75th anniversary of D-Day...

Tidewater said:

Just in passing, why is a miniseries on Hitler shown on The American Heroes Channel?

Click to expand...

Maybe because it was American Heroes that MHAQ?

November 28, 1944: Tuesday - today marks 25 weeks (175 days) since the D-Day Invasion at Normandy and the beginning of the liberation of Europe.

The 8th Infantry of the 4th Infantry Division improves its previous positions and conducts rigorous patrolling to the northeast and south in a quest for more information regarding the German troop, continuously clearing the area.

The 12th Regiment fills the large gap existing between the 8th and 22nd Regiments. 1st Battalion attacks early, with 2nd Battalion in support, and immediately engages in a fire fight. The German resistance is quickly eliminated by the northward advance along the road by the battalion. No further resistance is encountered until late in the afternoon when a strong point is encountered. 1st Battalion holds up there for the night. 3rd Battalion continues to support the attack of the 22nd Infantry and the 5th Armored Division.

The 22nd Infantry sends a small task force of the 3rd Battalion to seize the high ground to the east. By mid-afternoon, the task force (two platoons) reach the objective and clean out small scattered pockets of enemy. Any movement by the 1st Battalion is followed by a mortar barrage. Plans are made to seize the high ground northeast of Grosshau as the Nazi resistance in the Grosshau area continues to be extremely heavy.

The US 9th Army clears Juelich and closes up to the Roer River, while the US 1st Army attacks around Inden, Lammersdorf, Frenzerburg Castle, Langerwehe, and Juengersdorf and captures Hürtgen. US 3rd Army is engaged around Falck, Farebersviller, and Berg and US 7th Army attacks around Erstein and Barr. French 1st Army reaches Burnhaupt, pocketing LXIII Corps of German 19th Army in Alsace

In the skies above Germany, RAF Bomber Command sends 316 aircraft to attack Essen overnight, 145 aircraft to attack Neuss overnight, and 75 aircraft to attack Nuremberg overnight.

Elements of US 442nd Regimental Combat Team relieve US-Canadian 1st Special Service Force in the Alps on Franco-Italian border.

On the eastern front, the 57th Army of Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front captures Mohacs. The 4th Guards Army of Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front attacks around Pecs. The Bulgarian 1st Army is ordered to concentrate west of Belgrade under command of Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front.

In Italy, British 13th Corps of US 5th Army captures Casoal Valsenio and Monte Taverna - all unopposed, while US 12th Air Force aircraft provide ground support and attack transportation targets in the Po valley and at the Brenner Pass.

Allied forces begin to operate the port in Antwerp, Belgium.

Pictured: Troops from the 83rd Division moving in the Hurtgen Forest, late November, 1944.; German POWs in the Hurtgen.; An American artillery emplacement in the Hurtgen Forest. November 28, 1944.; Unloading the first convoy to arrive in Antwerp after the Scheldt had been cleared of mines. November 28, 1944.

November 29, 1944: In the battle for the ‘dark and bloody ground’ of the Hurtgen Forest continues with 4th Infantry Division advancing against German fox holes and bunkers constructed and reinforced with logs and earth in the northern sector. In the southern sector, the enemy defense is based on strategically located machine gun nests and considerable mortar and artillery fire. As elsewhere, the approach paths are heavily mined and obstructed with wire and fallen trees.

The 8th Infantry attacks (along with the 1st Battalion) at 8:45 and the 2nd Battalion at 9:00. The German resistance continues to be heavy throughout the day, with many machine guns firing along the mined and booby-trapped firebreaks and trails along the eastern edge of the Hurtgen Forest. Heavy mortar and artillery fire is also encountered. A small counterattack is repulsed by the 1st Battalion and by noon both battalions succeed in capturing the German positions occupied the previous night. At 9:30 the 3rd Battalion moves forward and becomes involved in a fire fight - after several attempts to push through it, the battalion is ordered to consolidate their positions for the night.

The 12th Infantry attacks (along with with the 2nd Battalion) at 8:00 and the 1st Battalion at 8:30. The advance is initially slowed due to the constant danger of mines and booby traps - at 10:30, the 2nd Battalion encounters an extensive hidden mine field and the 1st Battalion becomes involved in a fire fight at a German strong point. By the end of the day, the two battalions succeed in capturing the high ground overlooking the town of Gey,

After an artillery preparation, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions attack just before noon. The 3rd Battalion moves against relatively light resistance until mid-afternoon (when it is a mere 300 yards short of its objective). At that point the German defenses stiffen and in accordance with orders, the 3rd Battalion secures for the night. The 2nd Battalion, attacking east from Grosshau, encounters machine gun fire and increasing mortar and artillery fire, so by early afternoon the battalion is only 300 yards beyond where they started and moving slowly. Even with the arrival of an armored support unit, the 2nd Battalion is unable to push further and digs in for the night by late afternoon. The German fire on the forward positions (200 yards west of the woods) is intense.

Elsewhere, the US 9th Army continues pushing to the Roer River, the US 3rd Army attacks toward the Sarre while the US 7th Army attacks around Tieffenbach, Haguenau, Erstein, Barr, Andlau, Liepvre, and Le Bonhomme.

Allied air forces continue to leverage air superiority to pound German infrastructure as the US 8th Air Force attacks Misburg with 391 bombers, ltenbeken and Bielefeld with 296 bombers, Hamm with 294 bombers, and targets of opportunity with 47 bombers while RAF Bomber Command sends 311 aircraft to attack Dortmund during the day 30 aircraft to attack Duisburg during the day, and 67 aircraft to attack Hannover overnight. The US 15th Air Force attacks Linz overnight.

On the eastern front, the Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front captures Pecs.

In Italy, three Brazilian battalions attack Monte Castello (~35 miles southwest of Bologna) early in the morning. The poor weather precludes air support and by the attached three platoons of US tanks. The attack is repulsed later in the afternoon. The British 13th Corps of US 5th Army captures Fontanelice (unopposed) and US 12th Air Force bombers are grounded while fighters attack transportation lines in the Po valley and Brenner Pass.

Pictured: Sign left by 28th ID warning of mine fields, late November, 1944.; Schevenhutte in 1944 and in 2012.; German POW being escorted in the town of Hurtgen, November 29, 1944.; An M3A1 half-track passes close to a knocked out Sherman M4A3 tank which was destroyed in the town of Barr in France's Alsace region, November 29, 1944.

November 30, 1944: The Germans begin a major withdrawal from Alsace-Lorraine before the drive of the U.S. Third and Seventh Armies on the southern sector of the Western Front, while to the north Canadian troops are already a mile inside Germany after a regrouping of the forces along the Nijmegen front in Holland.

On the southern end of the front, the French First Corps traps a sizable German force between Mulhouse and Belfort. More than 30 towns are freed, and a steady stream of POWs are taken.

Lt. Gen. George S. Patton's 3rd Army moves forward on a 35-mile front, 26 of those miles inside Germany. Patton's men pass beyond the larger section of the Maginot Line, though they have not yet come up against the Siegfried defenses.

The 95th Division, meeting strong artillery and mortar fire, is only 3+ miles southwest of Saarlautern after a two-mile advance, while the 80th Division makes further gains on the road to Saarbruecken after throwing back a tank-led Nazi counter-attack.

Other units cross the border at a point southwest of Saarlautem, and farther south mechanized cavalry enter the outskirts of Sarre-Union.

Troops and tanks from 1st Army clear the villages of Hurtgen and Kleinhaus and continue northeast to Grosshau, where they fight from house to house, a consistent feature of the battle in this sector. To the north, infantrymen are still working to clear the Germans from the eastern parts of Inden and Lamersdorf.

4th Infantry Division casualties from November 1944:
KIA (killed in action): Officers = 42, Enlisted Men = 390
MIA (missing in action): Officers = 10, Enlisted Men = 245 (Many of these were later listed as KIA)
SWA (seriously wounded in action): Officers = 20, Enlisted Men = 318
LWA (lightly wounded in action): Officers = 133, Enlisted Men = 2,895
Total: Officers = 205, Enlisted Men = 3,848 (Only the month of June had more casualties)
Prisoners Captured: 1,757

Over Germany, the US 8th Air Force attacks Bohlen with 68 bombers, Zeitz with 132 bombers, Merseburg with 417 bombers, Hamburg and Neunkirchen with 284 bombers, Lutzkendorf with 169 bombers, and targets of opportunity with 149 bombers. US 15th Air Force attacks Munich and Innsbruck. RAF Bomber Command sends 60 aircraft to attack Bottrop during the day (escorted by Fighter Command), 60 aircraft to attack Osterfeld during the day (also escorted by Fighter Command), 9 aircraft to attack Duisburg during the day, 576 aircraft to attack Duisburg overnight, and 53 aircraft to attack Hamburg overnight. After the Luftwaffe loses nine more fighters attacking Allied bombers, and angry Goering insists Luftwaffe fighter pilots will no longer be allowed to take parachutes with them when attacking Allied bombers (in order to stiffen their fighting resolve).

On the eastern front, the 53rd Army of 2nd Ukrainian Front captures Eger and pushes toward Miskolc.

In Italy, the British 8th Army attacks toward Casa Bettini and captures Albereto. German forces counterattack British 13th Corps of US 5th Army and capture Casa Nuovo. US 12th Air Force aircraft attack transportation lines and other targets throughout northern Italy.

Pictured: Pvt Walter Prsybyla of B Btry, 37th Field Artillery Regt, US 2nd Inf Div writing Christmas cards for friends and family from an artillery ammunition storehouse, Heckhalenfeld, Germany, November 30, 1944.; Hurtgen Forest Situation Map, late November 1944; Presentation of the Military Medal to Company Sergeant-Major Jim Smith of "D" Company, The South Saskatchewan Regiment, Mook, Netherlands, November 30,1944.; Soldiers of the US 399th Infantry Regiment, 85th Infantry Division occupy a fighting position in Italy in late November, 1944. In the foreground is a water cooled 30 cal. machine gun. They are bunched too close together for actual combat and in all probability have staged this shot for the photographer.

December 1, 1944: As the Allies continue to battle in the Hurtgen (which we’d later find was the largest battle in the European Theater in all of WWII), the US 9th Army surges forward, capturing more German towns on the road to Cologne and Duseldorf and sending heavy artillery fire across the Roer early in the day after seizing a seven mile stretch of the vital river's west bank. Nearly all of the 9th Army is arrayed along the Roer on a front of nearly 20 miles. This sets the stage for a new crossing of the Roer, the last serious natural barrier before the German Rhine. Elements of the 9th army use tanks to lead troops, screening them from devastating shell barrages, to Linden, Flossdorf, and Ratdorf, fighting through heavy resistance to capture Linnlch. The Americans’ continued advance, pushing nearly three more miles, puts them just over 21 linear miles from Cologne - chief industrial center of the Nazis. They also find themselves only 20 miles miles from Duiseldorf (to the north) - the southern gateway to the important Ruhr basin.

The US 1st Army continues trudging through the Hurtgen Forest while attacks by US 3rd and 7th Armies report slow progress - US 3rd Army, attacking towards the Saar River, captures Saare-Union a vicsiou German counterattack pushes them back and they withdraw. US 7th Army attacks in the areas around Tieffenbach, Zinswiller-Meitesheim, Schweighausen, and Selestat.

Over Germany, RAF Bomber Command sends 71 aircraft to attack Karlsruhe overnight.

On the eastern front, the Soviet 4th Ukrainian Front attacks the German 1st Panzer Army along the Ondava River. The 46th Army of Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front attacks Budapest and the 57th Army of Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front attacks around Pecs.

In Italy, the British 8th Army moves forces via Casa Bettini into positions for new offensive while the US 12th Air Force attacks targets throughout the Po valley and in the Appenines.

Pictured: 2nd Battalion 22nd Infantry jeep rolling through the remains of Grosshau, Germany on December 1, 1944.; 2nd Battalion 22nd Infantry 81mm mortar team in action in Grosshau, December 1, 1944.; Members of the 168th U.S. Infantry patrol the narrow streets of Caiazzo, Italy, December 1, 1944. They are on the lookout for German snipers.; On December 1, 1944, a plane crashed into the roof of a residential building in Budapest.

December 2, 1944: The US 1st Army continues assault in Hurtgen Forest while US 9th Army captures Leiffarth and Roerdorf and continues attacking around Flossdorf and Juelich.

The 4th Infantry Division once again continues its attack, making considerable advances in the northern part while other parts of the sector advance slowly - German reinforcements arrived overnight meaning advances are vigorously contested by relatively fresh troops.

The 8th Infantry and 2nd Battalion attack early and with the 1st and 3rd Battalions attacking shortly after. All battalions move forward slowly throughout the day despite meeting heavy resistance consisting of many dug in machine guns, small arms, and mortars. All roads and trails are reported to be thoroughly mined. The thickly wooded terrain makes advancing difficult but by early afternoon they penetrate the german defenses defenses and immediately exploit the breach. By later afternoon they consolidate all gains in preparation for continuation of the attack the following morning.

Both 12th and 22nd Infantry face early morning counterattacks by the Germans, but both quickly repel the attacks and push forward, achieving their objectives by mid-afternoon. Before darkness falls, contact has been re-established between all units and with the 12th Infantry. All enemies are cleared from the rear areas and units are consolidating for the night.

Elements of the US 3rd Army attack and push forward to the Saar River, fighting in Saarlautern, and recapturing Saare-Union. To the south, the US 7th Army attacks around Waldhambach, Engwiller, Meitesheim, and Selestatadvances while advancing to the Rhine river after the Germans have withdrawn across it at Kehl. The three available bridges are all demolished in the retreat. In the Netherlands, the Germans blow a dyke, flooding area southwest of Arnhem - due to the flooding, the Canadian 1st Army withdraws from bridgeheads across the Waal River.

In the skies above Germany, the US 8th Air Force attacks Oberlahnstein with 129 bombers, Bingen with 135 bombers, and attacks Odertal and Blechhammer while the US 15th Air Force attacks Vienna and Strasshof. RAF Bomber Command sends 93 aircraft to attack Dortmund during the day, 504 aircraft to attack Hagen overnight, and 66 aircraft to attack Giessen overnight. The Luftwaffe loses 51 fighters in daylight operations while attempting to attack the Allied bombers.

On the eastern front, the Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front attacks Miskolc and the Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front attacks Budapest and Pecs.

In Italy, the British 8th Army spends the day probing German positions for weakness while overhead the US 12th Air Force supports ground operations and attacks targets in northern Italy.

Hitler sets December 10th as the starting date of Ardennes offensive.

Pictured: Forces from 4th Infantry Division in the Hurtgen, early December, 1944.; German rail yard after Allied bombing raid, December 2, 1944.; Guderian outlines the final Ardennes offensive plans to Hitler and Goering, early December, 1944.; 12th Army Group situation map from December 2, 1944