Battle of Aachen 1944
.jpg){kind=link}
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 2 October 1944 – 21 October 1944 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1944 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | World War II era (1939–1945) | derived from year |
| Location | Germany | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | European Theater of World War II, World War II | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Nazi Germany, United States | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 50.7764, 6.0833 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
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. 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 during the battle.
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. As a result, Aachen became the first city on internationally recognized German soil to be captured by the Allies. Despite their eventual surrender, German defence of the city was robust and significantly disrupted Allied plans for further advance into the country.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Aachen (revision 1381329453), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Aachen (1614) 1614 · 0 km
- Battle of Crucifix Hill 1944 · 5 km
- Siege of Aachen (1248) 1248 · 9 km
- Battle of Aldenhoven (1794) 1794 · 19 km
- Battle of Aldenhoven (1793) 1793 · 19 km
- Battle of Hürtgen Forest 1944 · 21 km
Other battles of the World War II
- New Georgia campaign 1943
- Operation Garlic 1943
- Siege of Turjak 1943
- Smolensk operation 1943
- Third Battle of Kharkov 1943
- Action of 14 February 1944 1944
- Action of 17 July 1944 1944
- Air battle over the Ore Mountains 1944
- Allied siege of La Rochelle 1944
- Battle for Hill 140 1944
All 178 battles of the World War II →
Browse more: battles in Germany · Europe · World War II era battles