Vosges Mountain Campaign,  U.S. 15th Corp

In harsh winter weather, over difficult mountain terrain, and against a determined foe, the soldiers of the 44^th triumphed. Of all these soldiers, the infantryman had had the hardest lot. In mid-December Eisenhower wrote to the ‘GI’s  friend’, war correspondent Ernie Pyle,  that it was these foot soldiers who had demonstrated the "real heroism?which is the uncomplaining acceptance of unendurable conditions." Starting at the forest de Parroy, Luneville, passes in the Vosges Mountains, Dossenheim,  Avricourt, Sarrebourg... and at the German main battle line, the Siegfried Line and Fort Simser... the 44th infantryman had persevered and, through his determination, vanquished the  Wehrmacht.

1. Front Lines, October 1944
2. Schalbach near Luneville, repulsed the Panzer Lehr Divis...
3. Forced winter passage through ... Mts. capture Avricourt
4. Capture Sarrebourg
5. Assist in the capture of Strasbourg... (Strasbourg) with French 2nd Div.  First U.S.  troops to reach the Rhine River...
6. Capture Fort Simserhof...

German Army Battles & Campaigns: D-Day and Normandy, 1944

Background

Although the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, caught the German Army by surprise on the day, in terms of timing and location the Wehrmacht had been making extensive preparations to fight the Western Allies in France for several months.

The campaign in northwest Europe saw Hitler's army ground down against the huge material resources of the Americans and British. The Germans now faced a technologically advanced enemy that had control of the air in a large-scale battle. However, the ability of the Wehrmacht to fight against these odds was enormously to its credit as a military machine.

Rommel's leadership

A key factor in holding the Normandy front together for most of June and into July was the leadership of Erwin Rommel, the hero of North Africa and commander of Army Group B. While the lower level and divisional commanders were of good quality, higher up the chain of command was not so impressive. Friedrich Dollman of the Seventh Army was a far from inspiring leader, and other senior officers, including Hans Speidel, Rommel's own chief of staff, were preoccupied with the preparations for the Bomb Plot against Hitler.

The competent officers were being killed or injured at an alarming rate. One corps commander was killed in an air raid and three divisional commanders also fell victim to roving Allied fighter-bombers. The entire staff of Panzer Group West was killed in a huge bombing raid designed to obliterate its headquarters. In the first month of the battle some 96,000 Germans were killed, wounded, or taken prisoner in Normandy. Only 6,000 replacements and 17 new tanks were able to weave their way through the ruins of the French transport system to the front. Supplies of ammunition and fuel were also running short.

A master at work

Amid this carnage, Rommel was everywhere. He drove up to the front on almost every day of the battle, giving morale-boosting talks to the young troops who idolized him, backslapping tired divisional commanders, and cajoling wavering corps commanders. He would then return to his headquarters and spend the night pleading with Hitler, and anyone who would listen back in Germany, for more troops, tanks, and supplies. Rommel may not have been able to pull off one his dramatic panzer outflanking maneuvers during the Normandy battles, but he proved himself to be a master of improvisation, using his armored units to plug gaps in the line, time and time again inflicting heavy losses on the Allies. It was a solid and professional defense.

Rommel and the Bomb Plot

There has been a lot of speculation that Rommel was involved in or at least forewarned of the Bomb Plot. The truth is difficult to establish, but it was clear that by mid-July 1944 he was convinced that the great gamble had failed. His army was not strong enough to throw back the Allies into the sea. This could only mean the defeat of Germany. Some sources have suggested he was preparing to negotiate an armistice with the Allies if Hitler refused to bring an end to the war. Whatever the truth of the matter, Rommel was seriously injured when his car was shot up by an RAF Typhoon on July 16. He was in hospital when the Bomb Plot failed and could not influence events. As Hitler took his revenge on the conspirators, Rommel was offered the choice of suicide or an appearance before a People's Court. He took the cyanide capsule and was dead soon afterward.

Hitler's loyal commander

Hitler now cleared out the plotters from the German headquarters in France and installed men who would follow his orders to the letter. Field Marshal Walther Model, one of the Führer's favorites from Russia, was installed as commander in chief in the West. Model quickly made his views on the way the battle for Normandy was being fought clear to Fritz Bayerlei

This has a good synopsys of the early history of the Pershing. It is generally in factual agreement with the details posted by Harold above until the summer of 1944. I'll be adding in bold after each paragraph containing a change in the status of the Pershing development project the date and the number of Pershing tanks requested, the number on order and the number actually in existence. Thus developing a timeline for the development of the M26 Pershing tank. My editorial comments will be in italics to separate them from the quoted text.

M26 Pershing (from Global Security)...

On 24 May 1943 The War Department approved production of 10 T26 tanks as part of a larger production order on T20-series tanks. In an indorsement to an earlier Armored Command letter requesting adjustment to the production numbers of M4, on 13 September 1943 , the Ordnance Department requested production of an additional 500 T26s. General Lesley J. McNair, CG of AGF, successfully opposed this request. On 13 November 1943 General Jacob Devers, CG of the European Theater of Operations, requested production of 250 T26s. Because of McNair’s continued opposition to production of the T26 and other objections, on 7 December 1943 MG Joseph McNarney queried Devers whether his request was based on operational requirements. On 10 December 1943, Devers confirmed his request for production of 250 T26s. As of 21 February 1944 the Ordnance Department estimated first production of the 250 T26s in October 1944. (my Bold Face - Jeff) Production actually began in November. Prototypes from the batch of 10 ordered in May 1943 started arriving during February 1944. On 20 May 1944 The Armored Board at Fort Knox emphasized that the T26 was not ready for production in its present state.