Some of the most brutally intense infantry combat in World War II
occurred within Germany's Hürtgen Forest. Focusing on the bitterly
fought battle between the American 22d Infantry Regiment and elements
of the German LXXIV Korps around Grosshau, Rush chronicles small-unit
combat at its most extreme and shows why, despite enormous losses, the
Americans persevered in the Hürtgenwald "meat grinder."
On 16
November 1944, the 22d Infantry entered the Hürtgen Forest as part of
the U.S. Army's drive to cross the Roer River. During the next eighteen
days, the 22d suffered more than 2,800 casualties--or about 86 percent
of its normal strength of about 3,250 officers and men. After three
days of fighting, the regiment had lost all three battalion commanders.
After seven days, rifle company strengths stood at 50 percent and by
battle's end each had suffered nearly 140 percent casualties.
Despite
these horrendous losses, the 22d Regiment survived and fought on, due
in part to army personnel policies that ensured that unit strengths
remained high even during extreme combat. Previously wounded soldiers
returned to their units and new replacements, green to battle, arrived
to follow the remaining battle-hardened cadre.
The German units
in the Hürtgenwald suffered the same horrendous attrition, with one
telling difference. German replacement policy detracted from rather
than enhanced German combat effectiveness. Organizations had high paper
strength but low manpower, and commanders consolidated decimated units
time after time until these ever-dwindling bands of soldiers
disappeared forever: killed, wounded, captured, or surrendered. The
performance of American and German forces during this harrowing
eighteen days of combat was largely a product of their respective
backgrounds, training, and organization.
Rush's work
underscores both the horrors of combat and the resiliency of American
organizations. While honoring the sacrifice and triumph of the common
soldier, it also compels us to reexamine our views on the requisites
for victory on the battlefield.
This book is part of the Modern War Studies series.
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