The Battle of the Huertgen Forest: Why

Abstract

The Battle of the Huertgen Forest has received little attention since the end of World War II. It was never dissected and analyzed like the Battle of the Ardennes or the many other larger battles. The reasons are obvious. It was a battle of attrition that never should have occurred. Throughout this case study the strategic impact of the battle and the decisions made by the leaders of the day are analyzed. While this battle had little strategic importance in the final outcome of World War II, it had a substantial operational impact because it gave the Germans a secure northern flank allowing them to execute their attack through the Ardennes. The chronology of the battle is presented to illustrate the devastating impact it had on the men and units that fought there.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 27, 2001
Accession Number
ADA390555

Entities

People

  • Kenneth Mcmillin

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Biomedical
  • Cyber
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Air Defense
  • Aircrafts
  • Ammunition
  • Army
  • Artillery
  • Artillery Ammunition
  • Artillery Fire
  • Civil War
  • Crossings
  • Military Operations
  • Second World War
  • Small Arms
  • United States
  • War
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.