Operation Clipper

Operation Clipper
Part of World War II
Column of British Churchill tanks near Geilenkirchen
Date 10–22 November 1944 Location 50°57′56″N 6°7′19″E / 50.96556°N 6.12194°E / 50.96556; 6.12194 (Geilenkirchen)Coordinates: 50°57′56″N 6°7′19″E / 50.96556°N 6.12194°E / 50.96556; 6.12194 (Geilenkirchen) Geilenkirchen, Germany Result Allied victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom  United States	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Brian Horrocks	Günther Blumentritt
Casualties and losses
2,000 casualties, (including 169 killed, 752 missing & 500 nonbattle)	Killed? Wounded? Captured? Missing?

During the Second World War, Operation Clipper was an Allied offensive by British XXX Corps (which included the U.S. 84th Infantry Division) to reduce the Geilenkirchen salient in mid-November 1944. Clipper was the preliminary to the wider Allied operation, named Operation Queen to gain control of the Roer valley and the Hürtgen Forest.

Geilenkirchen is situated on the Wurm river, some 20 km (12 mi) north of Aachen. The surrounding area is undulating, alternating between woodland, farmland and industrial villages. The area was crossed by a network of passable minor roads, some major roads and a railway line. The Wurm is the major geographic feature.

The salient was a German position on the Siegfried Line (or Westwall) at the boundary between the British 2nd Army and the U.S. 9th Army. It was a restriction to the movement of Allied forces and a potential threat.

Anglo-American cooperation was prompted by the availability of British artillery and specialised armour (such as flail and flame-throwing tanks). A two-pronged attack was planned on the salient and the temporary attachment of the 84th Infantry Division to XXX Corps, avoided problems of divided command.

The operation was planned to take four phases. First, on 18 November the U.S. 84th Division—commanded by Major General Alexander R. Bolling—would pass through the troops manning the frontline, advance north-east 2 mi (3.2 km) and take Prummern and the surrounding high ground, east of Geilenkirchen. Second, at midday, the British 43rd (Wessex) Division—commanded by Major-General Ivor Thomas—was to advance and capture the high ground north and west of the town (around Bauchem and Tripsrath). Once done, Geilenkirchen would be virtually encircled, and the 84th Division would occupy the town and its north-eastern suburbs (third phase) before, in the fourth phase, both divisions would advance north-east about 3 mi (4.8 km), clearing both sides of the Wurm. The final objectives were the villages of Hoven, Müllendorf, Würm and Beeck.

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Wikipedia