The Forgotten Battle of Hurtgen Forest

America's longest battle and one of its most costly yet nobody seems to have heard of it, what's more nobody seems to know why it was fought. The Battle of Hurtgen Forest was fought fought between the Americans and the Germans during the latter stages of World War II . The battle took place between September 1944 and February 1945, in a strip of about fifty square miles on the Belgian-German border.

The American High Command was flush with success after the breakout at Normandy and hoped they could quickly break through and push further into Germany. Multiple divisions were sent in, only to be wrecked and replaced by still more divisions. Even with armor, air, and artillery support, all advantages held by the Americans were nullified by the forest terrain. Despite smaller numbers, the Germans were able to delay the stronger American force thanks to the difficult terrain and good defensive positions.

It was the perfect battleground for an over-stretched German army. The Germans were heavily entrenched in the forest and inflicted heavy casualities in the longest battle the American Army has ever fought in its history. The Germans inflicted well over 24,000 casualties on American forces during the battle. The Americans suffered an additional 9,000 casualties due to fatigue, illness and friendly fire. Up to 12,000 German lives were also claimed. Despite this, Hürtgenwald is largely forgotten as the Battle of the Bulge which after many reverses turned into total defeat for the German Army totally erased any advantage the Germans had gained.

Some of the troops fighting in the Hürtgen Forest also fought at Omaha Beach and they said that the Hürtgen was a much bloodier fight than Omaha beach. Ernest Hemingway described the battle as "Passchendaele with tree bursts" which is an appropriate epitaph.