Battle of Aachen 75th Anniversary Commemoration at the WWII Memorial

On Wednesday, October 2nd at 11:30 am., the Friends of the National World War II Memorial will hold a brief ceremony and wreath presentation at the National World War II Memorial to mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Aachen, one of the last, largest urban battles fought by the U.S. Army during the war.

On October 2, 1944, the American First Army launched an assault on the historic town of Aachen, which had been incorporated into Germany’s western fortifications. The town was captured in just less than three weeks of rough urban combat, making Aachen the first German town to be taken by the Allies.

By fall of 1944, the Allies looked for a route through the Siegfried Line, Germany’s fortifications along its western border. Yet, as airborne troops in the Netherlands were withdrawing, Patton’s Third Army was stalled at Metz, and some elements of Courtney Hodges’s First Army were bogged down in the Huertgen Forest, no Allied force had yet succeeded in finding a way into Germany. In the hopes of opening up such a route, Hodges dispatched some of his First Army to attack the fortifications near the town of Aachen. This German town dated back to the eighth century as the alleged birthplace of Charlemagne, and 32 German monarchs were crowned there, giving Aachen much historical prominence to the Third Reich. As a result, this border town was built into the Siegfried Line, fortified with bunkers at key locations. Hitler ordered Aachen to be held at all costs. Through late September, elements of the First Army closed in on the outskirts of the town. On October 2, 1944, the assault on Aachen officially began, when the 30th Infantry Division attacked its northern pillbox defenses, with slow yet steady progress. Several days later, the 1st Infantry Division continued the attack from the south. By October 10, American infantry and armor had nearly surrounded the Germans in Aachen. Hodges sent an ultimatum to the city’s defenders demanding their unconditional surrender within 24 hours, or else the town would be destroyed. When no answer came, the attacks resumed, this time accompanied by heavy barrages and aerial bombing runs against enemy strongholds. Soon, the 1st Infantry Division, supported by armor, spearheaded the rough house-to-house and sewer-to-sewer fighting that characterized the battle. Many casualties resulted from this brutal, close quarters fighting. By October 16, Aachen was completely surrounded, and several German counterattacks could not free the town. Towards the end of the battle, the Americans resorted to using 155mm guns to target enemy-held buildings at close range. Facing the advancing troops and overwhelming bombings, the last dispirited German defenders surrendered on October 21. Fortress Aachen, along with some 5,000 prisoners, was in American hands.

The Battle of Aachen was one of the last, largest urban battles fought by the U.S. Army during the war. The fervor of the German defenders, along with the bitter characteristics of the urban fighting, also made this battle one of the bloodiest, and the Americans were forced to reduce much of the city to rubble to achieve victory. The capture of Aachen marked the first German city to fall into Allied hands. With the town captured, Hodges had finally found the first hole in the Siegfried Line, opening the road to the Rhine ahead of him. At long last, the Allies could begin their advance across German soil itself.

During the October 2nd ceremony at the World War II Memorial, WWII veterans will present a wreath at the Atlantic Arch of the Memorial in honor of the 100,000 American soldiers who served and in remembrance of the more than 5,000 killed or wounded during the Battle of Aachen.

If you are a World War II veteran, or know of one, who would like to participate in the Battle of Aachen 75th Anniversary Commemoration at the Memorial, please email me at hrotondi@wwiimemorialfriends.org!

We hope you'll join us on October 2nd at the WWII Memorial!

The Friends of the National World War II Memorial's WWII 75th Anniversary Commemoration is generously sponsored by AT&T.

Generous support has also been provided by the Albert and Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation and Worthington Industries.