hurtgen forest, revisited december 3, 2012 a u. The battle of hurtgen forest is developing timeline. This might be due to the fact that its closed in by the famous operation market garden and the battle of the bulge. The battle of the huertgen forest with history, veteran accounts, timeline, poems and.
With this battle, the war precipitated by the nazi regime returned to germany. Mission 1 operation overlord mission 2 battle of the hedgerows mission 3 battle of the falaise pocket mission 4 operation market garden mission 5 battle of the bulge mission 6 battle of hurtgen forest mission 7 operation plunder. Schlacht im hurtgenwald is the name given to the series of fierce battles fought between u. Historians speak at the annual international conference on world war ii hosted by the national world war ii museum in new orleans. The division was tasked with the capture of schmidt. Battle of huertgen forest the longest battle of the second world war on german soil during the autumn and winter of 194445, the longest battle of the second world war on german soil took place in the huertgen forest. The battle of the hurtgen forest lasted from september to 10 february, roughly five months. In this match we take a view from the german perspective during the battle of hurtgen forest on october 7, 1944. The little known battle of hurtgen forest was fought from october 1944 to february 1945 south and east of aachen, germany.
First army set up its winter headquarters in the belgian town of spa. The battle for hurtgen forest was a difficult book to finish, not because the subject matter the bloodiest and most futile american campaign of the war in western europe was so disheartening, but because the book is so poorly written. An overview of the battle of the hurtgen forest in 1944. Early in the morning of september 14th, 1944, elements of the 9th infantry division, supported by the 746th tank battalion started their advance across the belgian german border at the villages of roetgen and monschau. It might as well be an unpopular item for american historywriting because of. The americans were forced to put the 1st, 4th, 8th, 9th, 28th, 78th, and the 83rd infantry divisions, the 505th and the 517th parachute regiments, the 2nd ranger battalion, and the 5th and 7th armored divisions into the forest. Air force f16 fighting falcon fighter aircraft assigned to the 18th aggressor squadron takes off.
The 2,240 counters in the game represent almost every formation, at company and battalion levels, which fought in the battle, including us. The extensive prewar network of defensive positions the westwall or siegfried line ran through the forest and stood as one of the most significant obstacles between the western allies and the push into the heart of germany. The battle of lanzerath ridge how 18 american soldiers stopped the entire 1st ss panzer division duration. Along a road that rises from the kall river valley to the town of schmidt, there is still a length of tank track that melted. Other than his harping on the futility of the battle. The battle of vossenack hell in the hurtgen forest. At that point in the war, the allied logistics system was. Battle of hurtgen forestwe were told by courtney hodges we were to push into the forest to seige the city of aachen. The battle of hurtgen forest took place from 19 september 1944 to 10 february 1945 and holds the dubious honour of being the longest battle on german soil during world war ii and the single longest battle that the american military has ever been engaged in. Dear player if you like ww2 or the mod call to battle mod you might like this too. This week in history wwii 1944 the battle of hurtgen forest.
Schlacht im hurtgenwald was a series of fierce battles fought from 19 september to 16 december 1944, between. Battle of hurtgen forest 1944 test film video dailymotion. General courtney hodges wanted to close to the rhine river, and to do that required driving nazi forces out of the hurtgen forest. The battle was so costly that it has been described as an allied defeat of the first magnitude, with specific credit personally assigned to nazi. The view as you commence your journey into hurtgen forest.
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