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From D-Day to V-Day

April 1945

April 12, 1945 - D-Day + 240

Six months after Operation Market Garden, an attempt to speed up the end of the war that instead left hundreds of British and Polish paratroopers dead, troops from the First Canadian Army’s I Canadian Corps attacked Arnhem. The British 49th Infantry Division crossed the Ijssel River near Westervoort.

The British 53rd Infantry Division under the British Second Army’s British XII Corps occupied Rethem and built a bridgehead to cross the Leine River. The British 15th Infantry Division under the British VIII Corps went through the zone of the British 6th Airborne Division and entered Celle.

In the operational zone of the US Ninth Army’s XIII Corps, Combat Command R advanced to the Elbe River near Wittenberg and Werben and Combat Command A advanced to the Elbe near Tangermünde, but all the bridges over the river had been brought down. Regiments from the 84th and 102nd Infantry Divisions cleared the area up to the Elbe on the Corps’ right and left flanks. The 2nd Armored Division’s Combat Command B under the XIX Corps built a small bridgehead on the west bank of the Elbe near Westerhüsen suitable for crossing the river. Meanwhile, tank columns from CCA and CCR headed out for Magdeburg to block the roads leading out of the city. The 30th Infantry Division occupied Braunschweig and advanced about thirty miles in the direction of the Elbe. The 83rd Infantry Division’s 329th Infantry Regiment reached the river near Barba southeast of Schönebeck, while its sister 330th Infantry Regiment continued to fight in the Harz Mountains and the 331st Infantry Regiment conquered Derenburg on the Saale River. The 75th Infantry Division under the XVI Corps mopped up the area north of the Ruhr River between Witten and Westhofen. The 95th Infantry Division’s 378th Infantry Regiment broke through the defense in the eastern section of Dortmund, and Task Force Faith occupied Arnsberg.

The 78th Infantry Division under the US First Army’s XVIII Corps advanced to the Hückeswagen – Wipperfürth line. The 13th Armored Division’s Combat Command A occupied Lindlar and continued to Rath. Meanwhile, the 8th Infantry Division advanced to the Kreuzburg – Oberbrügge area. With reinforcements from the 3rd Battalion of the 86th Infantry Division’s 342nd Infantry Regiment, Task Force Pope attacked Luedenscheid. The 5th Infantry Division’s 10th Infantry Regiment under the III Corps occupied Arnsberg and Wennigloh, and the division’s 2nd Infantry Regiment reached the Hachen – Sundern line. The 32nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron mopped up the sector between the Ruhr River and the Sorpe Dam. The 7th Armored Division’s Combat Command A reached Balve and Hövel, and Combat Command R occupied Neunrade. The 99th Infantry Division advanced to the Röhrenspring – Rönkhausen line. The 3rd Armored Division’s Combat Command R under the VII Corps occupied Obersdorf and Pölsfeld, while Combat Command A conquered Sangerhausen and Combat Command B took charge of Holdenstedt and Wolferstedt. The attached 83rd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion advanced to Oberröblingen and Niederröblingen for now. Units from the 1st Infantry Division and attached 4th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) mopped up the area along the ridge of the Harz Mountains, where they slowly encircled the enemy. The 9th Armored Division’s Combat Command B under the US V Corps took up positions near Delitz and Bad Lauchstädt near the Saale River. CCA crossed the Unstrut River near Nebra and headed towards Pettstädt, while CCR crossed the Saaler River near Naumburg and approached the main road connecting Weissfeld and Zeitz.

The 6th Armored Division under the US Third Army’s XX Corps continued to advance to the Weise-Elster River. One tank column from Combat Command B took charge of a bridge in Pegau, crossed the river and headed for Audigast. Another column went around Zeitz from the north and approached the river, while Combat Command A ran up against strong enemy resistance west of Zeitz and Combat Command R advanced to Kretzschau. The 4th Armored Division, now deployed all along the Saale River, found all of the bridges had been destroyed. Troops crossed the river in rubber rafts, machinery was ferried across, and everything else went over a bridge hastily built by combat engineers. Combat Command B crossed the river north of Jena and conquered Kunitz and Laasan. Combat Command A commanded by Col Hayden A. Sears went over the river south of Jena and attacked the Ilmsdorf – Beulbar – Scheiditz line to the southeast. Meanwhile, Combat Command R commanded by Col Wendell Blanchard headed out to the Mellingen region. The men from the 76th Infantry Division advanced behind the tank columns. The division’s 304th Infantry Regiment fought its way to within reach of Hollsteitz. Battalions from the 80th Infantry Division’s 317th and 318th Infantry Regiments mopped up Erfurt, and the garrison in Weimar surrendered to units from the division’s 319th Infantry Regiment commanded by Col Normando A. Costello. Maneuvering at the vanguard of the attack launched by the VIII Corps’ 89th Infantry Division, Task Force Crater went through Bad Berka to the Saale River in the Rothensten area. The division’s 355th Infantry Regiment occupied Tannroda, and its sister 354th Infantry Regiment slowly advanced south of Kranichfeld. The 87th Infantry Division’s Task Force Sundt reached the river near Rudolstadt. Its 346th Infantry Regiment conquered Ehrenstein and Altremda, and the 347th Infantry Regiment commanded by Col Sevier R. Tupper took charge of Bad Blankenburg. The 11th Armored Division’s Combat Commands A and B under the XII Corps headed to the southeast out of Coburg towards the Hasslach River, and built bridgeheads in Kronach and Marktzeuln. For now, Combat Command R rotated through the zone of the 71st Infantry Division and advanced south of Ebersdorf bei Coburg. The 26th Infantry Division occupied Lauscha, Steinach, Sonneberg, and Oberlind. Regiments from the 90th Infantry Division were assembled south of Bad Blankenburg.

Units from the 3rd and 45th Infantry Divisions under the US Seventh Army’s XV Corps took up positions for launching an attack against Bamberg. The 42nd Infantry Division under the XXI Corps continued to mop up Schweinfurt, and the attached Combat Command A from the 12th Armored Division made contact with 3rd Infantry Division patrols. Combat Command B advanced to the southwest to the Markt Nordheim area, while Combat Command R, operating with the 101st Cavalry Group (Mechanized), finished surrounding the enemy at Uffenheim. The 4th Infantry Division continued to advance along both banks of the Tauber River to Rothenburg. After nine days of heavy fighting, units from the VI Corps’ 100th Infantry Division conquered Heilbronn. Task Force Hankins, composed of the 61st Armored Infantry Battalion and support units from the 10th Armored Division, crossed the Kocher River south of Weissbach and attacked Neunstein. The 63rd Infantry Division continued to mop up both banks of the Kocher River.

Task Force Valluy under the French First Army’s French II Corps engaged in fighting in Baden Baden and Rastatt. The DA Alp mountain unit conquered the l’Aution massif, but the enemy still clung to the Roya River valley.