Breaking Down the Door To Europe: The Bloody Fight at Aachen in World War II
To enter Germany, the U.S. Army would first need to capture the city of Aachen in one of the toughest urban battles of World War II.
Here s What You Need to Know: The capture of Aachen was a significant event, kicking in the door that allowed the Allied drive toward the Ruhr and the Rhine to continue.
By the autumn of 1944, German resistance in the West was quickly crumbling as the British and Americans approached the German border 233 days ahead of schedule. Two army groups, the 21st, commanded by Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery, and the 12th, under the command of General Omar Nelson Bradley, had galloped across France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Holland at an unexpected pace, overcoming whatever sporadic opposition the retreating German forces could throw in their paths. By September 11, the Americans had reached positions on the German frontier that pre-invasion planners had not expected to re