Surrounded in Strass

G Company from the 331st IR of the American 83rd ID, accompanied by a platoon of Shermans, thought they were headed through the supposedly cleared village of Strass to support the assault on Gey, to the north, on the northeast …

1944-12-10

BP02

G Company from the 331st IR of the American 83rd ID, accompanied by a platoon of Shermans, thought they were headed through the supposedly cleared village of Strass to support the assault on Gey, to the north, on the northeast edge of the Húrtgen Forest, but they had received erroneous information. Elements of the 3rd Battalion of the 330th IR were stuck in the center of Strass, and needed relief and quick/y. An intractable force of German infantry and armor had surrounded them. - Jeff Lewis

Strass, Germany

The Battle of Hürtgen Forest 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 Hürtgen Forest, a 140 km2 (54 sq mi) area about 5 km (3.1 mi) east of the Belgian–German border. It was the longest battle on German ground during World War II and is the longest single battle the U.S. Army has ever fought. The U.S. commanders' initial goal was to pin down German forces in the area to keep them from reinforcing the front lines farther north in the Battle of Aachen, where the US forces were fighting against the Siegfried Line network of fortified industrial towns and villages speckled with pillboxes, tank traps, and minefields. A secondary objective may have been to outflank the front line. The Americans' initial tactical objectives were to take Schmidt and clear Monschau. In a second phase the Allies wanted to advance to the Rur River as part of Operation Queen.

Wikipedia: Battle of Hürtgen Forest

American

Germany