bigpigeon.us webpage WWII - Germany > ETO > France Liberated > The Allies Stall, updated by RAC 17 May 2022.
After the precipitate withdrawal of German forces from most of France and Belgium in the late summer of 1944, some expected an early end to World War II in Europe. Unfortunately, this was not the case. 
  • Allied  supply needs outstripped supply line capabilities.​
  • The German Army reorganized behind the Siegfried Line, also known as the West Wall, a line of fortifications and obstacles shown in red on the accompanying map.
  • German surrender was impossible due to the degree of control exercised by Adolph Hitler.​

Thus the Western Front in the fall of 1944 became a war of attrition, with heavy casualties and with gains far less than during the late summer.
The ETO - 15 Sep 1944
The ETO - 15 Sep 1944
Shown in red on the map on the right are the Allied gains from September 15 to December 15 of 1944. 

In the northern sector, gains were primarily due to:
  • The September Market Garden offensive.
  • The October offensive by the Canadian First Army to clear the sea approaches to Antwerp.
In the middle sector, the First Army's partial penetration of the Siegfried Line resulted in:
  • The capture of Aachen
  • The horrendous battles in the nearby Hürtgen Forest.
  • The bloody advance to the west bank of the Roer River east of Aachen.
Further to the south, Patton's Third Army:
  • Finally captured the fortress complex of Metz.
  • Liberated the remainder of Lorraine.
  • Began attacking the Siegfried Line, which ran in a northwesterly direction along the Saar River in this area.
Still further south, the US Seventh and French First Armies, advancing from southern France,  liberated all of Alsace, except for a German salient called the Colmar Pocket.
ETO Gains - Fall 1944
ETO Gains - Fall 1944
Unlike the Battle of Normandy in June and July of 1944 which ended with the liberation of France, the autumn of 1944 ended badly for the Allies as the German army staged massive counteroffensives. To add to the misery, many US troops had not been issued suitable winter clothing.
Sources for the The Allies Stall webpage: