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The Battle of Hürtgen Forest ((ドイツ語:Schlacht im Hürtgenwald)) was a series of fierce battles fought from 19 September 1944 to 10 February 1945 between U.S. and German forces during World War II in the Hürtgen Forest about east of the Belgian–German border. It was the longest battle on German ground during World War II, and is the longest single battle the U.S. Army has ever fought.〔Regan, ''More military blunders,'' p.178.〕 The U.S. commanders' initial goal was to pin down German forces in the area to keep them from reinforcing the front lines further north in the Battle of Aachen, where the Allies were fighting a trench war between a network of fortified industrial towns and villages speckled with pillboxes, tank traps and minefields. A secondary objective may have been to outflank the front line. The Americans' initial tactical objectives were to take Schmidt and clear Monschau. In a second phase the Allies wanted to advance to the Rur River as part of Operation ''Queen''. ''Generalfeldmarschall'' Walter Model intended to bring the Allied thrust to a standstill. While he interfered less in the day-to-day movements of units than at Arnhem, he still kept himself fully informed on the situation, slowing the Allies' progress, inflicting heavy casualties and taking full advantage of the fortifications the Germans called the ''Westwall'', better known to the Allies as the Siegfried Line. The Hürtgen Forest cost the U.S. First Army at least 33,000 killed and wounded, including both combat and non-combat losses; German casualties were 28,000. The city of Aachen in the north eventually fell on 22 October at high cost to the U.S. Ninth Army, but they failed to cross the Rur or wrest control of its dams from the Germans. The battle was so costly that it has been described as an Allied "defeat of the first magnitude," with specific credit given to Model.〔Whiting, ''Battle of Hurtgen Forest,'' pp.xi-xiv, 271–274.〕〔 The Germans fiercely defended the area because it served as a staging area for the 1944 winter offensive Watch on the Rhine (German: Unternehmen: Wacht am Rhein—later known as the Battle of the Bulge), and because the mountains commanded access to the Rur Dam〔The Rur Dam holds back the Rurstausee and is the major structure in a network. Upstream are other, smaller, structures: the Paulushof Dam holding the Obersee and the Urft Dam holding the Urfttalsperre.〕 at the head of the Rur Reservoir (Rurstausee). If the floodgates were opened, the resulting surge would flood low-lying areas downstream and temporarily prevent forces from crossing the river. The Allies failed to capture the area after several heavy setbacks and the Germans successfully held the region until they launched their last-ditch offensive into the Ardennes. The Battle of the Bulge gained widespread press and public attention, leaving the battle of Hürtgen Forest largely forgotten. ==Background== By mid-September 1944, the Allied pursuit of the German army after the landings at Normandy was slowing down because of extended supply lines and German Army rebuilding. The next strategic objective was to move up to the Rhine River along its entire length and prepare to cross it. Courtney Hodges′ First Army experienced hard resistance pushing through the Aachen Gap and perceived a potential threat from enemy forces using the Hürtgen Forest as a base. The U.S. 1st Infantry Division arrived in early October, joining elements of the XIX Corps and VII Corps, which had encircled Aachen. Although the 1st Infantry Division called for the surrender of the German garrison in the city, German commander ''Oberst'' Gerhard Wilck refused to capitulate until 22 October. It was also thought necessary to remove the threat posed by the Rur dam. The stored water could be released by the Germans, swamping any forces operating downstream. In the view of the American commanders, Bradley, Hodges and Collins, the direct route to the dam was through the forest. Military historians are no longer convinced by these arguments. Charles B. MacDonald—a U.S. Army historian and former company commander who served in the Hürtgen battle—has described it as "a misconceived and basically fruitless battle that should have been avoided."〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Hürtgen Forest」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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