A Dark and Bloody Ground: The Hurtgen Forest and the Roer River Dams, 1944-1945

Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series #42

by Edward G. Miller

In late 1944, American forces advanced into the hilly, heavily wooded Hurtgen Forest southeast of Aachen, Germany. For weeks, without a clear-cut reason for attacking through the forest, U.S. commanders nevertheless ordered units of as many as seven divisions into the woods to be chewed up by German infantry and artillery. Small units, cut off by the rugged terrain and trees, unable to employ tanks or artillery effectively, fought entrenched and camouflaged Germans in the woods and villages of the region. The troops were exposed to rain, sleet, and freezing temperatures without proper winter clothing. Many companies suffered huge numbers of casualties.
For many years after the war the full extent of the disaster was not well known outside army circles. Eventually the story of the campaign spread, but it remained overshadowed by the fame of the Bulge. Only in the last decade have military historians begun to look at the fighting in the Hurtgen Forest.
The book examines uncertainty of command at the army, corps, and division levels and emphasizes the confusion and fear of ground combat at the level of company and battalion - "where they do the dying." Its gripping description of the battle is based on government records, a rich selection of first-person accounts from veterans of both sides, and author Edward G. Miller's visits to the battlefield. The result is a compelling and comprehensive account of small-unit action set against the background of the larger command levels.
The book's foreword is by retired Maj. Gen. R. W. Hogan, who was a battalion commander in the forest.

Genres: History, World War II, Military History, Audiobook, Nonfiction, Military Fiction, War

250 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1995

About the author

Lt. Col. Edward G. Miller, United States Army (Ret)., is a former logistics officer and Army-designated military historian who served several tours in Germany and on the Army Staff. His first book, "A Dark and Bloody Ground: The Hurtgen Forest and Roer River Dams 1944-1945", won the 1996 Forest C. Pogue Award from the Eisenhower Center for American Studies and was a featured selection of the Military Book Club. He has published several magazine and journal articles and has appeared on national TV.

Reviews

[solo]

3.5 ★ rounded up. the writing is not exactly brilliant, with a fair bit of somewhat repetitive [but by now obligatory] second-guessing of the campaign.

still, the book was mercifully short, and besides - there aren't that many dedicated books on the Hürtgen Forest debacle (and Whiting's is even worse). which might - or might not! - be very surprising, given that is was, apparently, the longest "battle" (FSDO "battle") in the US Army history. and, some would - and do - say, a harbinger of pointless massacres to come. which is probably not entirely accurate, given at least WWI...

[Scott Tallmadge]

This book chronicles the American's attempts to enter Germany from Belgium during the second half of 1944; and, the ensuing stalemate that allowed the German army to complete its preparations for the counter-offensive in the Ardennes (The Battle of the Bulge). The author examines the shortcomings in planning and execution of one of the longest and least talked about campaigns in the history of US warfare. Tens of thousands of soldiers engaged the enemy in a terrain that they were unprepared for: forest warfare.

[William Olenick]

This telling of the Hurtgen Forest goes one step further to include the taking of the dams.
The forest which was on the German border south of the city of Aachen. It was a thick forest full of bunkers and strong positions. The terrain was also better for the defense as it was split by both ravines and waterways overlooked by high mountain.
The book discusses all the actions and decisions made. Text is supported by a good quantity of maps and some photos.

[Iain]

A solid study of the campaign. Worth it for the introduction and summary alone - which is valuable given the grind the campaign becomes.

[Tom Flood]

My father fought in the HF during this campaign with the 28th Infantry of Penn. I was interested in learning more. And without a lot of window-dressing. I certainly got what I was looking for. The matter-of-factness of the description of some of the action, and casualties, done in its dry-as-dust rendering, makes it more jarring than it otherwise would be. Simply a rendition of what occurred, almost a casualness, similar to that used for some of the Holocaust descriptions, where the facts are presented, and are so raw and undressed, that they have a impact beyond the ordinariness of the words. The banality of evil, yes. This is a difficult book in its dryness, but as military history, certainly instructive. And I found it well composed.

[Jonathan]

Not the American Army's shining moment in the Second World War, the Hurtgen Forest battles were unfocused in terms of the objective and carried out in an attritional style, so that the Americans, with their dependance on firepower and combined arms, performed poorly. Edward Miller's gripping narrative is a good introduction to the battle, although more and better maps would have helped.

[Eric]

This book details the oft-overlooked battles in the Huertgen Forest during World War II. A good read about an area of history not discussed as much as Operation Overlord, North Africa, etc.

[Corky]

excellent account of the battle of the Hurtgen Forest

[Lake County Public Library]

"Interesting."
-Vera/Munster