Battle of Aachen | |||||||
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Part of the Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine during the Western Front of World War II | |||||||
![]() American M1919 machine gun crew in action against German defenders in the streets of Aachen on 15 October 1944 | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
100,000 soldiers |
13,000 soldiers 5,000 Volkssturm | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
7,000+ casualties[2] including 2,000 killed[3] |
5,000 killed, 5,600 captured[2] |
The Battle of Aachen was a battle of World War II, fought by American and German forces in and around Aachen, Germany, between 12 September and 21 October 1944.[4][5] The city had been incorporated into the Siegfried Line, the main defensive network on Germany's western border; the Allies had hoped to capture it quickly and advance into the industrialized Ruhr Basin. Although most of Aachen's civilian population was evacuated before the battle began, much of the city was destroyed and both sides suffered heavy losses.
It was one of the largest urban battles fought by U.S. forces in World War II, and is considered one of the toughest urban encounters in the entire war.[5][6] As a result, Aachen became the first city on internationally recognized German soil to be captured by the Allies [c]. Despite the battle ending with a German surrender, their tenacious defense significantly disrupted Allied plans for the advance into Germany.[7]
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