Hürtgen Forest 1944 (1): The US First Army's Route to the Rhine (Campaign, 412)

Book Specifics

Author: Michael McNally

Illustrator: Darren Tan

Price: $25.00

ISBN: 978-1-4728-6226-7

Paperback, 96 pages with black and white photos and color maps, battle scene artwork, and 3D diagrams.

Published 4 March 2025. 

What's Inside

This volume in the Osprey Campaign series is the first of 2 books focusing on the battle of the Hürtgen Forest.  While not overtly stated, the title of the book “Hürtgen Forest 1944 (1)” and the period covered implies a second book is expected to cover the battle from mid-September through mid-December 1944. 

This book prologues the battle for the Hürtgen Forest by covering the First (US) Army’s advance towards the Rhine River from July into September 1944. 

As such, the book provides operational level context on how precursor events, changes in terrain, weather, and disposition of the German forces along the German border area significantly influenced the battle for the Hürtgen Forest. 

These factors, along with ominous Army and Corps level decisions, contributed to significant changes in the First (US) Army conduct of the campaign in late 1944.  Changes that resulted in U.S. Army’s second longest battle during World War II. 

The Table of Contents includes the familiar Campaign format:

• Origins of the Campaign
• Chronology
• Opposing Commanders
• Opposing Forces  
• Opposing Plans
• The Campaign
• Aftermath
• Further Reading
• Index

Origins of the Campaign provide a brief overview of the invasion, and subsequent break from Normandy in June and July 1944 from both the Allied and German perspectives. 

The Chronology provides the reader with a high-level listing of key dates from June 6th to September 14th, 1944. 

The Opposing Commanders chapter provides a synopsis of the First US Army Commander Lieutenant General Courtney Hodges, the VII (US) Corps Commander Joseph Collins, the V (US) Corps Commander Leonard Gerow.  The German commanders include General Der Panzertruppen Erich Brandenburger and Generalleutnant Friederick-August Shack. 

The chapter on Opposing Forces provides a summary description of the American and German forces and their events between June and mid-September 1944. 

The chapter includes a two page Order of Battle listing for the American and German formations involved in this campaign. 

The Opposing Plans chapter summarizes the American and German plans, with both sides focusing on the Westwall, or Siegfried line, along the Rhine River. 

The Campaign chapter contains the bulk of the books content, with 56 pages divided into multiple sections discussing the major events for both First (US) Army and the German 7th Armee.  These sections are: 

From Normandy to Victory describes the Allied strategy to advance on a broad front with a focus on maneuver and encirclement (rather than head-to-head battles), and the ever-increasing logistics challenge to keep both the 21st (UK) Army Group and Twelfth (US) Army Group fed, fueled and armed.  The decision to launch Operation Market Garden with the 21st Army Group as an attempt to envelop the Westwall, or Siegfried Line, caused a shift in priority of support away from the Twelfth (US) Army Group and First US Army.  Brimming with confidence that the Germans had neither the will, nor capacity to resist, First (US) Army pressed it’s three corps onward towards the German border in a reconnaissance in force mission. 

Mid-September situation before Operation Market Garden and the final push to the Westwall (Siegfreid line).  An interesting note on the battle maps in this book.  The traditional color coding for Friendly (blue) and Enemy (red) forces is flipped – as if written from the German perspective.    

Hitting the Westwall describes the First Army’s southernmost corps, on the boundary between the First and Third Army.  The V (US) Corps actions from 11 – 19 September, involving the 4th Infantry Division, the 5th Armored Division and the 28th Infantry Divisions. 

“Lightning Joe” also describes First Army’s northernmost corps, on the boundary between the First (US) Army and the Second British Army (21st Army Group). The XIX (US) Corps operations from 10 – 19 September involving the 2nd Armored Division and 30th Infantry Division advance through Maastricht (Netherlands) towards Geilenkirchen (Germany). 

This section also describes the VII (US) Corps operations from 12 – 19 September.  Positioned between V and XIX (US) Corps, VII Corps advanced towards the area south of Aachen involving the 1st Infantry Division, 9th Infantry Division, and the 3rd Armored Division. The section title "Lightning Joe" refers to the nickname given to the VII Corps Commander, Lieutenant General Joseph L. Collins. 

The book includes multiple full color illustrations depicting scenes from the campaign.  In this example, an M16 multiple gun motor carriage provides direct fire support along Panzersperren (aka Dragons Teeth) pyramidal concrete barriers.  These barriers were first encountered during the First (US) Army advance in September.  

Encounters at the Border describes the action of 3rd Armored Division and Task Force Lovelady (built around 2-33 Armor) in the bold penetration and eventual capture of the German border town of Roetgen.   

The 3D illustrations such as this example of TF Lovelady at Roetgen, provides the reader an impression of the terrain and array of forces during the battle.  

The Imperial City section discusses the German tripartite governance of Aachen split between the military, the civilian governance and the Nazi party authorities and it’s complicated dynamics effecting the evacuation and defense of Aachen, and eventual removal of the senior German Commanding General in Aachen under charges of treason. 

A Change in Strategy discusses the slowly emerging realization that the pursuit of the retreating Germans was over, and the Germans would now stand and fight along the German border.  That realization combined with the over-stretched Allied logistics line that required rationing of supplies, and the increasingly wide frontage assigned to First (US) Army overly stretched the forces at all levels.  The strategy of pursuit and maneuver now transitioned to enveloping Aachen and slowly advance through the Hürtgen forest to plains beyond.   

The Green Hell discusses the 35 square miles of densely forested Hürtgen forest and the 9th Infantry Divisions operation into what veterans would describe as the Green Hell. 

The 9th Infantry Division foray into the Green Hell of the Hürtgen Forest commenced on September 14th,1944, with the 39th Infantry Regiment near Lammersdorf, Germany.    

The Stemming the Tide and Realizations and Resolutions sections discuss the German change of retreat to the Westwall, to a deliberate defense in conditions that negated the Allied advantages of air power and mobile armored formations.  The German 7th Armee now occupied terrain that favored the defender, allowing the Germans time to stabilize the front and array forces for defense (and to organize for future operations in the Ardennes).  Meanwhile the American attacks soon became bogged down due to the terrain, enemy defenses, over extended corps boundaries and changes in unit alignments that deprived the Americans the combat power required to break through the German defenses.    

The final chapter Aftermath sets the stage for the start of the Hürtgen Forest battle.  A battle that began on September 19th and concluded on December 16th, 1944 (the start of Operation Wacht am Rhein, aka, the Battle of the Bulge).  The Hürtgen Forest battle lasted 89 days, involving more than 13 US divisions, resulting in upwards of 55,000 American dead, wounded or missing action.  The Germans had also suffered heavy losses with 28,000 dead, wounded, missing action, or captured. 

The references listed in Further Reading provides a great resource for more in-depth study from both the American and German perspectives. 

Long after the battle for the Hürtgen Forest, Major General James Gavin, commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division would state that the battle of the Hürtgenwald was an unnecessary battle that at best should never have been fought.  

Highly Recommended for those interested in this crucial chapter of the war in the Western Front.

Thanks goes out to Osprey Publishing for this review kit.

Reviewed by Brian Eberle

AMPS Secretary

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