The towns of Stolberg to the northwest, Düren to the northeast, Roetgen to the southwest, Schmidt and the Schwammenauel Dam formed the corners of the battlefield. Huertgen Forest map.

As the northernmost part of the mountainous Eifel region, it's one big wooded plateau, sliced into ridges by numerous streams.

From a point north of Aachen to south of the Hürtgen Forest, the Siegfried Line is divided into two separate belts, the Scharnhorst Line and the Schill Line.

Holding this part of the front of Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model's Heeresgruppe B was the 7. Armee, led by General Brandenberger.

The Germans stubbornly defended the forest for four reasons.

Firstly, the difficulties of its terrain made it ideal for defence by a small but resolute force; secondly, its position along the Belgian-German border offered an opportunity to block further enemy advance into Heimat territory; thirdly, unlike the Allies, the German High Command was acutely aware of the importance of the Roer Dams and holding on to them played a predominant role in their thinking; and fourthly, delaying the enemy west of the Roer was essential for gaining the time needed for the massive build-up behind that river for the great Ardennes counteroffensive which was planned for December.

In the winter of 1944-45 thirty thousand American GI's were killed or wounded in the longest battle ever fought by the U.S. Army, the little known Battle for Huertgen Forest. From September 1944 to February 1945 eight U.S. infantry and two U.S. armored divisions were thrown into the “green hell of Huertgen” or “Death Factory”, fifty square miles of thick, rugged hilly woods, full of German soldiers in a deadly network of bunkers and fortified positions. In the dense forest of fir trees, with limited visibility, death could come from any direction.