The Hurtgen Forest – the green hell of the Hürtgenwald

The Hürtgenwald is located just southeast of Aachen, Germany. A hilly forest area of ​​140 square kilometers along the river Roer. To secure the piece of land between the city of Aachen and the forest (the so-called Stollberg Corridor) for an American advance over the Ruhr towards the Rhine, American generals wanted to occupy this forest area. Soon the German defenses reacted grimly and fanatically in the dense forest with its Siegfried Line bunkers and combat positions.

Division after division was put in the fight to force a breakthrough, while reinforcements were also brought in on the German side to stop the Americans for as long as possible and to pay the highest possible toll. Virtually every American unit that fought here suffered terribly high losses. Replacements were quickly move while units were still engaged on the front line, often becoming victims just as quickly as they came in. Ernest Hemingway, who witnessed this battle closely, called it “Paschendaele with treebursts”. It is estimated that more than 50,000 casualties were suffered by both warring parties during this three month battle.