The Battle of Huertgen Forest occurred from September 1944 to February 1945 when the US 1st Army launched an offensive towards the Rhine River in the forested Hurtgenwald area near Aachen, Germany. The German forces in the Hurtgenwald, commanded by Field Marshal Walter Model, intended to defend Germany to the last man, holding the American assaults back and using the terrain to their advantage. The Americans repeatedly attacked the Siegfried Line fortifications in the forest, including Schmidt, Monschau, and Hill 400, the last of which proved to be a hard nut to crack. On 22 October, the Allies succeeded in capturing the city of Aachen, the first German city of any significance to fall to the western Allied Powers, but the Battle of the Bulge counteroffensive would force the Americans to retreat into Belgium and defend against the attack. In early 1945, the Germans prevented a renewed Allied advance by opening the Rur River dams and flooding the countryside, and it would not be until February 1945 that the American troops were able to finally secure the forest and force the Germans to retreat from the Siegfried Line.
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