Hurtgen Forest and Roer Valley
10-17 Dev. 1944 - (Rhineland Campaign)
By Captain Raymond C. Greis
INTRODUCTION
This monograph covers the actions of the 2d Battalion, 329th Infantry, 83d Division during its drive out of the Hurtgen Forest to the Roer River.
It starts with the relief of the 4th Division on the 11 December, 1944, and ends with the capture of the west banks of the Roer River at Duren on the 17 December.
It is the purpose of this introduction briefly to orient the reader on the events that lead up to this action.
On 1 December the 83d Division, then on a defensive front in the Duchy of Luxembourg, was directed by 1st Army order to move immediately to relieve the badly depleted 4th Division of its sector in the Hurtgen Forest, Germany. This order further provided that the 4th Division would relieve the 83d Division of its sector in Luxembourg. This interchange called for a regiment of the 83d Division to relieve a regiment of the 4th Division; then that regiment of the 4th Division was to relieve another regiment of the 83d Division; and so on until the relief was completed. This exchange of sectors was completed on 11 December with the relief of the 8th Infantry, 4th Division by the 329th Infantry, 83d Division. 1
During this same period the 9th Division relieved the 1st Division on the left of the 83d Division sector. 2
These reliefs were made to add new impetus to the 1st Army drive to the Roer River. This attack had been in progress for a month. During that time the 4th Division, fighting hard against stubborn enemy resistance, had been greatly reduced in strength and badly needed
reorganization, rest and replacement. On the other hand, the 83d Division, during this same period, had been operating on a fairly static front in Luxembourg, and was at full strength, completely equipped, well trained, rested, and ready for battle. 3
The mission of the 83d Division was to continue the attack through the Hurtgen Forest and on to the banks of the Roer River.
The 329th Infantry was to be committed in a heavily wooded sector on the left portion of the division front. 4
The 2d Battalion would be on the left flank of the regiment and 5
On 9 December, 1944 the 2d Battalion of the 329th Infantry moved by truck from Luxembourg through Belgium, and on 10 December entered Germany. The battalion spent the night in bivouac near Gressenich, Germany, and on 11 December relieved elements of the 8th Infantry, 4th Division that were located on the 1st Army front astride the Schevenhutte-Duren road about 1500 yards west of the eastern edge of the Hurtgen Forest. This gave the 2d Battalion a heavily wooded sector, about 1000 yards wide, lying midway between the town of Gressenich, to the rear, and the city of Duren, 7 kilometers to the front. 6
Despite all efforts to preserve secrecy, the troops of the 2d Battalion were apparently not successful in concealing their movements to and from the front line positions. During the relief, and before the men of the 2d Battalion could dig in, the enemy shelled the front lines inflicting a number of casualties on the two forward companies of the 2d Battalion. 7
By 1400 hours on 11 December the 2d Battalion had completely occupied its area and had started patrolling into the enemy defenses. A strong line of enemy positions was located along the eastern edge of the firebreak, some 400 yards to the front. Exact locations of the enmy's machine guns could not be determined. The underbrush and trees offered the Jerry every advantage for concealment of his troops and weapons. 8
Later in the afternoon a warning order was issued calling for an attack on the next day. It would be a tough fight, driving through rain-soaked forest, but the Battalion Commander was sure his men could do the job. These were well-conditioned, battle experienced troops. They had fought in Normandy and Brittany, and had, since then, been on a fairly quiet front in Luxembourg. During the stay in Luxembourg all companies had been re-equipped and retrained and were now ready for the tough fight to come. 9
GEOGRAPHIC FEATURES
The ground in the battalion sector sloped gradually up to the edge of the forest at HOF HARDT, then gently down to the Roer River. A dirt road ran generally east through GURZENICH and again east to the Roer River. A firebreak, about 150 yards wide, was located about 400 yards east of, and parallel to, our front lines. Another dirt road was located about 600 yards east of, and parallel to, the firebreak. This road ran north and south from SCHLICH through Hof Hardt to GEY. Hof Hardt proved to be a group of three buildings located on a road junction.
Gurzenich was a typical farming community with the majority of the buildings located along the road to Duren. In the center of the town was a circle and around this were the town hall, the church, and a few stores. So, we picture a long narrow town, bulged in the middle, with its long axis running northeast and southwest.
The area around Gurzenich consisted of flat, open country. The Germans had dug trenches all over this flat open area surrounding Gurzenich.
Heavy rainfall and poor drainage had turned all the roads in the area into rivers of mud. Under this mud the enemy had planted his teller mines, thus denying the battalion the use of the roads. Since it was next to impossible to detect mines under this soupy mud, by-passes had to be cleared through the forest and marked with white tape. This mud condition, coupled with low temperatures, exposed all the troops in the area to the dreaded "trench-foot". To reduce this threat the troops were told to remove their shoes, exercise their feet, and change their socks twice a day.
The trees overhead provided excellent concealment but absolutely no cover. Enemy artillery and mortar shells, bursting in the trees, rained steel down on the heads of our troops. Log huts, built by the troops of the 8th Infantry, provided adequate cover initially, and captured German dugouts were used on the next day. But, while moving forward in the attack, the men had to take a terrific pounding.
It can be seen that the battalion's attack would take it over various terrain conditions: first, a dense forest; then, open ground; and, finally, through buildings in a house to house fight to reach the Roer River. 10
