Western Europe · 19 Sept 1944 – 16 Dec 1944
Hürtgen Forest
U.S. forces fought through the Hürtgen Forest from September to December 1944 but failed to secure the Rur dams before the Ardennes offensive ended the campaign.
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The Hürtgen Forest fighting ran from 19 September to 16 December 1944, across wooded, steep ground east of the Belgian-German border. U.S. commanders aimed to protect the southern flank of the advance near Aachen and eventually reach the Rur River and its dams. German defenders used prepared positions, mines, artillery and the forest’s restricted roads to slow the attacks. The terrain and weather also limited American use of tanks and air support.
The first U.S. efforts began in September. The 3rd Armored Division fought along the forest's northern edge at Stolberg, while the 9th Infantry Division pushed into the forest toward the road net at Hürtgen and Kleinhau. It got no farther than the Lammersdorf–Hürtgen road near Jägerhaus. From 6 October, the 9th Infantry Division attacked again, this time toward Schmidt. In ten days it advanced about 3,000 yards and lost about 4,500 men. The 28th Infantry Division took over and attacked on 2 November. It captured Vossenack and, on 3 November, Schmidt, but counterattacks by the 116th Panzer and 89th Divisions retook Schmidt the next day and drove the Americans back across the Kall gorge by 8 November.
On 16 November, the 4th Infantry Division attacked in Operation Queen. Its 22nd Infantry Regiment fought for 18 days, while the 12th Infantry Regiment helped secure its southern flank. German forces, including the 275th Infantry Division, resisted from prepared positions. The 22nd’s advance toward Grosshau was measured in yards, and German artillery and counterattacks inflicted severe losses. On 25 November, the regiment renewed its attack with armor, artillery and engineers; German fire drove the infantry back into the woods. U.S. troops took Grosshau late on 29 November. The 8th Infantry Division took Hürtgen on 28 November, and in early December the 5th Armored Division and the 2nd Ranger Battalion took Bergstein and Hill 400.
By 16 December U.S. troops had pushed through the forest to the Rur between Düren and Bergstein, but the campaign did not give them the Rur dams. The 78th Infantry Division's attack toward the dams, begun on 13 December, stalled at Kesternich. The sources put U.S. losses at about 33,000, with estimates reaching 55,000; the total included combat and non-combat casualties. German losses were reported at about 28,000. The U.S. offensive ended on 16 December, when the German Ardennes offensive began. Because the dams stayed in German hands and the cost was so high, the fighting is usually counted a German defensive victory. U.S. operations against the dams resumed in February 1945.