The Siegfried Line Campaign
September 11 to December 16, 1944
September 11 to December 16, 1944
The Siegfried Line Campaign was a series of battles on Germany's western frontier, following the Allied advance across France in the summer of 1944. With the Allied breakout from Normandy, the German Army was pushed to the German border, suffering extraordinary losses through September. As the Germans limped east, Allied supply issues became an increasing problem as all fighting material had to still be driven from Normandy. Simultaneously, German resistance began to stiffen as they became reorganized behind their own border, as well as the partial reorganization (although abandoned and stripped of most usable weaponry earlier in the war) of West Wall fortifications built in the late 1930s opposite France and Belgium. A combination of a slowdowns by the attacking Western Allies, and the Germans' ability to organize behind their own border, changed the pace of the war in the West. The Allies fell into bitter defensive battles that lasted through winter, with the most destructive fighting taking place in the, soon to be infamous, Huertgen Forest. The campaign is presented here as the period leading to the winter of 1944/45 and the Battle of The Bulge.
Sergeant Edward M. Madden - 28th Infantry Divison
The Battle of Aachen - October 2-21, 1944
Battle of the Hürtgen Forest - September 19 to December 16, 1944