HISTORY:
** In September 1944, following the liberation of Paris, the Allied armies continued to press eastwards towards the German border. Following the failure of Operation Market Garden to secure a Rhine crossing at Arnhem, Courtney Hodges of the US First Army proposed a line of advance through the Hürtgen Forest, a wooded area south of Aachen. On the opposing side, German forces under the command of Walter Model sought to shore up the border defenses and give the Wehrmacht time to reorganize for its own planned offensive.
Fought in all elements on brutal terrain – heavily forested, riven with razor sharp ridgelines and precipitous cliffs, and with a woefully inadequate road network – the Battle of Hürtgen Forest was a grinding and protracted encounter where gains were measured in feet and yards and not miles. This study explores the first phase of this bloody battle, including the 'Aachen Question' facing the Allies. Featuring stunning artwork, detailed maps and diagrams, and period images, this book provides a gripping narrative of the infamous clash in the Hürtgen Forest, concluding with an assessment of the situation into November 1944 and the preparations for the next phase of operations. **
** Quoted from the back cover of the book.
THE BOOK:
Osprey Publications has released Hürtgen Forest 1944 (1), The US First Army's Route to the Rhine as Number 412 in their Campaign series. It is a soft cover book with 96 pages and is the standard Osprey Publishing size of 7 1/4 x 9 3/4 inches. Included with the text are black and white photographs and color photographs, color illustrations, full color battlescenes, 3-dimensional ‘birds-eye-views’, color maps, detailed captions and more. It has a 2025 copyright, a publication date of February 27, 2025, and the ISBN is 978-1-4728-6229-7.
THE CONTENTS:
Origins of the Campaign
Chronology
Opposing Commanders
- American
- German
Opposing Forces
- American
- German
- Orders of battle
Opposing Plans
- American
- German
The Campaign
- From Normandy to victory
- Hitting the Westwall
- “Lightning Joe”
- Encounters at the border
- The Imperial City
- A change in strategy
- The Green Hell
- Stemming the tide
- Realizations and resolutions
Aftermath
Further Reading
Index
THE TEXT:
Author Michael McNally has written an excellent history about the combat actions encountered by the United States First Army during the fighting in the Hürtgen Forest in 1944 during World War II. The text goes into very specific detail in all areas of the book as outlined on the contents page, please refer to the contents listing that I have provided for the areas that are covered through the book. Michael McNally does a great job of providing the reader with information about commanders and military units on both sides of the conflict. He details the actions taken by both sides and their success and failures and what led to them. Battlefield conditions are discussed such as the types of obstacles the Allies faced such as "dragon's teeth", minefields and the types of mines used, barbed wire, road obstacles and bunker emplacements and what the Allies had to do to overcome or bypass them. Along with his own words Michael McNally has also provided quotes from Allied and Axis military personnel, Allied Supreme Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower, official military reports, and the official First Army war diary. As well as personal quotes being included, there are also copies of official US First Army letters of instruction. The text in the book is nicely written and well detailed. As I read through the text, I didn’t notice any spelling or grammatical errors. Grammar and spelling might not be an important factor to everyone however it is something that I take notice of and pass on my findings. I feel that if the text is well written then it shows that the author has taken the time to be professional with their writing. Anyone wanting to add an excellent reference and history book on the combat actions encountered by the United States First Army during the fighting in the Hürtgen Forest in 1944 during World War II.to their personal library will be pleased with this very informative and interesting book.
THE PHOTOGRAPHS:
A total of 47 black and white photographs and 13 color photographs are included in this volume. The photographs are a combination of period and current images and range from wide angle photographs to close-up detailed photographs and are a combination of in-action photographs, photographs removed from motion pictures to photographs that have been staged for the photographer as well as official military personnel profile photographs. Most of the photographs are clear and easily viewable; however, a few have an out-of-focus appearance, and some appear to be too dark, and others appear too light. This is typical for the discussed period of history and the quality of the photographs is no fault of the author and do not take anything away from the book. The close-up photographs show items such as German and American uniforms to include helmets, soft caps, unit insignia, medals and military ribbons. There are several small arms shown to include rifles, submachine guns, Panzerschreck, and others. Also shown are machineguns, anti-tank guns, landmines, and demolition charges. There are several images of Allied and Axis tanks, halftracks and vehicles such as the American Jeep and German Kübelwagen. Author Michael McNally stuck to the title of the book and chose subject specific photographs and did not include photographs that strayed from the main subject of the book. The majority, if not all, of the photographs will prove to be excellent reference material for the military scale modeler due to the details they contain. The military historian, and the military vehicle, uniform and smalls arms enthusiast will benefit from the excellent photographs as will anyone that is interested in the clashes between the Axis and the Allies in the Hürtgen Forest during World War II.
THE ILLUSTRATIONS:
There are three color illustrations by illustrator Darren Tan provided in this volume. Each of the color illustrations is a two-page action illustration and on the following page is a smaller black and white copy of the same illustration that describes the scene and points out and details key areas of interest. The illustrations are very well done, nicely detailed and are of:
Plate A
Roetgen, German-Belgium Border, September 12-13, 1944
- A two-page action color illustration depicting men of the 2nd Battalion, 36th Armored Infantry taking cover behind “Dragon’s Teeth” while the crew of an M15A1 half-track provide suppressing fire with the quad mounted .50-caliber machine guns.
** I have provided a scan of the smaller black-and-white copy of the color illustration.
Plate B
The Hürtgenwald – Inside the Green Hell, October 1944.
- A two-page action color illustration depicting a combat medic of the 22 Infantry, 4th Infantry Division treating a fellow soldier that has been wounded by falling splinters created by German artillery airbursts exploding in the canopy of the trees above them.
** A portion of this illustration is shown on the front cover of the book.
Plate C
Schevenhütte, September 22, 1944
- A two-page action color illustration depicting a German grenadier company armed with Karabiner 98k (Kar 98) and Sturmgewehr 44 (STG-44) rifles at the start of their attack on the German village of Schevenhütte.
MAPS:
There are six color maps included in this volume that show:
- Breakout from Normandy, July-August 1944
- The race for the Rhine, August-September 1944
- US V Corps operations, September 11-19, 1944
- US XIX Corps operations, September 10-19, 1944
- US VII Corps operations, September 12-29, 1944
- The front stabilizes, October 1944
3-DIMENSIONAL ‘BIRD’S-EYE-VIEWS’:
There are two 3-dimensional ‘birds-eye-views’ included in this volume, and they are:
- Taskforce Lovelady: Breakthrough at Roetgen, September 12-13, 1944
- Operations of US 39th Infantry Regiment, Lammersdorf, September 14-30, 1944
INFORMATION CHARTS:
There are 2 informational charts included in this volume, and they are:
- Key to military symbols
- Key to unit identification
THE CAPTIONS:
The captions are well written and explain the accompanying photographs and illustrations in great detail eliminating any doubt as to what is shown. The captions go into very specific detail as to the specific individuals shown and their military rank and military unit they are assigned to, the types of uniforms and accoutrements such as medals they are wearing, weapons, equipment carried and used, dates and locations and other such pertinent information. I was impressed by Michael McNally’s captions as they are very helpful to the reader due to their detailed content as opposed to other captions that I have seen that are very brief and lacking in detail. I did find an error with the caption on page 10. The caption states “The debris of defeat – wreckage of a German PzKpfw IV”. The tank shown is an American Sherman, not a German Panzer IV.
CONCLUSION:
As with the other Osprey Publishing titles I was impressed with this book. This is a very nice reference book that contains a well written informative text, many subject specific photographs and illustrations, well detailed captions and more, all detailing the combat actions encountered by the United States First Army during the fighting in the Hürtgen Forest in 1944 during World War II. As with the other Osprey Publishing titles, I have no hesitation recommending this book to others as it will be a welcome addition to one’s personal reference library.
Osprey Publishing also offers Hürtgen Forest 1944 (1), The US First Army's Route to the Rhine as:
Ebook (Epub & Mobi) ISBN: 978-1-4728-6231-0
and
Ebook (PDF) ISBN: 978-1-4728-6230-3
Osprey Publishing’s, Hürtgen Forest 1944 (1), The US First Army's Route to the Rhine is also available as a Kindle version through Amazon.
PRICE:
US $25.00 / UK £16.99 / CAN $33.00
This book was provided to me by Osprey Publishing. Please be sure to mention that you saw the book reviewed here on the KitMaker Network when you make your purchase. Thank you.