CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

CHRONOLOGY

THE STRATEGIC SITUATION

OPPOSING COMMANDERS

German commandersUS commanders

OPPOSING ARMIES

The WehrmachtThe US Army

OPPOSING PLANS

US plansGerman plans

THE CAMPAIGN

The first battle of AachenNorth of Aachen
Encircling AachenThe second battle of Aachen
Prelude to Operation Queen: HürtgenOperation Queen
Operation Clipper: VIII CorpsOperation Queen: the December clean up
The prelude to the Ardennes

THE CAMPAIGN IN RETROSPECT

The battlefields today

FURTHER READING

GLOSSARY AND ABBREVIATIONS

images

On September 13, 1944 Task Force X of the 3rd Armored Division penetrated the Siegfried Line near Aachen. Here, one of the division’s M4 tanks drives through some dragon’s teeth, the first layer of the Scharnhorst Line. (NARA)