The historical significance behind these real locations where fierce engagements took place during World War II. Below are his concise summaries of the importance of these locations during World War II. Aachen stands out because it was an early urban battle for the United States Army. The Army had endured their first urban battle in Cherbourg, France, prior to this, immediately after the D-Day landings, but the Battle of Aachen was another early test for them.
The 26 th maneuvered into a position where they could cut the city off, surround it, and then reduce it. Then, over the next 19 days, heavy combat ensued through the streets of the city. The German force defending it consisted of about 13, men, and they supplemented that number with 5, Volkssturm β males between the ages of 16 and 60 who were pressed into military service.
While the aggregate number of American fighting forces in Aachen approached , soldiers, it was mainly the 26 th Infantry Regiment doing the heavy lifting, in terms of penetrating in the city streets. One of the critical elements for the successful conduct of an urban battle is the use of overwhelming firepower and support of advancing infantry forces. So, in the case of Aachen the US army forces were advanced with a large amount of fire support, including tank fire support, and with tank destroyers.
And these were, for the most part, from the 3rd Armored Division, who advanced forward with the assistance of firepower from a mm self-propelled gun that they wheeled into the streets. The 3 rd Armored Division used this powerful weapon as a means of battering down Axis strongpoints. In that usage, it's a very effective weapon. After battling for 19 days, with much destruction across the city, Aachen became the first big German city to be captured by US forces during World War II.
The Ardennes Forest was the location for the Battle of the Bulge, beginning on December 16, , and extending all the way into January The Battle of the Bulge did not occur entirely in the Ardennes Forest, but it was a significant component of what transpired in that battle, and at that stage of the war it became the largest land battle the United States military fought in during World War II.
