The First Battle for Kesternich: Hürtgen Forest—The Ardennes—Roer/Urft Dams, December 1944

In mid-December 1944, as the U.S. Army jumped-off towards the Roer-Urft dams—gateway to Germany—parts of three divisions moved to the attack. Most accounts focus on the 2nd and 99th Divisions’ push towards Wahlerscheid, neglecting the critical battle fought by the 78th Infantry Division for the village of Kesternich; key to the Monschau Corridor, which itself was the key to the Roer Dams. As the Americans advanced, they collided with 272 and 326 Volksgrenadier Divisions, which were racing to stabilize the North Shoulder of what would soon erupt as the Ardennes Offensive. Contrary to conventional accounts, the fight for Kesternich was no isolated skirmish but part of a broader clash that threatened to unravel the German winter counteroffensive before it began. Drawing on both American and German archival sources-including untranslated German Foreign Military Studies and firsthand oral histories-the author re-examines the complexity and strategic implications of this little-known battle. Through a tapestry of combat reports, personal recollections, and previously inaccessible documentation, this book restores Kesternich to its rightful place in the narrative of the European Theater. It reveals not only a forgotten battle but also the evolving nature of mid-war tactics, training, and organization on both sides of the front.