(1st Infantry Division) during the initial penetration
of the Siegfried Line in the vicinity of
Nütheim, Germany, 13 - 20 September 1944
(Rhineland Campaign)
INTRODUCTION
By Captain Armand R. Levasseur
This monograph covers the operations of the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry, 1st United States Infantry Division, during the initial penetration of the Siegfried Line in the vicinity of Nütheim, Germany, 13 - 20 September 1944. This period marked the beginning of the Rhineland Campaign (15 September 1944).
To orient the reader, it is necessary to review briefly the events leading up to the arrival of Allied forces on the German Border.
In December 1943, at an Allied Conference in Cairo, General Eisenhower was selected Supreme Allied Commander for the operation, referred to as Operation OVERLORD. He was directed to conduct operations aimed at the heart of Europe and the destruction of German forces. 1
The Allied assault was launched on 6 June 1944. American and British seaborne forces, under the command of Field Marshal Montgomery, landed and deployed along fifty miles of the Normandy coast. This was preceded by heavy naval and air bombardment and an airborne drop of several divisions in vital areas. Resistance from heavily fortified positions along the beach was bitter and stubborn but by D plus one the "crust" of the German coastal defense system was broken. 2 (Map A)
Powerful German counterattack forces from the south and east were ordered to wipe out the beachhead. However, Allied Air Force action on bridges, railroads, communication lines and troop movements was so effective that, the beachhead was secured before successful counterattacks could be launched. 3
Expansion of the beachhead progressed slowly due to ready-made enemy strong points found in the numerous hedgerows coupled with poor observation for artillery employment, rain and mud. The high quality of the German soldier was also apparent in this fighting. 4
By late July the beachhead was consolidated and four Allied Armies were poised to strike, awaiting only clear weather to permit aerial bombardment. The plan called for an initial breakthrough by the American First Army in the St. Lô area through which General Patton's Third Army would strike to unhinge the German left flank for further exploitation. 5
Under clear skies, the attack was launched on 25 July, preceded by an air bombardment of 3,390 tons concentrated on a narrow front. The breakthrough was complete and by 28 July the Third Army broke out to exploit the suocess. The battle of Normandy became the battle of France. 6
At this time Hitler, realizing the precarious position of his armies in France, directed the Seventh German Array to stage a large-scale counterattack, using all available armor and motorized infantry with the mission of smashing west to the sea at Avranches, cutting off General Patton's forces. Due largely to heavy fighter-bomber action by Allied Air Forces, this counterattack was delayed, weakened, and finally called off. Commitment of the German Seventh Army on a counterattack mission which failed delayed regrouping of this force to the extent that Allied forces trapped and destroyed over 100,000 enemy troops in the "Falaise Pocket". 7
Due to the rapid pursuit eastward by the British in the north and the Americans in the south, the enemy's attempt to establish a line east of the Seine River was committed too late to organize an effective defense. 8
Remnants of the German Seventh Army which escaped through the Falaise Corridor and the German Fifteenth Army now were in full retreat across Northeastern France. As this disorganized force fell back, the Allies pressed the pursuit on the ground and in the air under continued favorable weather. 9
On 1 September elements of five German divisions were withdrawing to the east near Mons, Belgium, with the sole mission of reaching and manning the Siegfried Line defenses. Simultaneously, First Army units marching along parallel routes immediately to the south, turned north toward Mons, striking the vulnerable extended southern flank of the enemy, pinning him against the British in the north and cutting his retreat to the east. 10
During the following three days no front line existed. In the resultant confusion infantry fought in close combat with artillery, and service troops were in at least one instance engaged in street fighting as the enemy attempted to break through our left flank to reach the Siegfried Line. Thousands of the enemy were killed and wounded as they were ambushed along roads; over 20,000 prisoners were captured. 11
