As of 22 November, all 3 divisions of XIX Corps were in striking range of the Rur. At this point, the German command decided to release another division, the 340th Volksgrenadier Division, to the front, as the threat to Jülich came apparent. The 340th Division moved in to take over positions of the badly mauled 246th VGD. Due to this reinforcement, the advance of the 29th and 30th Infantry Division stalled after they were ejected from Bourheim. The last German defense ring before Jülich was now between Bourheim, Koslar and Kirchberg (Jülich). The same happened to the 2nd Armored Division which was repelled from Merzenhausen. During the next days, fighting at the defense line was very intense, mostly leading to the exchange of heavy artillery barrages. Bourheim was taken on 23 November but remained under constant shelling from German forces. Two days later American troops entered Koslar. A subsequent German counterattack managed to break into Bourheim and Koslar, but was soon afterwards repelled. On 26 November a general offensive was started to finally push to the Rur. Koslar, Kirchberg and Merzenburg were taken on 27 November. By 28 November, XIX Corps had reached the Rur on a broad front with only two German bridgeheads on the western side of the river remaining, which were not taken until 9 December.