GERMANY
3-INCH GUN MOTOR CARRIAGES M10 move up in the Huertgen Forest area. Troops of the First and Ninth Armies had been fighting their way toward Schmidt since September in one of the most bitterly contested actions of the war. One of the major obstacles in the advance was the Huertgen Forest which covered roughly the triangle of Aachen-Dueren-Monschau. In the vicinity of Schmidt were dams which controlled the level of the Roer River, and while these were still in enemy hands water could be released flooding the valley of the Roer. It was therefore considered necessary to take this area and the dams before the river was crossed by the attacking U. S. forces.
GERMANY
INFANTRYMEN pushing through the Huertgen Forest near Vossenack, Germany (top). Vehicles moving up a muddy road through the forest (bottom). The Germans had strengthened this natural barrier by the clever use of wire, pillboxes, and mines, and the U. S. infantrymen, restricted by the rough wooded terrain, were forced to fight for the most part without the aid of artillery or air support. On 13 December the attack on the dams was renewed but the going was still slow. Casualties to the two armies advancing in this area were high.
GERMANY
KOMMERSCHEIDT AND THE SURROUNDING AREA. The terrain of the Schmidt and Vossenack areas, like that of the Huertgen Forest, was hilly and wooded. The Roer River dams in this area were important objectives for the Allies during this part of the campaign.