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Rhineland, 1944 subpages: West Wall     Aachen    Hürtgen    Operation Queen     Queen/Hürtgen    Last Offensives
     –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Hürtgen ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
bigpigeon.us webpage WWII Germany > The ETO > Rhineland, 1944 > Hürtgen Forest, © 2025 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 7 Nov 2025
This webpage is incomplete.

1944 combat in the Hürtgen Forest area began in mid-September and ended in mid-December. Combat resumed near the forest edge in late January 1945 and finally ended in mid-February.
About the Hürtgen Forest Area
The rectangular-shaped Hürtgen forest is shown on the accompanying map. The Hürtgen Forest is densely wooded and relatively level. However, to the  southeast the Roer River and its tributaries have carved a landscape with steep wooded hillsides through the plateau. The small Kall River borders the southeast edge of the Hürtgen Forest.

In this eroded area, the Roer River valley contains a system of dams for generating electricity. Failure of this system would result in a flood down the Roer Valley. (The Roer flows between the two large lignite strip mines shown on the accompanying map.)

For US forces along the Rhineland border in September 1944, the easiest invasion route to Rhine lay through the Stolberg corridor between Aachen and the Hürtgen Forest and then across the Roer and Cologne Plains to the city of Cologne.
The Battle of the Hürtgen Forest, first phase, September - October 1944 
The Battle of the Hürtgen Forest, second phase, October- November 1944 ​
The Battle of the Hürtgen Forest, third phase, November - December 1944  - part of Operation Queen​
 Picture
Operation Queen in the Hürtgen Forest
Operation Queen - The Hürtgen Forest, 16 November - 9 December 1944
scalable version
Popular WWII writing sometimes conveys the idea that the Hürtgen Forest offensives were complete failures. This is not the case. Indeed, conditions were horrendous, mistakes were made, losses were high, and objectives were not reached. But by 16 December, the US First Army did occupy most of the Hürtgen Forest.

However, the goals of capturing the Roer River dams and advancing to the Rhine River had to wait until the late winter.
Sources for Big Pigeon's WWII Germany > The ETO > Rhineland, 1944 > Hürtgen Forest webpage​:
Major Sources:  ​Sources for webpage images:
Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead - WWII Germany > The ETO > Rhineland, 1944 > Hürtgen Forest: 03-03 - WWII Germany > The ETO > Rhineland, 1944 > Hürtgen Forest: (four dead, updated 7 Nov 2025)
† Ellison, Melvin Isaac, SN 37-446-316, US Army, Harrison Co.
  • Co. I, 3rd Bn., 12th Inf. Regt., 4th Inf. Div., VII Corps, First Army;  WIA probably near Schmidt, south of Düren, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany; DOW 19 Nov 1944.
  • WWII Germany >The ETO > Rhineland, 1944 > Hürtgen Forest
† Evans, Charles Harold, SN 37-486-832, US Army, Harrison Co.
  • Medical Detachment, 112th Inf. Regt., 28th Inf. Div., V Corps, First Army; DOW 5 Nov 1944 near Schmidt, south of Düren, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
  • WWII Germany >The ETO > Rhineland, 1944 > Hürtgen Forest​​
​† Focht, Stanley Dean, SN 39-574-968, US Army, Montgomery Co. & Los Angeles Co., CA​
  • 60th Inf. Regt., 9th Inf. Div., VII Corps, First Army; KIA/FOD 27 Sep 1944 in the Hürgen Forest area, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany; preliminaries to the First Battle of Schmidt.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > Rhineland, Fall 1944 > Hürtgen Forest
† Paulsen, LeRoy Peter, SN 37-446-618, US Army, Carroll Co.​
  • Co. E, 12th Inf. Regt., 4th Inf. Div., VII Corps, First Army; regiment attached temporarily to 28th Inf. Div.; KIA 10 Nov 1944 along Weisser Weh, in Hürtgen-Germeter sector, Hürtgen Forest, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > Rhineland, Fall 1945 > Hürtgen Forest