Siegfried Line 1944–45: Battles on the German frontier PDF
Preview Siegfried Line 1944–45: Battles on the German frontier
The Siegfried Line 1944-45 Battles on the German frontier STEVENJ ZALOGAreceived hisBAinhistoryfromUnion CollegeandhisMAfrom ColumbiaUniversity.Hehas workedasananalystinthe aerospaceindustryforover twodecadescoveringmissile systemsandtheinternational armstrade,andhasserved withtheInstituteforDefense Analyses,afederalthink-tank. Heistheauthorofnumerous booksonmilitarytechnology andhistory,withanemphasis ontheUSArmyinWorld WarIIaswellasRussia andtheformerSovietUnion. STEVENOONwasbornin Kent,UK,andattendedart collegeinCornwall.Hehas hadalife-longpassionfor illustration,andsince1985 hasworkedasaprofessional artist.Stevehasprovided award-winningillustrations forrenowned publishers DorlingKindersley,where hisinterestinhistorical illustrationbegan. The Siegfried Line 1944-45 Battles on the Gerlllan frontier L Campaign • 181 The Siegfried Line 1944-45 Battles on the GerIllan frontier Steven J Zaloga · Illustrated by Steve Noon Firstpublishedin2007byOspreyPublishing Image credits MidlandHouse,WestWay,Botley,OxfordOX2OPH,UK 443ParkAvenueSouth,NewYork,NY10016,USA Unlessotherwiseindicated,the photosinthisbookare E-mail:[email protected] from thecollectionsofthe USArmySignal Corps, located atthe USNationalArchivesand RecordsAdministration ©2007OspreyPublishingLimited (NARA) in CollegePark, MDandthe USArmyMilitary Allrightsreserved.Apartfromanyfairdealingforthepurposeofprivatestudy, HistoryInstitute(MHI), Carlisle Barracks, PA. research,criticismorreview,aspermittedundertheCopyright,Designsand PatentsAct,1988,nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedina Author's note retrievalsystem,ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic, electrical,chemical,mechanical,optical,photocopying,recordingorotherwise, Theauthorwould liketothankTimm Haaslerforhishelpin withoutthepriorwrittenpermissionofthecopyrightowner.Enquiriesshouldbe addressedtothePublishers. obtaining mapsoftheWestwall defensesaroundAachen. Thanksalsogotothestaffofthe USArmy's MilitaryHistory ISBN9781846031212 Institute(MHI)attheArmyWarCollegeatCarlisleBarracks, PAandthestaffofthe USNationalArchive, CollegePark Design:TheBlackSpot fortheirkind assistanceinthepreparationofthis book. IndexbyAlisonWorthington Forbrevity, thetraditional conventionshavebeen used Cartography:TheMapStudio when referringto units. InthecaseofUSunits, 1/179th Bird's-eyeviewartworks:ChrisTaylor Infantryreferstothe 1stBattalion, 179thInfantryRegiment. OriginatedbyPDQDigitalMediaSolutions InthecaseofGerman unitsGR725 indicatesGrenadier PrintedinChinathroughWorldprint Regiment725. With regard toGerman placenames,this 07 08 09 10 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 bookusesthecommon English spellingof"Roer"forthe rivercalled the"Rur" bytheGermans. ACIPcatalogrecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary. Artist's note ForacatalogofallbooksbyOspreypleasecontact: NORTHAMERICA Readers maycareto notethattheoriginal paintings OspreyDirect,2427BondStreet,UniversityPark,IL60466,USA from whichthecolorplatesinthisbookwere prepared E-mail:[email protected] areavailablefor privatesale.The Publishersretain all reproduction copyrightwhatsoever.All enquiriesshould ALLOTHERREGIONS beaddressedto: OspreyDirectUK,PO.Box140,Wellingborough,Northants,NN82FA,UK E-mail:[email protected] SteveNoon, 50ColchesterAvenue, Penylan, CardiffCF239BP, UK The Publishersregretthattheycan enterintono correspondenceuponthismatter. Keytomilltarsymbols 0 0 0 0 0 DIII DII ArmyGroup Army Corps Division Brigade Regiment Battalion DI 0 0 0 C8J 8 ~ Company/Battery Platoon Section Squad Infantry Artillery Cavalry CJ p 0 B bd B ~ Airborne UnitHQ Airdefense AirForce Airmobile Airtransporcable Amphibious [ZSJ [Q] EJ §] G U EJ Antitank Airaviation Bridging Engineer Headquarters rn EE [ill] GJ IT] M [ill Medical Missile Mountain Navy Nuclear.biological. chemical C2J LSJ bd 00 IT] ~ Signal Supply Transport Rocketartillery Airdefenseartillery Keytounitidentification Unit~parent identifier unit Commander (+)withaddedelements (-)lesselements CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 7 CHRONOLOGY 8 THE STRATEGIC SITUATION 9 OPPOSING COMMANDERS 13 Germancommanders• UScommanders OPPOSING ARMIES 16 TheWehrmacht•TheUSArmy OPPOSING PLANS 27 USplans• Germanplans THE CAMPAIGN 31 ThefirstbattleofAachen • NorthofAachen EncirclingAachen •ThesecondbattleofAachen PreludetoOperationQueen: Hurtgen• OperationQueen OperationClipper:VIIICorps• OperationQueen:theDecembercleanup ThepreludetotheArdennes THE CAMPAIGN IN RETROSPECT 91 Thebattlefieldstoday FURTHER READING 93 GLOSSARY AND ABBREVIATIONS 94 INDEX 95 INTRODUCTION he western frontier of the Third Reich was protected by the Westwall fortifications, better known to the Allies as the Siegfried Line. The Allies began encountering the Siegfried Line in September 1944 after pursuing the retreating Wehrmacht through Belgium and the Netherlands. Fighting along the Westwall lasted for more than six months, with the final major operations in March 1945 in the Saar.Allofthe majorAlliedformations, includingMontgomery's 21st Army Group, Bradley's 12thArmy Group, and Devers' 6th Army Group, were involved at one time or another in fighting against the Westwall defenses. However, thefocus ofthisbookisonthemostconcentratedand intense fighting along the Siegfried Line by the US First and Ninth armies, the campaign thatepitomizes the grim battles along the German frontier. Given its nature as a historic invasion route towards Germany's industrialheartlandin theRuhr, theWehrmachtfortified theborderarea around Aachen with a double line of bunkers. The campaign in the autumnof1944andthewinterof1944/45wasoneofthemostfrustrating and costly efforts by the USArmyin the European theater inWorldWar II, reaching its crescendo in the hellish fighting for the Hiirtgen forest. Although the USArmyfinally broke through the defenses by the middle of December 1944 and reached the River Roer, the German counter offensive in the neighboring Ardennes put a temporary halt to the fighting. ItresumedinFebruary1945, culminatingin Operation Grenade, the crossingofthe Roer. RIGHTOnSeptember13, 1944 TaskForceXofthe3rdArmored DivisionpenetratedtheSiegfried LinenearAachen. Here,oneof thedivision'sM4tanksdrives throughsomedragon'steeth, thefirstlayeroftheScharnhorst Line.(NARA) LEFTApairofGistakecover fromtheincessantrainunder therearofan M4tank.They arefrom2/60th Infantry, 9thDivision,whichteamed up withTaskForceHoganofthe 3rdArmored Divisiontoassault thevillageofGeichbeyond theLangerweheindustrialarea onDecember11, 1944.(NARA) 7 CHRONOLOGY 1944 September11 Reconnaissancepatrolofthe5thArmored Division isthefirsttocross German borderovertheRiverOur. September12 3rdArmored Division beginsprobesofScharnhorstLineoftheWestwal/ nearAachen. September15 3rdArmored Division reachesSchill LinenearAachen. September17 12thInfantryDivisionarrivesnearStolberg; firstsubstantial German reinforcementsofthecampaign. September17 OperationMarketGarden begins inthelateafternoon intheneighboring 21stArmyGroupsectorintheNetherlands. September22 Hodgesorderstemporaryhalttooffensiveoperationsdueto lackof supplies. October2 XIXCorpsbeginsdriveto breachWestwall northofAachen. October8 VII Corpsbeginsattemptto encircleAachen and linkwithXIXCorpsto the north. October10 USArmyissuessurrenderultimatumtoAachen garrison. October11 BombardmentofAachen begins. October13 InfantryassaultintoAachen by26th Infantrybegins. October16 EncirclementofAachen completed at 1615hoursnearRavels Hill. October21 Germanforces inAachen surrenderat 1205hours. November2 US28th Division beginsattackintothe Hurtgenforest. November4 German counterattackretakesSchmidt. November6 USdefenseofVossenackfalters, butGermanscaptureonlypartof town. November7 Germancounterattackretakes Kommerscheidt; 28th Divisionwithdraws from the Kall ravine. November16 OperationQueen beginswith heavyairbombardment. November17 Majorcounterattackby9th PanzerDivisionagainstadvancing 2ndArmored Division. November20 Advancebythe4th InfantryDivision inthe Hurtgen issoslowthat VCorpstakesoverand addsthe8th InfantryDivision. November20 2ndArmored Divisiontakes itsmajorobjective, Gereonsweiler. November21 Eschweileriscaptured bythe 104thDivision. November28 Thetown ofHurtgenfinallyfallstothe8th Division. November29 Grosshau inthe Hurtgenwald isfinallycaptured bythe4th Division. November29 84th Division seizesLindern. December2 Brandenberg intheHurtgenwald iscaptured bythe5thArmored Division. December3 83rd Division replacesthebattered4th Division inthe Hurtgen. December7 VII Corpscallsatemporaryhalttooffensive; restartson December10. December16 GermanslaunchOperation WachtamRhein, theArdennesoffensive. 8
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