November 20, 1944: At 4th Infantry Division, two days have passed since 22nd Infantry Regiment crossed a small section of Road W. A battalion of the 8th Infantry has penetrated more than a mile past Road W and stands no more than a thousand yards from high ground in the vicinity of Gut Schwarzenbroich, the regiment's first objective. Yet the penetration is so slim that it cannot be exploited without a broader base of support. Despite small advances, a short stretch of Road W between the 8th and 22d Infantry Regiments still remains under German control.
For all the American supply problems, it was obvious from the relative ease with which the 8th Infantry and 22d Infantry had advanced that the enemy's overextended 275th Division was incapable of stopping the advance. For days, German commanders have been engaged in a frantic search for troops to back up the 275th Division. They have already used what was left of the 116th Panzer Division, but that is not enough. Soon, however, the volks grenadier division arrives in the Seventh Army's southernmost corps and begins to relieve the 353d Infantry Division. Though the 344th and 353d Divisions "had little combat value in the unusually bitter fighting of the Huertgen Forest," the Germans rushed first the 344th, then the 353d, to the forest.
When both American regiments renew their attacks to the east and northeast on 20 November, the effect of the German reinforcements is immediately apparent. Colonel McKee's 8th Infantry clears additional ground to the southeast in the direction of the interregimental boundary, but in the main effort toward Gut Schwarzenbroich, neither of two attacking battalions can gain anything. As night falls, the opposing forces are so close that enemy fire prevents the men from cutting logs for overhead cover on their foxholes - failure to do so in the forest was an invitation to death.
By nightfall the terrible price the 4th Division's two regiments had paid in the five-day attack that has yielded only 1.5 miles of penetration is apparent - some rifle companies are down below fifty effective soldiers, several have only one or two officers left. The hardest hit unit of either regiment was the south-wing battalion of the 22d Infantry, which has had to attack and defend the regiment's open southern flank. That battalion has been reduced to the size of a company. For the two regiments the toll in battle casualties alone is about 1,500, and several hundred more men had been evacuated with respiratory diseases, trench foot, and combat exhaustion. Although replacements begin to become a daily addition to the front lines, they never replenish the number of fallen men, and days and weeks will pass before they might approach the fallen in experience. The 4th Division is eventually so badly affected by casualties it has to be pulled from the front lines to recover and rebuild.
Nearby, US 9th Army captures Gereonsweiler, Ederen, Freialdenhoven, Niedermerz, and Aldenhoven and US 1st Army remains heavily engaged in Hürtgen Forest. German forces resist US 19th Corps attacks near Julich. Elements of US 3rd Army continue the siege of Metz as other elements capture Dieuze to the east and prepare to attack across the Sarre. US 7th Army crosses the Sarre and the Meurthe and pushes toward Saverne Gap. The French 1st Army is fighting in Belfort, reaches outskirts of Mulhouse and clears territory along Swiss border around Basel.
Over Germany, the Allied air forces continue to dominate the skies - US 8th Air Force attacks Gelsenkirchen with 61 bombers, Munster with 93 bombers, and Blechammer with 190 bombers while RAF Bomber Command sends 183 aircraft to attack Homberg during the day, 43 aircraft to attack Koblenz, 63 aircraft to attack Hannover, 14 aircraft to attack Homberg, and 14 aircraft to attack Castrop-Rauxel (all overnight).
In Italy, the British 8th Army takes Castiglione after a minor battle and while US 12th Air Force bombers are grounded by inclement weather conditions, a few fighters attack targets around Modena, Parma, and San Felice de Benaco.
For the last time, Hitler leaves the Wolfsschanze Headquarters for Berlin, Germany.
Pictured: Soldiers from the 22nd trying to dry out a blanket, Hurtgen Forest, November 20, 1944.; S/Sgt Peter Andrews, 22nd Infantry, 4th Division, examines "pole charges" containing 20 1/2 pound blocks of TNT which are being used to blow up German pillboxes.; American infantrymen of the 95th Inf Div patrol in search of snipers, Metz, France, November 20, 1944.