Battle of Aachen [SEP] end time
Battle of Aachen
The Battle of Aachen was a major combat action of World War II, fought by American and German forces in and around Aachen, Germany, between 2-21 October 1944. The city had been incorporated into the Siegfried Line, the main defensive network on Germany's western border; the Allies had hoped to capture it quickly and advance into the industrialized Ruhr Basin. Although most of Aachen's civilian population was evacuated before the battle began, much of the city was destroyed and both sides suffered heavy losses
divisions received distinguished unit citations for their actions at Aachen.
However, German resistance in Aachen upset Allied plans to continue their eastward advance. Following the end of fighting in Aachen, the Western Allies' First Army was tasked with the capture of a series of dams behind the Hürtgen Forest, which could be used by the Germans to flood the valleys which opened the road to Berlin. This would lead to the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, which was to prove more difficult than the Battle of Aachen.
Franz Oppenhoff was