The 3 rd Armored Division used this powerful weapon as a means of battering down Axis strongpoints. And these were, for the most part, from the 3rd Armored Division, who advanced forward with the assistance of firepower from a 155mm self-propelled gun that they wheeled into the streets. So, in the case of Aachen the US army forces were advanced with a large amount of fire support, including tank fire support, and with tank destroyers. One of the critical elements for the successful conduct of an urban battle is the use of overwhelming firepower and support of advancing infantry forces. While the aggregate number of American fighting forces in Aachen approached 100,000 soldiers, it was mainly the 26 th Infantry Regiment doing the heavy lifting, in terms of penetrating in the city streets. The German force defending it consisted of about 13,000 men, and they supplemented that number with 5,000 Volkssturm – males between the ages of 16 and 60 who were pressed into military service. Then, over the next 19 days, heavy combat ensued through the streets of the city. The 26 th maneuvered into a position where they could cut the city off, surround it, and then reduce it.
As the Allies continued to push onward to Germany, on October 2, 1944, elements of the 26 th Infantry Regiment of the 1 st Infantry Division closed in a surprise, hurried move to get within striking distance of the downtown city center of Aachen, a city on Germany’s western border. The Army had endured their first urban battle in Cherbourg, France, prior to this, immediately after the D-Day landings, but the Battle of Aachen was another early test for them.
Aachen stands out because it was an early urban battle for the United States Army.
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