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From D-Day to V-Day

April 1945

April 10, 1945 - D-Day + 238

The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division under the First Canadian Army’s II Canadian Corps occupied Deventer and continued northwards towards Leeuwarden, while the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division advanced to Groningen and the 4th Canadian Armored Division headed out towards Sögel and Lindern.

The British Second Army’s British XXX Corps continued to advance towards Bremen. The British 53rd Infantry Division under the British XII Corps crossed the Weser River and attacked to the northeast towards Soltau. Meanwhile, the VIII Corps entered the Celle area and advanced to the Aller River.

The 84th Infantry Division under the Ninth Army’s XIII Corps attacked Hannover. Vanguard units from the 5th Armored Division crossed the Oker River. Combat Command R took control of the bridge over the river at Ahnsen, while Combat Command A headed for the sector north of Braunschweig after making its crossing. The 2nd Armored Division renewed its attack to the east, its combat commands advancing in three columns to the Salzgitter area as CCB attacked Schladen and Gross Döhren. Battalions from the 30th Infantry Division’s 117th and 120th Infantry Regiments reached the canal west of Braunschweig. The 75th Infantry Division under the XVI Corps occupied Stockum in the area west of Hamm and made contact with Task Force Twaddle east of Brambauer. In the interim, the 35th Infantry Division engaged the enemy in Gelsenkirchen. Units from the 79th Infantry Division’s 313th and 314th Infantry Regiments conquered Bochum. The 17th Airborne Division’s 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment entered Essen without encountering any resistance, and the 8th Armored Division took up positions for a final attack against the city of Unna. Tank units from Combat Command B and troops from the 95th Infantry Division’s 379th Infantry Regiment went through Lünern and occupied the city of Kamen.

The 13th Armored Division’s Combat Command A under the US First Army’s XVIII Corps crossed the Sieg River at Siegburg and headed toward Breidt, while Combat Command B advanced to the Agger River. The 97th Infantry Division finished occupying Siegburg and supported the 13th Armored Division in crossing the Sieg River. Units from the 78th Infantry Division advanced to the Nümbrecht – Eckenhage – Hillmicke line, while the 8th Infantry Division attacked the Valbert – Wegeringhausen area to the northwest. The 86th Infantry Division’s 342nd Infantry Regiment approached Attendorn. Meanwhile, the 5th Infantry Division’s 10th Infantry Regiment under the III Corps advanced westwards to the Wenne River, taking charge of an intact bridge near Oberberge while its sister 2nd Infantry Regiment secured a bridgehead east of Grevenstein. The 99th Infantry Division’s 394th Infantry Regiment fought its way through Oedingeberg and Elspe in the course of the day. The division’s 393rd Infantry Regiment occupied Halberbracht, and the 395th Infantry Regiment commanded by Col Thomas N. Griffin mopped up Meggen and Lennestadt. Columns from the 3rd Armored Division’s Combat Command B commanded by Brigadier General Truman E. Boudinot advanced to Gross Werther, and Combat Command R approached Silkerode, Bockelnhagen, and Zwinge. Units from the 1st and 104th Infantry Divisions advanced closely behind the armored columns. The 9th Armored Division under the US V Corps attacked through the positions of the 2nd and 69th Infantry Divisions. Combat Command B occupied the area south of Nordhausen, while Combat Command A commanded by Col Thomas L. Harrold advanced beyond Ebeleben. Also under the command of the 9th Armored Division, Lt Col Charlie Wesner’s Combat Command R conquered Schlotheim and sent reconnaissance patrols out to Freienbessingen. Troops from the 2nd and 69th Divisions were busy finishing mopping up the area behind the tank units.

Battalions from the 76th Infantry Division’s 304th and 385th Infantry Regiments under the US Third Army’s XX Corps attacked the railroad line between Straussfurt and Kühnhausen. During the day, the 80th Infantry Division slowly surrounded Erfurt. Units from the 4th and 6th Armored Divisions regrouped and prepared for an attack, while the 3rd Cavalry Group (Mechanized) assembled in the area north of Gotha. Battalions from the 89th Infantry Division’s 354th and 355th Infantry Regiments under the VIII Corps headed for Rudisleben, Arnstadt, and the Gera River east of Espenfeld. The 87th Infantry Division’s 345th Infantry Regiment commanded by Col Douglas Sugg occupied Luisenthal and continued to Crawinkel, while its sister 347th Infantry Regiment commanded by Col Sevier R. Tupper advanced to the Geraberg town limits. Task Force Sundt, composed of division reconnaissance companies, K Company from the 346th Infantry Regiment’s 3rd Battalion (also from the 87th Infantry Division) and support units, was designated as a combat force in the offensive towards the Saale River. The 65th Infantry Division assembled in the Berka/Werra area. Forces from the XII Corps launched an offensive to the southeast. With direct artillery and aerial support, the 11th Armored Division quickly advanced to within reach of Coburg. Combat Command A blocked the routes leading north and northeast out of the city. In the meantime, Combat Command B headed towards Wiesenfeld north of Coburg, and sent reconnaissance units into the city. The 71st Infantry Division advanced behind the 11th Armored Division and finished clearing the conquered territory. The 26th Infantry Division fought its way to the southeast through the rugged terrain of the Thuringian Forest. The 90th Infantry Division’s 359th Infantry Regiment advanced to Ilmenau, and its sister 358th Infantry Regiment moved forward to Neustadt am Rennsteig.

The 28th Infantry Division, currently without the 112th Infantry Regiment, moved to Jülich. The XXIII Corps took over the zone west of the Rhine right of the XXII Corps units.

The XV Corps under the Seventh Army remained in positions and prepared for an upcoming offensive. After a raid carried out by mid-sized bombers and continuing artillery fire, combat units from the 42nd Infantry Division under the XXI Corps advanced against strong enemy resistance to positions about three miles from Schweinfurt. The 232nd Infantry Regiment surrounding the city from the north conquered Hambach and Zell, while its sister 222nd Infantry Regiment advanced to the north along the west bank of the Main to Bergrheinfeld. The 12th Armored Division’s Combat Command A supported troops from the 42nd Infantry Division, which was advancing northwards along the east bank of the Main River. In the course of the day, CCA occupied Unterspiesheim, Oberspiesheim, and Alitzheim, while Combat Command B conquered Schwarzach am Main, Kleinlangheim, and Castell, and Combat Command R advanced to the southeast towards Geckenheim and Weigenheim. The 4th Infantry Division’s 22nd Infantry Regiment commanded by Col John F. Ruggles attacked the Bartenstein – Niederstetten line. The 100th Infantry Division under the VI Corps secured two bridgeheads in Heilbronn. The division’s 398th Infantry Regiment continued to fight in Jagstfeld. The 63rd Infantry Division’s 253rd Infantry Regiment was in positions along the Kocher River, while its sister 254th Infantry Regiment advanced to the Künzelsau – Mulfingen line and made contact with the 10th Armored Division near Wolfsölden.

The French First Army’s French II Corps expanded the bridgehead on the Enz River in Neuenburg and Dobel, and Task Force Valluy broke through enemy defense lines south of Karlsruhe. The DA Alp (Détachement d’Armée des Alpes) mountain unit launched an attack on the Authion Massif in the uplands of the Alpes Maritimes province.

The Czechoslovak No 311 Squadron, operating as part of RAF Coastal Command over the endless waters of the North Sea and the Baltic, was struck by tragedy when a Liberator B-24 Bomber crashed with its crew minutes after takeoff. Of F/Lt Josef Simet’s nine-member crew, six did not survive. The crashed was apparently caused by an error in the altitude indicator. F/Lt Josef Simet (b. 1914), F/Sgt Zdeněk Palme (b. 1914), F/Sgt Arnošt Hayek (b. 1916), Sgt Jozef Vaniš (b. 1921), and Sgt Rudolf Scholz (b. 1924) all died in the wreckage. Sgt Otta Karel Kennedy (b. 1919) died of his injuries later in the hospital.

At the French port of Dunkirk, the German defenders of the city clashed with the Allied units throughout the day. It was still nighttime when vice Admiral Frisius’ men launched an attack on the western perimeter. The main mission of their attack was to occupy the Filature factory. Allied forces made up of French, British and Czechoslovak troops lost nearly two hundred men in battle – most were taken prisoner. The enemy also suffered, leaving 100 dead and wounded on the battlefield. Over 30 attackers were taken prisoner. When day broke, tanks from the 2nd Tank Battalion tried to win the Filature factory back. That day one of the Czechoslovak tanks ran over a mine. The explosion killed Private Adolf Bronclík (b. 1914), a native of Český Těšín; another two Czechoslovaks were injured.

In the course of April 10, 1945, the series of attacks against the train station in Cheb, west Bohemia, continued. What the Flying Fortresses had failed to destroy two days earlier, was finished off by the bombs dropped by mid-sized bombers from the US Ninth Air Force. In three weeks the same aircraft would attack Holýšov in the district of Pilsen to destroy the local munitions plant.