Battle of Aachen (October 1944)
A major urban engagement on Germany’s western frontier during World War II, fought 2–21 October 1944 between American forces and German defenders around the city of Aachen.
Overview
The Battle of Aachen was a significant and symbolic engagement of the Second World War fought between 2 and 21 October 1944. U.S. Army forces attacked the heavily fortified German city of Aachen, located at the western edge of the Reich and incorporated into the defensive network known as the Siegfried Line. German units defended the city and its approaches, turning Aachen into one of the largest and most destructive urban battles fought by American troops during the conflict. The action concluded with German forces surrendering the city, making Aachen the first major German city to fall to the Allies.
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Setting and characteristics
Aachen sat on a strategic corridor to the industrial Ruhr region, and its capture was intended to open the way for a deeper penetration into Germany. The defenders used pre-existing fortifications, rubble-strewn streets and prepared strongpoints to maximize the difficulty of an assault. Urban fighting replaced the maneuver warfare that had characterized much of the Allied advance across France; the battle involved house-to-house clearing, street-by-street fighting, and substantial use of artillery and engineers to reduce prepared positions. Before the main fights began, the majority of the civilian population had been evacuated or displaced.
Course of the battle
Initial Allied plans envisaged a relatively rapid capture of Aachen, but German resistance proved determined and localized counterattacks slowed the drive. The fighting around and inside the city combined encirclement, siege techniques and close-quarters combat. American forces gradually captured peripheral suburbs and then reduced inner-city strongpoints. The campaign blended conventional combined-arms operations with infantry clearing work in buildings, cellars and fortified civic structures, and it exacted a high cost in both materiel and personnel. Considerable portions of the city were damaged or destroyed by artillery, demolition and urban combat.
Consequences and significance
The fall of Aachen had immediate tactical and broader strategic implications. Tactically it removed a German defensive bastion on the western frontier and provided the Allies with an entry to the German heartland. Strategically it did not produce the rapid breakthrough into the Ruhr that Allied planners had hoped for; the battle and subsequent fighting in the region, including heavy combat in nearby forests and defensive lines, delayed large-scale exploitation. The engagement also served as an early, stark example of the challenges of urban warfare that Allied forces would face later in Germany.
Legacy and notable facts
- Aachen was the first large German city to be captured by Allied ground forces in 1944.
- Much of the urban fabric suffered severe destruction, and civilian displacement was extensive prior to and during the fighting.
- The battle illustrated the limits of rapid advances against fortified cities and influenced subsequent operational planning for assaults on German defensive belts.
For a concise general overview and further reading about the campaign and its context, see Battle of Aachen overview. For information on the city's wartime experience and recovery, consult Aachen city history.
Location
Aachen is the furthest western city in Germany. It was and is of high cultural importance as the imperial city of Charlemagne as well as the coronation site of the German emperors. In military terms, however, the city did not play a major role, as the main battle line on the Westwall (also known as the Siegfried Line to the Allies) ran east of the city and Aachen was only integrated into it by weak fortifications. Consequently, the large built-up area of Aachen was primarily an obstacle for the Allied forces, which they wanted to bypass as quickly as possible in order to be able to attack or push through the Westwall further east. The defending German forces were also relatively weak.
The Allied forces involved in the Battle of Aachen consisted of the American VII Corps and the XIX Corps, which attacked on both sides of the city. On the German side, Aachen was in the defensive area of the LXXXI Army Corps with four weak divisions of about 18,000 men combined and the garrison force in Aachen under Colonel Maximilian Leyherr. The latter was replaced on 12 October by Colonel Gerhard Wilck; Hitler assigned Wilck about 5,000 soldiers of the Volkssturm.
History
After pursuing German forces through France, VII Corps crossed the German border on 12 September 1944 and advanced south of Aachen on the Westwall until 15 September, when difficult terrain and growing Wehrmacht resistance brought the advance to a halt in the Stolberg area. In the process, strong positions to the south of Aachen were bypassed. Already on September 14, 1944, U.S. units had captured the southern district of Kornelimünster without causing any major destruction there.
Operating north of VII Corps, however, XIX Corps had fallen back a few days and was scheduled to move to attack the Westwall north of Aachen on 20 September. The overstretched supply lines, however, delayed an attack until 2 October, as the forces were still being supplied by the ports at Cherbourg and Normandy (the port of Antwerp was in Allied hands; but it could not be used until after the Battle of the Scheldt Estuary). The ports of the Channel coast had been declared "fortresses" and were still occupied by German garrisons.
In early October, the 30th U.S. Infantry Division (XIX Corps) and the 18th Infantry Regiment of the 1st U.S. Infantry Division (VII Corps) began to encircle Aachen in a pincer attack. While the 18th Infantry Regiment reached its operational objectives in the Verlautenheide/Haaren area east of Aachen as early as 8 October, the 30th U.S. Infantry Division needed until 16 October to reach its attack objective in the Würselen area and thus close the ring around Aachen. Both pincer arms had to contend with expanded German positions, fierce resistance, and repeated counterattacks. Here, not in Aachen itself, was the focus of the fighting, in which German reserves repeatedly attempted to dislodge Aachen.
On October 10, an offer of surrender was made to the garrison of Aachen. When this expired, the city was bombed by artillery and air forces. In particular, demoralizing hour-long sorties were carried out by US fighter-bombers of the type P-47 "Thunderbolt".
On October 12, Hitler replaced Maximilian Leyherr, who had been the city commander until then, with Colonel Gerhard Wilck. Wilck was committed to unconditional holding "to the last man". This was in accordance with Hitler's order, according to which the defenders of German towns and villages could only "hold their ground or be destroyed". Field Marshal von Rundstedt reminded Aachen's defenders of this order several times. Wilck knew that holding out in Aachen was militarily futile.
There was no assault on Aachen at first, as the two U.S. divisions had to defend themselves against heavy German counterattacks that lasted until October 19.
On October 12, the 26th Infantry Regiment of the 1st U.S. Infantry Division made a direct attack on downtown Aachen. One battalion of the regiment occupied the factories in the northeast of the city, and two other battalions launched an attack on 13 and 14 October in the direction of the Lousberg, at the foot of which an air raid shelter housed the headquarters of the trapped Aachen defense forces. It also succeeded in occupying another important elevation to the north (Stadtgarten), which gave U.S. troops an overview of the city. On 15 October, another battalion was assigned to the 26th Infantry Regiment to occupy the captured parts of the city. Shortly thereafter, a mixed task force of one tank and one infantry battalion was deployed and by 19 October, after heavy fighting, was able to take the assault objective.
At 12:05 a.m. on October 21, Colonel Wilck surrendered and went into captivity with 3,473 men after U.S. troops broke through to his command post. In all, nearly 12,000 German soldiers went into captivity.
According to the reports of the Reich Ministry of Propaganda, the fate of Aachen received strong attention in all parts of the Reich. Wilck had heroic radio messages sent before the surrender.
Questions and answers
Q: When was the Battle of Aachen fought?
A: The Battle of Aachen was fought between 2–21 October 1944.
Q: Which countries were involved in the Battle of Aachen?
A: American and German forces were involved in the Battle of Aachen.
Q: Where is Aachen located?
A: Aachen is located in Germany.
Q: What was the Siegfried Line?
A: The Siegfried Line was the main defence line on Germany's western border.
Q: What was the purpose of capturing Aachen?
A: The Allies had hoped to capture Aachen quickly and move into the Ruhr area.
Q: What happened to most of Aachen's civilian population before the battle began?
A: Most of Aachen's civilian population was moved out before the battle began.
Q: Was Aachen the first city in Germany to be captured by the Allies?
A: Yes, Aachen was the first city in Germany to be captured by the Allies.
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AlegsaOnline.com Battle of Aachen (October 1944) Leandro Alegsa
URL: https://en.alegsaonline.com/art/9426