The Battle for Western Europe, Fall 1944: An Operational Assessment (Twentieth-Century Battles)

388 Pages·2010·3.66 MB·English

by  John A. Adams

The Battlest er n
W e

for op e Fall 1944
r
u
e

An operATionAl AssessmenT

John A. AdAms
The Battle for Western
Europe, Fall 1944
TWENTIETH-CENTURY BATTLES
Edited by Spencer C. Tucker
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The Battle for
Western Europe
Fall 1944
An Operational Assessment
John A. Adams
Indiana University Press
Bloomington & Indianapolis
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© 2010 by John A. Adams
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Adams, John A., [date]
The battle for Western Europe, Fall 1944 : an operational assessment / John A.
Adams.
p. cm. — (Twentieth-century battles)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-253-35435-8 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. World War, 1939–1945—Campaigns—
Western Front. I. Title.
D756.A19 2010
940.54'21—dc22
2009035159
1 2 3 4 5 15 14 13 12 11 10
A proud son of Little Rock, Arkansas, Charles B. MacDonald graduated from
Presbyterian College during the first part of World War II. Commissioned
through ROTC, he scarcely had time to put away his diploma before becoming
a twenty-one-year-old captain and replacement rifle company commander in
the famous 23rd Infantry, 2nd Division. He joined his new unit in September
1944 in the southern tip of the Huertgen Forest near the Monshau Corridor
just as the bloody battles for that ill-starred piece of ground began. Captain
MacDonald fought through the fall’s Huertgen fights and the winter’s Battle
of the Bulge, earning the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and finally the Purple
Heart for wounds received 17 January 1945. After convalescing, he returned to
his regiment and fought in the final battles in Europe.
Right after the war, he wrote what is still widely read as a classic description
of infantry combat, Company Commander. In 1948 Charles joined the project
within the U.S. Army Center of Military History charged with writing the
official history of the war. MacDonald authored three of the widely acclaimed
“Green Books,” including The Siegfried Line Campaign, which covers many
of the events covered by this book. During the writing of those volumes, he
personally inspected the original of every official document that was used to
compile an accurate and complete record of events. MacDonald stayed with
the project, rising to become the Center’s deputy director, until 1979, when
he retired. In addition, he wrote several non-official volumes, including The
Mighty Endeavor, his recounting of the campaign for Western Europe from
D-Day to VE Day. A consummate raconteur, a meticulous historian, and an
objective recorder of the facts, he melded the skills of a historian with the
experiences of a frontline veteran and produced much of value for generations
that follow. Most historians consider him the most knowledgeable student of
the fall 1944 campaign.
In recognition of the sacrifices Charles and his compatriots made in the
fall of 1944 and of the quality of the record he assembled for those of us who
wish to learn from their heroic efforts, this work is dedicated to the memory of
Charles B. MacDonald
1922–1990
Historian and Captain of Infantry

Contents
· List of Maps ix
· Preface xi
· List of Abbreviations and Acronyms xv
1 Culmination 1
2 Logistics 21
3 SHAEF’s Plan 55
4 It Wasn’t Arnhem versus Antwerp 99
5 Concentrate, General Bradley 144
6 Patton’s Lorraine Campaign 198
7 November Rerun 233
8 Opportunity in the South 284
· Conclusion: Unity of Command 330
· Notes 333
· Bibliography 351
· Index 359

Maps
Map 1.1. Normandy Breakout 2
Map 1.2. First Army Pursuit to Mons 13
Map 3.1. Situation 10 September and Key Geography 56
Map 3.2. Bradley’s American Plan vs. Montgomery’s Plan 78
Map 4.1. Advance to Antwerp and Comet 110
Map 4.2. Market Garden 127
Map 4.3. Securing the Scheldt 140
Map 5.1. Bradley’s Deployment of First Army 153
Map 5.2. VII Corps Initial Attack in the Stolberg Corridor 165
Map 5.3. Eisenhower’s Initial Concept 173
Map 5.4. XIX Corps Encircles Aachen 182
Map 6.1. Third Army’s Initial Plan 211
Map 6.2. Alternate Plan Concentrating on Pont à Mousson and Nancy 212
Map 7.1. Rates of Advance in Queen 254
Map 7.2. Ninth Army in Queen 260
Map 8.1. Alternate Axes of Advance into Lorraine 286
Map 8.2. An Alternative Secondary Theater Attack 295
Map 8.3. Alternative Third/Seventh Army Plan for October 302
Map 8.4. Sixth Army Group November Offensive 304
Map 8.5. Seventh Army East of the Rhine 317
ix