The Battle of Hurtgen Forest by Chas Whiting: NEW 2003 Paperback

Author: Charles Whiting

Publisher: 2003, Pan

Pagination: 290

Format: Paperback

Condition: Old new stock, expect an item that may have been in stock for some time which is undamaged, with minimal wear and minimal fading to the cover, see pictures.

The Battle of Hürtgen was undertaken by US commanders trying to pin down German forces in the area to keep them from reinforcing front lines further north (Battle of Aachen, where the Allies were fighting a trench war between a network of fortified industrial towns and villages speckled with pillboxes, tank traps and minefields).

Believing the German units were under strength, their fighting spirit collapsed under the stress of the Normandy breakout and the reduction of the Falaise Pocket. What they failed to appreciate was that the German commander (Model) knew the Arnhem assault had foundered, that Hürtgen would served as a staging area for what would soon be known as the Battle of the Bulge and the mountains that commanded access to the Rur Dam, which if used to flood low-lying areas would prevent German forces crossing the river.

The ground was well-chosen and near perfect for a defensive battle: American commanders misunderstood how the dense forest favoured the defender by reducing the effectiveness of artillery; made air support impracticable; gave ample scope for ambushes; and demonstrated how defensive techniques such as widespread use of snipers and 'shoe mines' could swiftly bring advances to a standstill... which allowed the environment itself to cause casualties: exposure; trench foot; fatigue; all compounded the oppressive atmosphere and provoked a deterioration of morale and psychological damage for men and officers alike.

What is astonishing was the battle was not fought as part of a strategic effort but tactically rather than in the interests of achieving particular objectives rather than bypassing them. (It would have been possible to bypass the forest, move into the open valley where superior allied mobility and air power could be used to advantage, then heading northeast towards the ultimate objectives leaving the footsoldier defenders in place but unable to leave the shelter of the forest without suffering punishing losses.) Instead more and more men were poured into the firefight in penny packets only to become casualties.

While the battle raged and losses mounted US forces concentrated in the village of Schmidt rather than advancing on the more strategically important target, the entire effort in Hürtgen - from the Allied side - only a precursor to achieving the strategic goals of Operation Queen (the Rur Dams), nor making efforts to take the high ground (Hill 400) until a late stage of the battle.

The Hürtgen Forest cost the U.S. First Army at least 33,000 killed and wounded while the German forces sustained 28,000 casualties.

Aachen eventually fell at high cost to the US Ninth Army but they failed to cross the Rur or wrest control of its dams from the Germans.