Editing Siegfried Line campaign (section)

==Background==
{{see also|Broad front versus narrow front controversy in World War II}}
[[File:Cobra Coutances.jpg|thumb|left|M4 and M4A3 [[M4 Sherman|Sherman tanks]] and infantrymen of the [[4th Armored Division (United States)|U.S. 4th Armored Division]] advancing through Coutances.]]

German forces had been routed during the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] [[Operation Cobra|break-out from Normandy]]. The Allies advanced rapidly against an enemy that put up little resistance. But after the [[liberation of Paris]] in late August 1944, the Allies paused to re-group and organise before continuing their advance from Paris to the [[Rhine|River Rhine]]. The pause allowed the Germans to solidify their lines—something they had been unable to do west of Paris.

By the middle of September 1944, the three Western Allied [[army group]]s; the Anglo-Canadian [[21st Army Group]] ([[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]] [[Bernard Montgomery|Sir Bernard Montgomery]]) in the north, the United States [[Twelfth United States Army Group|U.S. 12th Army Group]] ([[Lieutenant general (United States)|Lieutenant General]] [[Omar Bradley]]) in the center, and  the Franco-American [[Sixth United States Army Group|6th Army Group]] (Lieutenant General [[Jacob L. Devers]]) in the south, formed a broad front under the [[Supreme Allied Commander]], [[General (United States)|General]] [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] and his headquarters SHAEF ([[Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force]]).

While Montgomery and Bradley each favored relatively direct thrusts into [[Germany]] (with Montgomery and Bradley each offering to be the spearhead of such an assault), General Eisenhower disagreed. Instead, he chose a "broad-front" strategy, which allowed the Allies to gain ground from the beaten Germans in all sectors, allowed the advancing Allied forces to support each other.

The rapid advance through France had caused considerable logistical strain, made worse by the lack of any major port other than the relatively distant [[Cherbourg-Octeville|Cherbourg]] in western France. Although [[Antwerp]] was seen as the key to solving the Allied logistics problems, its port was not open to Allied shipping until the [[Scheldt]] estuary was clear of German forces. As the campaign progressed, all the belligerents, Allied as well as German, felt the effects of the lack of suitable replacements for front-line troops.

There were two major defensive obstacles to the Allies. The first was the natural barriers made by the rivers of eastern France. The second was the [[Siegfried Line]], which fell under the command, along with all ''[[Wehrmacht]]'' forces in the west, of ''[[Generalfeldmarschall]]'' [[Gerd von Rundstedt]].

===Logistics and supply===
{{main|American logistics in the Northern France campaign|British logistics in the Normandy campaign}}

Although the breakout from Normandy had taken longer than planned, the advances until September had far exceeded expectations. Bradley, for example, by September had four more divisions than planned and all of his forces were {{convert|150|mi|km}} ahead of their expected position. One effect was that insufficient supplies could be delivered to the various fronts to maintain the advance: demand had exceeded the expected needs.

[[Image:Omaha Mulberry Harbour.jpg|thumb|Mulberry 'A' off [[Omaha Beach]] was critical in the early days for Allied supplies.]]

Much war [[materiel]] still had to be brought ashore across the invasion beaches and through the one remaining [[Mulberry harbour]] (the other had been destroyed in an [[English Channel]] storm). Although small harbours, such as [[Isigny-sur-Mer|Isigny]], [[Port-en-Bessin-Huppain|Port-en-Bessin]], and [[Courcelles, Charente-Maritime|Courcelles]], were being used, the major forward ports such as [[Calais]], [[Boulogne-sur-Mer|Boulogne]], [[Dunkirk]] and [[Le Havre]] either remained in German hands as "fortresses" or had been systematically destroyed. The availability of Cherbourg had been valuable until the breakout, but then the shortage of transport to carry supplies to the rapidly advancing armies became the limiting factor.

Although fuel was successfully pumped from Britain to Normandy via the [[Operation Pluto|Pluto]] pipeline, this still had to reach the fronts, which were advancing faster than the pipelines could be extended.<ref>Ruppenthal, ''Logistic Support of the Armies'', Vol. I, pp. 501-502</ref>  The railways had been largely destroyed by Allied attacks and would take much effort to repair, so fleets of trucks were needed in the interim.<ref>Ruppenthal, ''Logistic Support of the Armies'', Vol. I, pp. 547–551</ref> In an attempt to address this acute shortage of transport, three newly arrived U.S. infantry divisions—the [[26th Infantry Division (United States)|26th]], [[95th Infantry Division (United States)|95th]], and [[104th Infantry Division (United States)|104th]]—were stripped of their trucks in order to haul supplies.<ref>Ruppenthal, ''Logistic Support of the Armies'', Vol. II, p. 170</ref> Advancing divisions of the U.S. 12th Army Group left all their heavy artillery and half their medium artillery west of the [[Seine]], freeing their trucks to move supplies for other units.<ref>Ruppenthal, ''Logistic Support of the Armies'', Vol. I, p. 487</ref>  Four British truck companies were loaned to the Americans.<ref>Ruppenthal, ''Logistic Support of the Armies'', Vol. I, p. 484</ref> Another 1,500 British trucks were found to have critical engine faults and were unusable, limiting assistance from that quarter.<ref>''Administrative History of the Operations of 21 Army Group'', p. 47</ref> The [[Red Ball Express]] was an attempt to expedite deliveries by truck but capacity was inadequate for the circumstances.<ref>Ruppenthal, ''Logistic Support of the Armies'', Vol. I, pp. 520</ref>

The 6th Army Group [[Operation Dragoon|advancing from southern France]] were supplied adequately from [[Toulon]] and [[Marseille]] because it had captured ports intact and the local railway system was less damaged. This source supplied about 25% of the Allied needs.

At this time the main Allied supply lines still ran back to Normandy, presenting serious logistical problems. The solution was to open the port of Antwerp. This major port had been captured at 90% intact on 4 September, but the occupation of Antwerp was not enough as the 21st Army Group failed to gain sea access by clearing the Scheldt estuary. So the port could not be used until 29 November after a protracted campaign by the [[First Canadian Army|Canadian First Army]]; initially the estuary was weakly held, but the [[15th Army (Wehrmacht)|German 15th Army]] was allowed to dig in there.

The delay in securing this area has been blamed on General Eisenhower as the 21st Army Group commander, Field Marshal Montgomery favored [[Operation Market-Garden]] and opening the French Channel ports over clearing the approaches to the port of Antwerp in the [[Battle of the Scheldt]]. However, even if the Scheldt Estuary had been secured immediately at the start of September, the port of Antwerp would not solve the supply crisis in that month, for the approaches had been mined by the Germans two months earlier, and when finally taken it took one month to clear it.<ref name=montys_men_384>{{cite book |title=Monty's Men |last=Buckley |first=John |year=2014 |publisher=Yale University Press |pages=384}}</ref>

===Manpower===
The German armies had lost large numbers of troops in Normandy and the subsequent pursuit. To counteract this, about 20,000 ''[[Luftwaffe]]'' personnel were reallocated to the [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|German Army]], invalided troops were redrafted into the front line and ''[[Volkssturm]]'' units were formed using barely trained civilians.

British manpower resources were limited after five years of war and through worldwide commitments. Replacements were no longer adequate to cover losses and some formations were disbanded to maintain the strength of others. The Canadians were also short of manpower, due to a reluctance to require conscripts to serve outside Canada or Canadian waters. This had arisen from [[Conscription Crisis of 1917]] during [[World War I]]; to avoid similar problems in World War II, the [[National Resources Mobilization Act]] of 1940 prohibited sending conscripts overseas.  However, this provision of the Act was later removed, leading to the [[Conscription Crisis of 1944]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Stacey|first=Colonel C.P.|author-link=C.P. Stacey|title=Chapter IV - Recruiting and Training in Canada|pages=118–123|work=Official History of the Canadian Army|publisher=[[Department of National Defence (Canada)|Department of National Defence]]|url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/Canada/CA/SixYears/SixYears-4.html|access-date=18 Feb 2010}}</ref>{{efn|The legal embargo on compulsory overseas service was the subject of a national [[plebiscite]] on 27 April 1942: 83% of the English-speaking population supported the removal of the restriction, but in [[Francophone]] [[Quebec]], 72% were against.}}

American losses now called on replacements direct from the United States. They were often inexperienced and not used to the harsh conditions of the latter part of the campaign. There were also complaints about the poor quality of troops released into the infantry from less-stressed parts of the U.S. Army. At one point, after the Battle of the Bulge had highlighted the shortage of infantrymen, the Army relaxed its embargo on the use of [[Buffalo soldiers|black soldiers]] in combat formations.<ref>{{cite web|title=African American Volunteers as Infantry Replacements|publisher=[[United States Army Center of Military History]]|date=October 2003|url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/topics/afam/aa-volinfreps.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120803163046/http://www.history.army.mil/html/topics/afam/aa-volinfreps.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 August 2012|access-date=4 October 2007}}</ref> Black volunteers performed well throughout the phase<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mattimore|first=Ryan|title=The Original Black Panthers Fought in the 761st Tank Battalion During WWII|url=https://www.history.com/news/761st-tank-battalion-black-panthers-liberators-battle-of-the-bulge|access-date=2021-04-27|website=HISTORY|language=en}}</ref> and prompted a permanent change in military policy.