October 25th, 1944, Aachen, Germany

▪────"So, I thank the Soviets and the mighty Chinese vets
The Allies the whole wide world around
To the battling British, thanks, you can have ten million Yanks
If it takes 'em to tear the fascists down, down, down
If it takes 'em to tear the fascists down"────▪

The Tide Turns:

Following the Allied landings in Normandy as part of Operation Overlord, and those of Operation Dragoon, the Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), initiated an operational pause. This pause allowed the hard-pressed German armed forces to retreat from France and into Germany and Belgium. The German retreat to the Westwall, known to some as the Siegfried Line, allowed the Germans to put up stronger resistance than they would've in France, but it offers no assurance that Germany can resist the combined efforts of the Allied Expeditionary Force, and the Soviet Red Army to the East. Once the operational pause was over, allied forces gave pursuit to the Germans throughout the final days of August and into early September, when they were met with stiff resistance from the Germans in the hastily reactivated Siegfried Line. A series of offensives now then ensue as the 21st Army Group attempts to wrest control of the Scheldt River to the north and the 12th Army Group, which makes up the Allied center, attempts to breach the Siegfried Line at Aachen and the Hürtgen Forest.

After a brutal struggle that lasted a little over a month, American forces have formally captures Aachen, which has become the first German city to be seized by Allied forces within German soil. However, some resistance continues from holdouts inside the city, which refuse to surrender. These units are now being actively destroyed as the Americans carry our mop-up operations. For the most part, however, the Americans and the few civilians within the city, can finally breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the immediate danger to their lives has passed.

Battle of Aachen, September 12th, 1944 - October 21st, 1944.

The Frontline as of October 25th, 1944

Bark-a-lot Lee:

Hoboken-born First Lieutenant Elise "Lee" Meissner, also known affectionately as "Bark-a-lot Lee", was born as the third daughter to immigrant parents, her mother being a veteran of the fighting during the Great War. Lee studied in am American public school, where she graduated with the best grades in her entire school and was instilled with affection to her adoptive homeland. She would go into the United States Army in 1941 when Pearl Harbor came under attack by Japanese forces, since she joined the ERC (Enlisted Reserve Corps) to be able to study to become an electrical engineer. She managed to graduate faster than usual, and by late 1942, she was deployed in North Africa alongside the 1st Infantry Division. She would go on to earn herself a promotion from Second Lieutenant to First Lieutenant during Operation Husky after she rallied her platoon to orchestrate an assault on a casemate while under heavy fire. After the campaign in Sicily concluded, the 1st Infantry Division was transferred to the British isles in preparation for its role in Operation Overlord. Now that the Allied forces are advancing into the heart of the German Reich, the division finds itself playing a critical role in piercing the Siegfried Line.