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) 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)	Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown

During the Second World War, Operation Clipper was an Allied offensive by the British XXX Corps (which included the American 84th Infantry Division) to reduce the Geilenkirchen salient in mid-November 1944. Clipper was the preliminary to a wider Allied operation, Operation Queen, to gain control of the Roer valley and of 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.^[1]

The salient was a German position on the Siegfried Line (Westwall) at the boundary between the British Second Army and the American 9th Army. It restricted the movement of Allied forces and was a potential threat.