Made for mines. Of forest in the eiffel region of western germany. A forest that harbors like dark past. With a legacy still visible in isolated places. From the time when it was dumped a greenhouse. In the closing stages of the 2nd world war it was the scene of bloody fighting between u. S. And German Forces. The path to the western allies advance from belgium into germany led straight through the forests around the village a field can. For locals the battle is still a key part of their history. This ticket is going to come to market was wild riding around here on my bike as a teenager that i really came into contact with the history of the here conformist vision and boiling over to i would suddenly come across ruins among the trees like Massive Concrete walls. And when i asked my parents they told me they were the remains of bunkers from the 2nd world war. And once you know what to look for in this wartime landscape you can also see bomb craters trenches and foxholes on the stones stone slush or. Mud so if you really take the time you can find a lot of these world war 2 relics in the hood can forensic. Is. For around 5 months the forest was the scene of successive bitterly fought battles between the american and german armies. Although the americans had more troops and were better equipped their attempt to drive the germans out of the forest was a military disaster. Progress was slow and costly as they became bogged down in the treacherous terrain. It was a nightmare i dont think there can be worst. It was awful it was phrasing. And these damn shells hit the top of the tree and came down in and so fragmented they could kill anybody. I was in combat there for 10 days. At the height of the bout. I was trembling for practically the entire 10 days. Since i. Knew i could die of course. And i was terrified. An estimated 25000 american and german soldiers died in the forest. To the hurt forest it was america but here i am i dont know how i survived. The forest was a death trap for the u. S. Troops. They called it hurt can forest after the small village that was at the heart of the fighting. In the battle in the hertz going to fall it was one of the longest and deadliest battles on german soil in the west. It left a lot of scars not only on the inhabitants and their descendants but also on the landscape itself in the forest and on local buildings. For the german troops the war was in a fact already long lost. I knew zeke you know. Even the young soldiers. Through those who could reflect. Didnt believe in victory. Nish. You just want to survive to come home safe and sound the holes are made up. But nazi war propaganda portrayed a completely different picture different than for im on the board from fox 3 or 401 by if you look you couldnt find your film and it. Just didnt click of inboard quantify then everyone knew the allies would win the war and this was as we hear everything that happened in the hood going wagner meant just a minimal delay of the inevitable getting food for thought wonder what if thats a bag of hot and indirectly contributed to the continuation of the murders in the concentration extermination camps and in the prisons and other places. Until the very last 2nd of the 3rd reich is this was used by the game called. Since d. Day in june 1044 the western allied troops had been advancing from normandy through france and belgium towards germany. In the process liberating paris brussels and antwerp from nazi occupation. We were told through ordered to take the ground that very were wrong. They get away from. Are we advance through to win the war we were wormser going to work and not. On september 11th 1044 the 1st us divisions reached the belgian german border near us and. More than 3 months earlier than expected. One day later the 3rd u. S. Armored division crossed into germany near the town of what can. We just went through the town and went on the other side then we got into the real trouble with the 1st. Sight of the seaweed line. Does it fit light was the defensive wall built to secure germanys western border we saw the steel gates on the road and dragon stephen was the 1st dragon steve that were done and seen. Antitank obstacles were known as dragons teeth they accompanied a line of bunkers stretching over 600 kilometers from the dutch border down to switzerland for western allied troops a formidable obstacle. Trying to get all 4 strong bussy arms when they had no precise idea what to expect at the zig fried lawn. And so the closer they got to the actual territory of the 3rd reich the more insecure they became with not because they thought they would still face strongly fortified and heavily man defensive positions. Not the allies had been taken in by the nazi propaganda of the prewar years. This went so far out of the American Military films excerpts from german propaganda films showing the sig friedland is an insurmountable object to explain to its troops what they were up against. On this side. As many as half a 1000000 men work as much as 20 hours a day to build the 2000 fortified positions on land. The new madrid germans are building cig freedom on a not very. Were Holding Without would stop most didnt happen. Could we broke through the same free line we took all along krajan lose what we did but we knew that to start seeing free run. Was a bad place to go to as officials psychologically friedland was effective on both sides and we did hear that its military value in the actual fighting was very limited. U. S. Troops succeeded in breaking through the antitank barriers near what get. It on the other side they met with stubborn resistance from german troops who were firmly dug in in the bunkers and in the woods. James cullen was wounded in the fighting near the village of ot. I got it. Through the. Trunk of blow. When i looked i saw a blog pouring out right. Good. And were going to die here in a largely german field. Deadly a few weeks later collins parents back home received the news that their son had been wounded in action after being hit by shrapnel he was away from active duty for 2 months. With american troops progressing much faster than expected supply lines were stretched which in particular meant fuel shortages for tanks the advance ground to a halt just behind the german border. That gave German Forces time to rebuild their lines of defense until then the van last had only stationed isolated units in the northern life meanwhile preparations were underway for the 4th storm old men and boys the home guard for germanys last ditch defense in a televised address propaganda minister yosef gulbis called on his compatriots determination. I would be if you left out the food and if you keep the fire in the factory if it. Didnt make. You nod covers that you could go as usual goebbels was lying of course wouldnt be claimed that the enemy was not yet on german soil although they were and he tried to mobilize any remaining forces but by months i was to be said that the german population were all too happy to go along with that they were tired of war and wanted it to be over so glad but they were also terrified of what the allies would do to them if they came and. The americans wanted to advance further into germany and finally see the war ended their aim was to reach the rhine and then the brewer industrial region but ahead of them lay a dense forest almost 10 kilometers wide which blocked their path the health invite. In local villages the war had been all too present for several months especially due to the allied air raids on cities like. The civilians sought refuge in air raid shelters. Rational enough. There were constant air raid alerts and one day we came out of the bunker 6 and 6 buildings had burned down during the night the cattle were screaming the pigs were screaming the people were screaming it was awful. In september 1944 the villages were evacuated as the invading troops and the frontline came ever closer. And this morgans one morning our parents said we have to leave the artillery shells were landing all around them he d. Lets them we were the last ones left and hotshot. My parents said this is too much were going to leave to the beginning. Instead of going around the forest to the north the american commanders decided to advance eastward right through the middle where they hoped german defenses would be weak but they completely misjudged the terrain with disastrous consequences. The 1st push in october 1944 ended after just 3 kilometers. Needed. This is nice to have possible its not as if the forests are alien to americans that its always highly problematic for an army to fight it would have to rain glenda to camp. I was just going to just even ponce and im filled with wild fun contains cant just drive through forests and over a large tree slime on for fun. And so its this because 1st you have to cut paths through them with. Bob on. The ground was also littered with landmines and the americans ran into a chain of bunkers in the forest this was where the germans had dug themselves in. The americans were able to destroy some of the bunkers but after 10 days the losses on both sides were so great that the fighting died down for a while. Shortly afterwards American Forces further north achieved a decisive breakthrough taking us an october 21st after fierce fighting it was the 1st german city to fall into allied hands. But this was of little help to the american soldiers in the nearby her to invite. As the autumn rains began the weather was worsening from one day to the next. The u. S. Troops were literally bogged down plans for a 2nd advance had to be repeatedly delayed as one g. I. Later said anyone who says he knows where he been in the forest is lying. On november 2nd the americans attacked the village of boss in uk and from there they took the villages of comma shite and schmidt via the car valley but once again they underestimated the difficult terrain some of the hills they had to cross were 150 meters high. Frenzy. When you reach the top of a hill your mediately experience the phenomenon of looking over the landscape from one plateau to another. But you have no idea how deep and steep the valleys in between are and. The 28th u. S. Infantry division reached the village of schmidts relatively quickly but then its supply lines were interrupted. If you look at the fossil and schmidt with the valley in between the only link between them is a footpath that winds down into the valley and then up again on the other side of the unknowns out to be the all for. The force of them with the americans thought this path would be easy enough to drive and walk along with you that theyd be able to move the necessary troops vehicles heavy weapons and other supplies along with these of course which Everything Else but that was nonsense and. The remains of tank tracks are a stark reminder that the battle for foss and uk and schmidt ended in disaster for the americans the invaders retreated in panic only for german units to cut them off down in the valley tanks crashed down the slopes and many soldiers collapsed from exhaustion. The battle in the color valley which the american subsequently referred to as death valley claimed countless lives on both sides. A few days after the defeat general dwight d. Eisenhower came to the hook invited to meet his troops on the ground and assess the situation neither the allied Supreme Commander nor his officers had expected so many casualties. The mood was despondent. The autumn of 1904 remained unusually wet and cold rain became more and more impassable every day the americans hopes for a quick victory were fading. d because. They had already spent 2 months in the field good vides the forests they had hoped to cross in just a few days. In mid november 1944 the americans launched a 3rd offensive this time they try to advance by going further north passing through the villages of klein now and also and then heading east. During the fighting a 22 year old Italian American from pennsylvania arrived in the hood can buy it in his youth he had hoped to become a photographer. We were there i would say a month among the war its a long time the german artillery. I was in it just never stopped they really bombed us. Thank you turtle if you know our days follow the same pattern. Began with heavy artillery fire from the americans. Who ponce our news then tanks were deployed in sherman texas which advanced on the broad front lines of 100. And then of course you could hear the shells of machine guns. On solutions. That was the actual moment you realized there were other people nearby who were shooting at you. As an unknown engine and you know to shes power fair bake was sent to the hut converts with other young recruits in mid december to lay antitank mines. The u. S. Forces were constantly getting reinforced with more men and more vehicles and equipment but they were not prepared for the extreme weather conditions in the ice fall. Whenever they got stuck in the forest they dug in. But fox holes offered little protection against the german atilla and the cold onset of winter. It would rain some time all the snow would melt and the fox holes are always filled with water. Are 3 i was fortunate. To have this camera me. And i if you look at my pictures i have hundreds and hundreds of pictures of officers i didnt take those because i liked it i took them to make them happy so that they would give me free them to take more pictures here now i tricked all of them high youth and like little boys. Little or both the germans and the americans spent most of their nights in their foxholes in the woods poorly protected from the cold and wet with makeshift tarpaulin shelters. I transformed the nature or around me into a dark room i would ask 3 of my best friends to let me use the metal part of the helmet and those became the trays for my darkroom at night i would mix my. Chemicals mostly eyes were all asleep i was working because the dark room was only the night the the earth was the dark room you see. Tony vaccaro took hundreds of photos in the herd ken diet although he waited over 50 years before publishing a selection of them. All i want to take was photographed photograph order there thats why i am here today otherwise i ordered government killed a long time ago. Some of the fiercest fighting took place in a valley west of klein house in the heart of the forest. In mid november author Ernest Hemingway was witness to the bloody battles there in his later novel across the river and into the trees based on his experiences he wrote it was a place where it was extremely difficult for a man to stay alive even if all he did was be there. In December Tony vaccaro also photographed his comrades preparing for the christmas season. Gift packages with canned food from home arrived for soldiers who had long since terrorist they began to give you this food. To the local people. Tillage army. On december 16th 1044100 miles further south in the our den the germans launched a final surprise offensive once again the allies were hard to trust in this likewise heavily forested region and had to bring in reinforcements at short notice to stem the german advance many from the hook invited. Grant id been on the route you comfort during the battle of the bolts there was fighting here but both of them off and the allies were very busy with the offensive further south i knocked her post well for this sort of cause and that meant there was a period of 2 or 3 weeks without any major combat with. Then the war returned to the hook invites in the course of january 945. 00 the americans managed to advance in the face of weakening german resistance the defeat in the our den counteroffensive had cost the defenders their last reserves. I particularly remember the 1st time i saw the americans. As prisoners of war and. Even i was amazed at how well fed they were. And they were clean and tidy including their uniforms. While we were a license ridin dirty rubble. Once the americans reached the ruhr not to be confused with a more famous similar sounding valley further north their way to the rhine and cologne was finally clear. The germans tried to blow up the dams to flood the valley and halt the u. S. Advance. But by now ended the war seemed to be fast approaching. In february 1945 u. S. Troops liberated soviet prisoners of war and forced laborers in the arnold spiner concentration camp. Many were also held under inhuman conditions at a 2nd camp near helped invite. Over 2000 inmates of these camps were later buried at the soviet war cemetery in sin a heart most of them had died of hunger and now treatment. Most of the towns and villages in the healthcare were barely recognizable after the fighting. The allied troops pushed on and within a few weeks had conquered the rhineland and the industrial ruhr valley as they had vance towards berlin. The evacuated residents now hoped to be able to return to their villages. Near a movie when the americans passed through one of them asked us where we were from we said we were from schmidt he said he had fought there and we shouldnt go back there because the whole place was in ruins and the village had been mined but we said were going home and here we go in the house in our house. The fighting in the hurt can forrest was over but the war had left a trail of destruction a ravaged landscape whose scars are still visible today. American soldiers began clearing the mines that were buried everywhere german prisoners of war were forced to help them. But they could only remove a small number of the deadly devices of that again and again wed hear this huge bang and another person flew through the air so many people lost their lives feel or feel that way bozo plainness me and one little girl had been playing with a hand grenade she thought it had perfume inside. The hand grenades had rings on them and when you pulled them you had to throw them away very quickly and. The girls hand was blown off she was on the guns and thomas picked and a very central aspect of the postwar experiences of People Living in the i thought it was that they actually had to rebuild their lives on a former battlefield and them cannot leave mccombs and children died because they played with munitions that it was dangerous to plough and cultivate the fields decided that this is it seemed to get out what. It took decades to clear the most severely affected parts of the forest of ordinance on the bream and the dead whod been left there would give us and. Us an important. It would take the forest decades to recover. At the same time nearby towns had been destroyed by air raids. In september 1945 almost returned home from the war. Even without him after being the mobilized me and another guy i arrived in do not a Freight Train from bahrain at the beginning of september the roots were from born prominent and really looked at each other and i said martin is this really do been so maki since sure he said theres the signpost dosser and that shield was a bit lopsided but its said to have been through. And there were and then we looked across the whole town it was one big pile of rubble and a