There could be no question that the Seventh Army’s advance northwards from the Riveria in the summer and early fall of 1944 had been brilliantly executed. At the same time, there was no escaping the fact that both the Americans and French had not encountered anything like the stiff resistance expected in the coming months.[1]

It was not until the mid to late September that the Allied advance began to meet an organized foe, strongly entrenched behind a prepared defensive line.

The Germans now had the advantage of considerably shorter lines of supply and communication than the Allies; they were continuing to receive substantial reinforcements, and they held ground highly favorable for defensive action.

The Vosges Mountains that lay ahead of the GIs were divided into two chains, the High and Low Vosges, with the Saverne Gap separating the two.

At the southern end of the High Vosges is the Belfort Gap, the main avenue of approach to the Plain of Alsace.

There was evidence of German resistance all along the Belfort-Vosges line; every barracks in Alsace and Baden was crammed to overflowing with troops, and strong concentrations of artillery were being assembled at Épinal and other garrisons in north-eastern France.

The Germans were breaking their backs to throw up fortifications along the whole crest of the Vosges and building up stockpiles of arms and ammunition at strategic points.

By mid to late September, VI Corps realized all too well that there was a stiff fight ahead of it.

The Vosges, backed by the Siegfied Line, would be the toughest nut in the enemy’s long defensive line from the North Sea to the Swiss border.[1]

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[1] Turner, 76-77.

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