American soldiers cross the Siegfried Line
The 'drive to the
Siegfried Line' was one of the final
Allied phases in
World War II of the .
This phase spans from the end of the
Operation Overlord (
August 25th,
1944) up to the start of the
Ardennes Offensive (
December 16th, 1944). This roughly corresponds to the first part of the official
U.S.European Theater of Operations 'Rhineland Campaign'.
Background
Following the Allied success in both Northwest Europe and
Southern France, the Allied forces from both were united under the Supreme Allied Commander General
Eisenhower and his headquarters
SHAEF. The layout of this front was to have the 21st situated to the north of the
Ardennes, the 12th to the south, and the 6th (formerly Dragoon Force) protecting the 12th's southern flank.
While Generals Montgomery, Bradley and
Patton all favoured relatively direct thrusts into
Germany (with Montgomery and Bradley each offering to be the spearhead of such an assault), Eisenhower disagreed. Instead he favoured a "broad-front" strategy which would allow the Allies to regroup and shift their forces as needed, and to protect vital supply operations in the rear.
The rapid advance through France had caused a considerable logistical strain, made worse by the lack of any major port asides from the relatively distant
Cherbourg in western France.
As the campaign progressed, all the belligerents, Allied as well as German, felt the effects of the lack of suitable replacements for front-line troops.
There were two major defensive obstacles to the Allies. The first was the natural barriers made by the rivers of Eastern France. The second was the Siegfried Line itself, which fell under the command, along with all
Wehrmacht forces in the west, of
Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt.
The swift Allied advance
After
Operation Cobra and the partial destruction of the
German Seventh Army and
Fifth Panzer Army in August 1944, in the
Falaise pocket, the Allies found themselves in pursuit of rapidly withdrawing German forces or with undefended open country. Many towns and villages, including the great port of
Antwerp, were liberated with little resistance.
Paris was
liberated almost intact by
Free French armoured units, despite Hitler's orders that it should be destroyed.
Logistics & supply
Although the breakout from Normandy had taken longer than planned, the advances until September had far exceeded expectations. Bradley, for example, by September, had four more divisions than planned and all of his forces were 150 miles ahead of their expected position. One effect was that insufficient supplies could be delivered to the fronts to maintain the advance: actual demand had exceeded the expected needs.
Much war
materiel still had to be brought ashore across the invasion beaches and through the one remaining
Mulberry harbour. Although small harbours, such as
Isigny,
Port-en-Bessin and
Courcelles, were being used, the major forward ports such as
Calais,
Boulogne and
Le Havre either remained in German hands as "fortresses" or had been systematically destroyed. The availability of
Cherbourg had been valuable until the breakout, but then transport to carry supplies to the rapidly advancing armies became the limiting factor.
Although fuel was successfully pumped from Britain to Normandy via the
Pluto pipeline, this still had to reach the fronts. The railways had been largely destroyed by Allied attacks and would take much effort to repair, so fleets of trucks were needed. However, 1,500 British trucks were found to have critical engine faults and were unusable, so the Allies were dependent upon US Army supply companies and their capacity was inadequate for the circumstances.
The
Dragoon Force advancing from southern France were supplied adequately from
Toulon and
Marseille because they had captured intact ports and the local railway system was less damaged. This source supplied about 25% of the Allied needs.
The US supply organisation -
Lines of Communication Zone (COMZ) - is perceived to have failed to expedite solutions and to have been far too bureaucratic, employing 11,000 staff. Failures to supply forward units led to unofficial arrangements, with pressed units "diverting" supplies directed elsewhere. Eisenhower felt he could not exert authority since COMZ was directly answerable to Washington and not to SHAEF.
The mere occupation of Antwerp was not enough, as the lands surrounding the Scheldt would have to be liberated first to open the port of Antwerp. This was essential, since at this point the main allied supply lines still ran back to Normandy, presenting serious logistical problems. The solution was to get Antwerp into effective action quickly. The problem here was that, although this major port had been captured almost intact, its sea access was blocked by German occupation of the
Scheldt islands.
The delay in securing this area was seen as a major failure of Eisenhower's ''Broad Front'' strategy, in failing to allow
Montgomery's
21st Army Group to advance, the
German 15th Army was able to occupy and then dig in, whereas an immediate attack in September would probably have cleared the Scheldt without difficulty. The consequence was that Eisenhower was obliged to limit his army group commanders to one major advance at a time. As a result, German resistance was allowed to organise and deploy reserves. The
Canadian First Army was given the task of
clearing the Scheldt (see below).
Manpower
German armies had lost large numbers of troops in Normandy and the subsequent pursuit. To counteract this, about 20,000
Luftwaffe personnel were reallocated to the Army, invalided troops were redrafted into the front line and
Volkssturm units were formed using barely trained civilians.
British manpower resources were limited after 5 years of war and through worldwide commitments. Replacements were no longer adequate to cover losses and formations were disbanded to maintain the strength of others.
The Canadians were also short of manpower. Due to the reluctance of some
French-Canadians to serve in an "Anglo-Saxon" war, service abroad was voluntary and this limited Canadian numbers.
American losses now called on replacements from the United States. Often these were inexperienced and unused to the harsh conditions of the latter part of the campaign. At one point, after the
Battle of the Bulge the US Army relaxed its refusal to use black troops in combat formations. Black volunteers performed well and prompted a change in military policy.
By the turn of the year, the war's outcome was clear. It became increasingly difficult to persuade allied troops to risk their lives when peace was in sight. No one wished to be the last man killed.
Northern Group of Armies (21st Army Group)
Market Garden
:''Main article:
Operation Market Garden''
The first operation of the
Rhineland Campaign, Market Garden was commanded by Montgomery and had the objective to secure a bridgehead in the north, at
Arnhem, over the
Rhine which would outflank the Siegfried Line.
Market Garden was composed of two distinct parts. 'Operation Market' was to be the largest airborne operation in history, dropping three and a half divisions of US, British and Polish paratroopers to capture key bridges and prevent their demolition by the Germans. 'Operation Garden' was a follow up ground attack by the
British Second Army which would then more heavily garrison the area and relieve the paratroopers for new duties. It was assumed that the German forces would still be in a rout from the previous campaign and opposition would not be very stiff for either operation.
If successful, the Allies would have a direct route into Germany and by-pass German defences further south. Montgomery would further be in a good position to aid with clearing German forces from
Western Scheldt. Doing so would allow Antwerp, a major port captured earlier, to be used as well as seizing territory from which the Germans launched
V-1 and
V-2 weapons against
London, Antwerp and elsewhere.
Eisenhower approved of ''Market Garden'', giving supply priority to the 21st Army Group and diverted the U.S. First Army to the north of the
Ardennes in order stage limited attacks to draw German defenders south away from the target sites.
At first, it went well. The
101st Airborne and
82nd Airborne took their objectives at
Eindhoven,
Veghel and
Nijmegen. Although their landings outside Arnhem were on target, the
British 1st Airborne landing zones were some distance from Arnhem bridge and only on the north side of the river. Problems arose when the British 1st Airborne lost vital equipment - jeeps and heavy anti-tank guns - when gliders crashed. There had also been a severe underestimation of German strength in the area. To make matters worse, poor weather prevented aerial reinforcements and drastically reduced resupply. German resistance to the forces driving to Arnhem was highly effective, and a copy of the Allied battle plan had been captured.
In the end, ''Market Garden'' was unsuccessful. The Arnhem bridge was not held and the British paratroops absorbed tremendous casualty rates, approximately 77 percent.
Battle of the Scheldt
:''Main article:
Battle of the Scheldt''
The logistics situation was becoming critical, so opening Antwerp was now among the highest priorities. On September 12, 1944, the
Canadian First Army under the command of Lieutenant-General
Guy Simonds was given the task of clearing the Scheldt of German forces. The First Army was comprised of the
Canadian II Corps, which included the
Polish 1st Armoured Division, the
British 49th, the
52nd Divisions and the
British I Corps.
The task involved four main operations. The first was to clear the area north of
Antwerp and secure access to
South Beveland. The second was to clear the
Breskens pocket north of the Leopold Canal ("Operation Switchback"). The third, "Operation Vitality", was the capture of South Beveland. The final phase was the capture of Walcheren Island, which had been fortified into a powerful German stronghold.
On September 21, 1944 the advance began. The
Canadian 4th Armoured Division, moving northwards towards the south shore of the Scheldt around the Dutch town of Breskens were the first Allied troops to face the formidable obstacle of the double line of the Leopold and Dérivation de la Lys Canals. The canals were crossed and a bridgehead established, but fierce counter-attacks by the Germans forced them to withdraw with heavy casualties. The 1st Polish Armoured Division had greater success, moving northeast to the coast, occupying
Terneuzen and clearing the south bank of the Scheldt eastwards to Antwerp. It was by then clear, however, that any further advances would be at tremendous cost.
The
Canadian 2nd Infantry Division began its advance north from Antwerp On October 2. Heavy casualties ensued, including the almost total destruction of the
Canadian 5th Infantry Brigade's
Black Watch Battalion on October 13. However, on October 16,
Woensdrecht was taken by the Canadians, following an immense artillery barrage which forced the Germans back. This cut
South Beveland and
Walcheren off from the mainland and achieved the objective of the first operation.
Field-Marshal
Bernard Montgomery, issued a directive that made the opening of the Scheldt estuary the top priority. To the east, the
British Second Army attacked westwards to clear the Netherlands south of the
Maas River. This helped secure the Scheldt region from an outside counter-attack.
In "Operation Switchback," the
Canadian 3rd Infantry Division mounted a two pronged attack, with the 7th Brigade crossing the Leopold Canal and the 9th Brigade launching an amphibious assault from the coastal side of the pocket. Despite fierce resistance from the Germans, the Canadian 10th Brigade crossed the Leopold and the 8th Brigade moved southwards, opening a supply route into the pocket.
"Operation Vitality," the third major phase of the Battle of the Scheldt opened on October 24. The
2nd Canadian Infantry Division began its bridgeheads against
South Beveland, but was slowed by mines, mud and strong enemy defences. The
British 52nd (Lowland) Division made an
amphibious attack to get in behind the German's Beveland Canal defensive positions. Thus this formidable defence was outflanked, and the Canadian 6th Infantry Brigade began a frontal attack in assault boats. The engineers were able to bridge the canal on the main road. With the canal line gone, the German defence crumbled and
South Beveland was cleared. The third phase of the Battle of the Scheldt was now complete.
The final phase, "Operation Infatuate" was the attack on the heavily fortified island of
Walcheren at the mouth of the West
Scheldt. The island's dykes were breached by attacks from
RAF Bomber Command on October 3, 7 and 11. This flooded the central part of the island, forcing the German defenders onto the high ground and allowing the use of amphibious vehicles. Units of the Canadian 2nd Infantry Division attacked the causeway on October 31, and after a grim struggle, established a precarious foothold. They were relieved by a battalion of the
British 52nd (Lowland) Division. In conjunction with the waterborne attacks, the 52nd continued the advance.
The amphibious landings began on November 1 with units of the British 155th Infantry Brigade landing on a beach in the south-eastern area of Vlissingen. During the next few days they engaged in heavy street fighting against the German defenders. Also on November 1, after a heavy naval bombardment by the British
Royal Navy, troops of 4th Special Service Brigade, (consisting mainly of
Belgian and
Norwegian troops) supported by specialised armoured vehicles of the
79th Armoured Division were landed on both sides of the gap in the sea dyke. Heavy fighting ensued. A smaller force moved south-eastward, toward Vlissingen, while the main force went north-east to clear the northern half of Walcheren to link up with the Canadian troops who had established a bridgehead on the eastern part of the island. Fierce resistance was again offered by German troops defending the area, and fighting continued until November 7. However, the fighting ended on November 8 after a force of amphibious vehicles entered
Middelburg, the capital of Walcheren.
Meanwhile, the 4th Canadian Armoured Division had pushed eastwards past
Bergen-op-Zoom to
St. Philipsland where it sank several German vessels in
Zijpe harbour. With the approaches to the port of
Antwerp free, the fourth phase of the 'Battle of the Scheldt' was completed and on November 28, the first convoy entered the port of Antwerp.
Central Group of Armies (12th Army Group)
Aachen
:''Main article:
Battle of Aachen
The
U.S. First Army was focused on capturing the city of
Aachen, which had to be dealt with before advancing on to assault the Siegfried Line itself. Initially the city of Aachen was to be bypassed and cut off in an attempt by the allies to imitate the Blitzkrieg tactics the Germans had so effectively used (see below). However the city was the first city to be assaulted on German soil and so had huge historical and cultural significance to the German people. Hitler personally ordered that the garrison there be reinforced and the city held. This forced allied commanders to re-think their strategy.
Some historians, including
Stephen Ambrose, have suggested that the siege of Aachen was a mistake. The battle stalled the eastward advance by the allies and caused approximately 5,000 allied casualties. The fighting was, by all accounts, brutal street-to-street, house-to-house style urban combat and tied up the available rescources of the advancing allied armies. Ambrose has suggested that a more effective strategy would have been to have isolated the garrison at Aachen and continue the move east into the heart of Germany. This, in theory, would have eliminated the ability of the German garrison on Aachen to operate as a fighting force by cutting off their supply lines. This might have forced the Garrison to surrender or to move out of the city in an attempt to re-establish their supply lines. In the case of the latter a confrontation in a more neutral setting would probably have resulted in fewer military and civilian casualties.
Lorraine
:''Main article:
Lorraine Campaign''
In late August, the
US 3rd Army started to find itself running low on fuel. This situation was caused by the rapid Allied advance through France, and compounded by logistical priority being shifted to the northern forces in order to secure Antwerp. By
September 1st, with the last of its fuel, the Third managed one final push to capture key bridges over the
Meuse River at
Verdun and
Commercy. For five days after though, the critical supply situation effectively ground the Third Army to a halt, allowing previously routed German forces to regroup and the reinforcement of their strongholds in the area.
Soon after, the Third Army came against
Metz, part of the
Maginot Line and one of the most heavily fortified cities in Western Europe. The city could not be bypassed, as several of its forts had guns directed at Moselle crossing sites and the main roads in the area. It could be also be used as a stronghold to organize a German counter-attack to the Third's rear. In the following
Battle for Metz, the Third Army, while victorious, took heavy casualties.
Following Metz, the Third Army continued eastwards to the
Saar River and soon began their assault on the Siegfried Line.
Hurtgen Forest
:''Main article:
Battle of Hurtgen Forest''
The Hurtgen Forest was seen as a possible source of incursions into the American flank and the river dams in the area were a threat to the allied advance downstream, so an assault to clear the area was started on September 19, 1944. The German defence was more stubborn than expected and the terrain was highly favourable to defence, largely negating American advantages in numbers and quality of troops. The battle, expected to last a few weeks, continued until February 1945 and cost 33,000 casualties (from all causes).
The value of the battle has been disputed. Recent historians argue that the outcome was not worth the foreseeable losses and, in any case, the American tactics played into German hands.
References
★ ''The Battle for the Rhine'', Robin Neillands, 2005
External links
★ Army.mil:
Brochure Book
★
Military.com
★
Bombing Duren on 16 November 1944 to aid a major breakthrough of the Siegfried Line
★
44th Division: Vosges Mountain & Siegfried Line Campaign
★
The battle for Aachen
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