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From D-Day to V-Day

April 1945

April 2, 1945 - D-Day + 230

The British 49th Infantry Division under the First Canadian Army’s I Canadian Corps launched an attack on Arnheim in the Nijmegen area. For now, the II Canadian Corps advanced toward Doesburg and Zutphen.

The British Second Army’s British XXX Corps was located in positions along the Twenthe Canal. The British 7th Armoured Division under the British XII Corps entered the city of Rheine and encountered strong enemy resistance at the nearby airport. In the course of the day, the British VIII Corps continued its assault on Osnabrück.

The 17th Airborne Division under the 9th Army’s XIII Corps attacked Münster, mopping up all but the very center of the city. The 5th Armored Division’s Combat Command B attacked Borgholzhausen, while Combat Command R advanced to the edge of Herford. The 2nd Armored Division under the XIX Corps continued to battle for a path through the Teutoburger Wald. Combat Command A cut off the main road leading to Bielefeld, with part of CCA advancing to Oerlinghausen. Meanwhile, combat units from Combat Command B broke through the Teutoburger Wald and continued along the highway leading from Detmold to Hiddensen. The 83rd Infantry Division mopped up the Corps’ right flank along the Lippe River, and secured and reinforced a small bridgehead in Hamm. The 30th Infantry Division started to move to the Teutoburger Wald to relieve units from the 2nd Armored Division. The 8th Armored Division’s Combat Command B commanded by Col Edward Kimball engaged in fierce battle in Neuhaus, in the area northwest of Paderborn. The 35th Infantry Division’s 134th Infantry Regiment under the XVI Corps advanced to the Zweig Canal near Meckinghoven, while battalions from its sister 137th and 320th Infantry Regiments took up defense positions along the Rhine – Herne Canal.

Part of the 3rd Armored Division under the US First Army’s VII Corps occupied Dahl as other division units assembled in the Paderborn area. The 104th Infantry Division’s 413th Infantry Regiment commanded by Col William M. Summers conquered Rimbach. At the same time, its brother 415th Infantry Regiment deflected an enemy attack led against Medebach and went on to advance westwards to Küstelberg. The 9th Infantry Division occupied Züschen, Winderberg, Bad Berleburg, Berghausen, Girkhausen, and Neuastenberg. The XVIII Corps was reinforced by the 8th and 78th Infantry Divisions for a mission to occupy the sector enclosed by the Rhine, Ruhr, Lenne, and Sieg Rivers. The 7th Armored Division’s Combat Command A under the III Corps moved to the Medebach area. In the sector of the US V Corps’ bridgehead over the Diemel River, the 9th Armored Division engaged in intense fighting with the uncompromising enemy. At the same time, the 2nd Infantry Division continued mopping up operations and took over protecting the bridges over the Eder River in the Affoldern area.

Forces from the VIII Corps under Patton’s Third Army prepared to launch an attack in the zone between the XII and XX Corps. The 6th Armored Division under the XX Corps finished crossing the Fulda River in Malsfeld and started to advance to the Werra River, with part of the division advancing to the river in the Bad Sooden area. Another part of the division secured the bridgehead in Reichensachen. The 80th Infantry Division entered the suburbs of Kassel, where it deflected enemy counterattacks. The 3rd Cavalry Group (Mechanized), which secured the Corps’ left flank along the Fulda River, was relieved by Col Edward M. Fickett’s 6th Cavalry Group. The 4th Armored Division under the XII Corps expanded the Werra River bridgehead near Creuzburg in the direction of Neukirchen. Combat Command A moved across the pontoon bridge built in Pferdsdorf-Spichra and conquered the hills located to the east of the village. The 90th Infantry Division started to cross the Werra River near Berka and Bengendorf. The 11th Armored Division reached the river to the north and south of Meiningen. Col Harry W. Johnson’s Combat Command B built a bridgehead in Wasungen. Combat Command A did the same near Grimmenthal, while one combat unit took charge of an intact bridge in Vachdorf. The 26th Infantry Division finished mopping up the area around Fulda. Working with the 2nd Cavalry Group (Mechanized), the men from the 71st Infantry Division attacked and surrounded a large German unit north of Hanau. Battalions from the 71st Division’s 5th and 14th Infantry Regiments attacked west of Büdingen. At the same time, the division’s 66th Infantry Regiment commanded by Col Augustus J. Regnier rushed to block escape routes out of the Büdinger Wald.

The 45th Infantry Division’s 157th Infantry Regiment under the Seventh Army’s XV Corps continued to fight in Aschaffengurg. Tank columns from the 14th Armored Division attacked to the northeast towards Neustadt an der Saale and Ostheim vor der Rhön. The 12th Armored Division’s Combat Command A commanded by Brigadier General Riley F. Ennis under the XXI Corps sent reconnaissance patrols out to Würzburg. Col Charles V. Bromley’s Combat Command B waited in Ochsenfurt until combat engineers repaired the damaged bridge over the Main, while Col Richard A. Gordon’s Combat Command R, reinforced by the 2nd Battalion from the 4th Infantry Division’s 22nd Infantry Regiment, conquered Königshofen. Battalions from the 42nd Infantry Division’s 222nd Infantry Regiment defeated the defense of Marienburg, and the division’s 232nd Infantry Regiment mopped up the area west of the Main in the Wertheim – Marktheidenfeld area. The 10th Armored Division under the VI Corps slowly advanced towards Heilbron. Units from the 63rd and 100th Infantry Divisions mopped up the rear.

The 3rd Algerian Infantry Division under the French First Army’s French II Corps occupied Oestringen, Ubstadt, and Bruchsal. In the course of the day, the 2nd Moroccan Infantry Division conquered Hochstetten and Karsdorf, and the 9th Colonial Infantry Division started to cross the Rhine near Leimersheim.

The French II Corps under the French First Army expanded its bridgehead and cut off the Karlsruhe – Frankfurt Autobahn near Bad Schönborn and Bruchsal.