After capturing Marl Germany, the 75th Infantry Division pushed east towards the Dortmund-Ems Canal. The Wehrmacht was making its last attempts at resistance before Germany would surrender. 75th Infantry Division combed the forest to engage remnants of German troops. My father 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken and his C-Company troops would have advanced through the woods. This was a challenge since they wanted to be sure to find all enemy troops. Any tree could hide a German sniper.
With the regiments abreast, the 75th Infantry advanced on a line towards the Dortmund-Ems Canal to the east. Die Haard forest was cleared on April 1, 1945 as part of the push into the Ruhr Pocket which was an egg-shaped pocket 30 by 75 miles in diameter. The pocket had sealed shut on April 1, 1945 when two US armies—the 9th coming over from Wesel and the 1st coming up from Remagen—made contact.
There was fierce German resistance in difficult terrain. This engagement was part of the broader Western Front offensive, where the “Charlie” C_Company of the 75th Infantry Division faced heavy fighting, but ultimately securing the area and pushing east.
My father would have been aware of the allied losses in the Hürtgen forest one year before. The battle in the Hurtgen forest became known as the “green hell.” Lasting 88 days, it was the longest American battle on German soil during World War II. The Hürtgen Forest cost the U.S. First Army at least 33,000 killed and wounded, including both combat and non-combat losses, with upper estimates at 55,000; German casualties were 28,000.
The Haard Forest was less costly. None of the soldiers of C-Company lost there lives clearing this forested area.
I decided to hike through the forest from west to east and then loop back to where I parked the rental car. Germans love to hike through the woods so I came across many other hikers. Some people were gathering mushrooms for cooking.This hike felt like I was truly following the footsteps of my father. The woods were quiet but once in a while I might hear people hiking other trails in the distance. The hikers would be speaking in German. If my father heard these German conversations the hair would bristle on the back of his neck and a deadly squirmiest would certainly ensue.
I was using a hiking app to navigate the trails. After sketching and hiking for several hours, I realized that the app had drained the battery on my phone. I was afraid that the phone would die, and I would become helplessly lost. I turned the phone off and started navigating by the angle of the sun and trusted that I was heading back to the site I had parked. I made it back safely, but now I wish I had brought along a traditional hand held liquid compass for navigating. Digital devices cannot be trusted to last out in the woods.