The Siegfried Line

The Siegfried Line, also known as the West Wall, was a line of German defense developed early in the war beginning in 1938. Hitler was planning actions against Czechoslovakia and Poland and the line would provide a defensive fortified zone that could facilitate offensive action.

The West Wall began with a barrier of anti-tank ditches and concrete "Dragon Teeth" anti-tank obstacles. The dragon teeth were of various heights - some up to six feet tall. They often graduated in height along the depth of the line. The layout and density of the bunkers were scattered to cover key roads. Anti-tank bunkers were initially equipped with 37mm anti-tank guns which were adequate in 1939 but were ineffective by 1944. Bunkers also had a forward observation post for spotting enemy artillery. The density of the bunkers was about 60 bunkers per 10 kilometers in length.

Prior to the Normandy invasion, the West Wall was stripped of anything removable such as wire obstructions, armored doors, gun mounts and armored fittings to be used to equip the coast against an anticipated Allied invasion. When the German troops retreated into Germany in September, 1944, the West Wall was overgrown and abandoned despite a hasty effort to refurbish the defenses in August 1944. The Dragon Teeth and the bunkers still provided defense for the Germans and plenty of demolition and removal work for First Army engineers as they cleared the path for the advancing Allied troops.

In the fall of 1944, the U.S. First Army, supported by the 300th Engineers, drove toward the German border along the Siegfried Line. The Germans had dug in along a line that stretched from Nijmegen to the north through the Huertgen Forest then south to the Rhine River and south along the river to the Swiss border.

The Germans had already lost France, Belgium and much of the Netherlands and even Hitler recognized that if Allied forces successfully penetrated into Germany, the war in Europe would be over. Most German military leadership knew the war was already lost but followed Hitler's orders for every man to "stand fast or die at his post."

The plan of the U.S. First Army was to drive into the Aachen Corridor with a 35-mile front, cross into Germany at the city of Aachen, take the city and surround the Germans. The 300th was headquartered out of Mud Hill and Chateau Modave during the battle and traveled in all directions throughout the region supporting the U.S. forces under the most difficult conditions. There was almost continuous heavy rain with mud everywhere. It was slippery and deep and anything caught in it needed to be towed out.

U.S. forces crossed into Germany briefly near the German - Luxembourg border conducting reconnaissance probes on September 11, 1944. For a few days U.S. troops penetrated German soil with several limited probes. Even though German defenders were outnumbered, their well-placed bunkers and obstacles made their defense so successful that by September 17, U.S. actions came to a halt for the rest of the month.

Letter Home from Charles Olive to his aunt:

Belgium Sept. 19, '44

Well, here I am in a different country. I'm somewhere in Belgium. The countrysides are really beautiful and some of the buildings are rather pretty. The people here seem to like us better than the French. They are all very friendly. I am seeing some wonderful sights; sights that world travelers give big sums of money to see. I've seen many unpleasant sights. I've smelled rancid and pungent odors and I have experiences some dangerous occasions.

I won't know how to sleep on a real bed again. I'm used to sleeping on the ground. I'm ok as I write this letter. I think I've lost some weight. I'll gain it back sometime. Well, this old war can't last forever. Someday, the boys will be going home. I'm sure that the war news looks very encouraging to you and it certainly is to us over here. I'll sign off for now and hope to hear from you soon.

Love Buddy

Allied attacks in the Aachen Corridor resumed in early October. Aachen was an historic city where the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne was born and its loss by the Germans to the Allies would be a devastating blow to moral. A German commander evacuated most of the 160,000 civilians of Aachen and offered to surrender the city on September 13, 1944. Hitler refused to allow the surrender and had the commander arrested while transferring five thousand troops to help hold the city.

The German defenders held out in ruined houses and buildings. The ultimate battle took place in the streets involving every building and at times every room within the building. The Americans poured 5,000 artillery shells per day into the city followed by tons of bombs.

On October 10, the U.S. First Army sent a delegation into Aachen with a surrender ultimatum which, based on Hitler's orders, was rejected. Allied attacks intensified from the air and ground. One engineer group even attempted to demolish buildings by filling trolley cars with captured explosives and rolling them into the city. The infantry assault began on October 13.

Attacks and counterattacks continued with U.S. troops gaining control with a building by building effort that pushed the German hold-outs, now down to only 1,600 troops, into an air raid shelter where they were trapped. The price of the battle was high on both sides. Two thousand U.S. troops were killed and the Germans lost 1,500 troops while another 3,500 were taken prisoner. An unconditional surrender was signed on October 21, 1944 and Aachen became the first German city to fall to the Allies. With the capture of Aachen, the U.S. First and Ninth Armies consolidated setting the stage for the offensive to reach the Rhine River.