Out of the Hürtgen: Too Far, Too Fast

By the end of December 10th, the Battalion of the 330th Infantry Regiment had secured the town of Strass. However, in doing so, several pockets of German defenders were bypassed. These forces quickly reorganized and surrounded the town and began …

1944-12-11

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By the end of December 10th, the Battalion of the 330th Infantry Regiment had secured the town of Strass. However, in doing so, several pockets of German defenders were bypassed. These forces quickly reorganized and surrounded the town and began to siege it through a series of counterattacks. The Americans were cut off. What supjplies they could receive had to be dropped from the air. Until they were relieved by reinforcements from Gey to the north, two days later, the men of the 330th suffered heavily as they himg on by their fingernails.

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