Battle of Aachen - Aftermath

Aftermath

The Battle of Aachen had cost both the Americans and Germans dearly; the former suffered over 5,000 casualties, while the latter lost over 5,000 casualties and 5,600 taken prisoner. Since 2 October 1944, the 30th Infantry Division suffered roughly 3,000 men killed and wounded, while the 1st Infantry Division took at least 1,350 casualties (150 killed and 1,200 wounded). The Germans lost another 5,100 casualties during the fighting in Aachen itself, including 3,473 prisoners. In the process of the battle, the Wehrmacht lost two complete divisions and had another eight severely depleted, including three fresh infantry divisions and a single refitted armored division; this was largely attributed to how they fought, as although an equivalent of 20 infantry battalions had been used during various counterattacks against the 30th Infantry Division alone, on average each separate attack only involved two infantry regiments. During the conflict the Germans also developed a respect for the fighting ability of American forces, noting their capability to fire indiscriminately with overwhelming amounts of artillery fire support and armored forces. Both the 30th Infantry and 1st Infantry divisions received distinguished unit citations for their actions at Aachen.

However, German resistance in Aachen upset Allied plans to continue their eastward advance. Following the end of fighting in Aachen, the Western Allies' First Army was tasked with the capture of a series of dams behind the Hürtgen Forest, which could be used by the Germans to flood the valleys which opened the road to Berlin. This would lead to the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, which was to prove more difficult than the Battle of Aachen.