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From D-Day to V-Day

March 1945

March 31, 1945 - D-Day + 298

The British Guards Armoured Division under the British Second Army’s British XXX Corps attacked Haaksbergen. At the same time, the British 7th Armoured Division under the British XII Corps advanced to Neuenkirchen while the British 53rd Infantry Division continued in the direction of Alstatte. Units from the British 6th Airborne and 11th Armoured Divisions under the British VIII Corps won a bridgehead and crossed the Ems River.

With the 5th Armored Division taking the lead, the Ninth Army’s XIII Corps started to cross the Rhine and Wesel Rivers. Units from the 102nd Infantry and 17th Airborne Divisions and the British 6th Guards Armoured Brigade were attached to the Corps. In the operational zone of the XVI Corps, after artillery preparation earlier the 75th Infantry Division attacked through the positions of the 8th Armored Division on the Corps’ northern flank and advanced about three and a half miles eastward. The 75th Reconnaissance Company closed the gap between the 75th Infantry and 8th Armored Divisions. In the course of the day, the 35th Infantry Division advanced forward about two miles and occupied several villages.

The 66th Infantry Division and units from the French Forces on the Western Front (Forces Françaises de l’Ouest – FFO) were now under the command of the Fifteenth Army. The XXII Corps expanded its operational zone to the north towards Homburg, and the Ninth Army took command of the 102nd Infantry Division.

Brigadier General Doyle O. Hickey took up the command of the 3rd Armored Division under the US First Army after General Major Maurice Ross had been killed in action. The 3rd Armored Division went on to regroup for an attack on Paderborn. Using flame throwers, Task Force Howze forced the enemy to retreat from Nordborchen and Wewer while Task Force Welborn advanced to Haxtergrund. In the course of the day, Task Force Lovelady deflected a counterattack in the Scherfede area and, after being relieved by units from the 104th Infantry Division, advanced to Ebbinghausen. The 104th Infantry Division’s 413th Infantry Regiment blocked the route of retreat that the Germans were using to try to withdraw from Rimbeck. Its sister 415th Infantry Regiment halted in the Hallenberg – Medebach area for now. The 1st Infantry Division’s 16th Infantry Regiment moved to Büren and made contact with units from the 3rd Armored Division. At the same time, its sister 26th Infantry Regiment advanced behind the 4th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) and attempted to block the road out of Rüthen. The 9th Infantry Division, which subsequently started to take over the sector between the 4th Cavalry Group and the 8th Infantry Division, was attacked to the Corps. The 78th Infantry Division operating on the Corps’ left flank took up positions along the Sieg River. The 8th Infantry Division continued to mop up its area and prepared for an attack on Siegen. The division’s 121st Infantry Regiment occupied Salchendorf, Helgersdorf, and Grissenbach, while the 13th Infantry Regiment conquered Kirchen. The 7th Armored Division’s Combat Commands R and B under the III

Corps went through the zone of the US V Corps to positions along the Eder River. Regiments from the 99th Infantry Division started to advance to the Gemuenden area in the course of the day. Units from the 8th Tank Destroyer Group took over responsibility for the bridges over the Dill River from the 14th Cavalry Group (Mechanized). The 9th Armored Division under the US V Corps built a bridgehead on the Diemel River near Warburg. Combat Command B crushed the enemy’s defense in Wethen, crossed the river and conquered Ossendorf, Rimbeck, Noerde, and Menne, while Combat Command A mopped up Warburg and continued to Daseburg. The 2nd Infantry Division advanced to positions north of Ederstau See.

The 76th Infantry Division’s 385th Infantry Regiment under the US Third Army’s VIII Corps occupied part of Usingen. Its sister 417th Infantry Regiment defeated the resistance in the Finsternthal – Dorfweil – Schmitten area and advanced beyond Hausen-Arnsbach. In the course of March 31, 1945, Task Force Fickett was dissolved. Forces from the XX Corps slowly advanced to the main enemy defense lines along the Fulda and Eder Rivers. The 6th Armored Division continued its attack on Kassel. In Malsfeld, the division crossed the Fulda River and built a small bridgehead. Combat Command A advanced to the Werkel – Nieder Vorschutz area. Units from the 65th and 80th Infantry Divisions mopped up the rear behind the 6th Armored Division. The 3rd Cavalry Group (Mechanized) advanced to Heilenstadt and Mulhausen, while the 16th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron moved to the Alsfeld – Kassel sector and secured the Corps’ northern flank. Two assault columns from the XII Corps’ 4th Armored Division – Combat Command B on the left and Combat Command A on the right flank – launched an afternoon attack in the direction of Eisenach and advanced to Berka. Combat Command B conquered Hersfeld and attacked Bossenrode, while Combat Command A spent the night in Wolfershausen and sent reconnaissance out to Dankmarsheim. Combat Command R, also from the 4th Armored Division, moved from Herbstein to Hersfeld. Battalions from the 90th Infantry Division’s 357th and 358th Infantry Regiments advanced behind the armored units to finally reach the Niederjossa – Kruspis – Grossenmoor line. The 11th Armored Division headed out of Nieder Seemen and reached the Wallroth – Haid area. Behind the 11th Armored Division, the 26th Infantry Division advanced toward Fulda. The 2nd Cavalry Squadron (Mechanized) continued with mopping up operations on the Corps’ right flank. The 71st Infantry Division was attached to the Corps after crossing the Rhine, and assembled near Housenstamm, a village to the southeast of Frankfurt.

With direct artillery support, the 45th Infantry Division’s 157th Infantry Regiment under the Seventh Army’s XV Corps continued to mop up Aschaffenburg. The 14th Armored Division was reassigned to the same Corps. Tank groups from the 12th Armored Division under the XXI Corps attacked toward the Würzburg – Schweinfurt – Kitzingen line. Combat Command A headed to the Wertheim area, and Combat Command B aimed for Ochsenfurt. The 10th Armored Division continued in their offensives along the Rhine, occupying Sandhausen, Leimen, St Ilgen, and Bammenthal, while the 63rd Infantry Division advanced out of Heidelberg to the east towards Neckargemünd.

The French First Army launched an assault crossing of the Rhine. The 3rd Algerian Infantry Division under the French II Corps crossed the Rhine near Speyer, and the 2nd Moroccan Infantry Division made the crossing in the Germersheim area.

On the western side of the Dunkirk perimeter, the body of 1st Tank Battalion member Corporal František Hostěradský (b. 1914) was found. A native of Dambořice in the district of Hodonín, František – like many other Czechoslovaks before him – fell victim to German landmines.

In the course of the day there was a major dogfight in the skies over the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia between the US 31st Fighter Group and the German Luftwaffe. It was shortly past two in the afternoon when a formation of about forty American Mustangs went to battle against German Messerschmitt Bf 109s over central Bohemia. The result was about 15 “Messers” shot down; ten German pilots were killed. This was one of the last missions flown by US Fifteenth Air Force fighters where they racked up such a high number of victories over the Protectorate.