This attack was part of a greater attack by the First Army's V Corps in an effort to capture the Roer ( Rur) River Dams that included the 78th Infantry Division as well as the 2nd Infantry Division to the south. Volksgrenadier-Division, including elements of the 326. This battle pitted the 2nd Battalion of the 309th Infantry Regiment and the 2nd Battalion of the 310th Infantry Regiment of the 78th Infantry Division against units from the 272. The First Battle for Kesternich took place from 13 to 16 December 1944. Defenders inside the village commanded excellent fields of fire. The yards, like the farm fields, were often separated by a form of traditional tall, dense hedge that is used as a windbreak. The houses were not tightly packed, but were surrounded by small yards containing many outbuildings and sheds. Surrounding the village along the ridge was a series of small fields. To the east, at the end of the village, the terrain slopes down to the Roer River gorge. The land falls off sharply to the north into a gorge known as the Weidenbachtal, and to the south into a gorge called the Tiefenbachtal. Poised on top of a spur ridge, the land inside the village along the main east–west road is relatively flat. Kesternich is a small village, which in 1944-1945 consisted of about 112 houses constructed in a method of timber-frame and stucco construction called fachwerkhäuser. These battles are tied to the Siegfried Line Campaign, the Battle of the Huertgen Forest, the Battle of the Bulge, and the assault on the Roer River dams at the outset of Operation Lumberjack. It was the site of two major battles during World War II. Kesternich is a small village just inside the German border from Belgium. Volksgrenadier-Division (First battle)Īt least 1,500 killed, wounded, or missing

707th tank battalion battle bulge