Battle of Hurtgen Forest

Battle of the Hurtgen Forest September 19 - December 8, 1944 September, 1944. Allied forces were pushing into Germany. General Courtney Hodges wanted to close to the Rhine River, and to do that required driving Nazi forces out of the Hurtgen Forest. Laying on the German-Belgian border, just east of the Roer River, the forest was about 50 square miles. It was densely wooded, with fir trees that reached 20-30 meters into the air. Lack of sunlight turned the forest …

…made by the Americans in the war. Lieutenant Lomell put it best when he said, "The months-long battle of the Hurtgen Forest was a loser that our top brass ever after never seemed to want to talk about" (Ambrose, 179) Bibliography Ambrose, Stephen E. Citizen Soldiers New York, Touchstone 1997 Ambrose, Stehpen E. Band of Brothers New York, Touchstone 1992 "When Trumpets Fade" dir. John Irvin 1998 http://www.worldwar2timeline.dial.pipex.com http://metalab.unc.edu/hyperwar