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From D-Day to V-Day

April 1945

April 24, 1945 - D-Day + 252

Divisions from the British XXX Corps continued to fight for Bremen, while the VIII Corps took up positions in the Lauenburg area on the Elbe River.

The 29th Infantry Division under the Ninth Army’s XIII Corps took control of the 5th Armored Division’s zone along the Elbe, while the 84th Infantry Division remained in its current position along the river and awaited the arrival of Soviet troops.

The 9th Infantry Division under the US First Army’s VII Corps was reinforced by the 3rd Armored Division’s Combat Commands A and R, and subsequently took responsibility for the sector along the Mulde River. That same day, the 2nd Infantry Division under the US V Corps withdrew from the east bank of the Mulde River, only leaving behind units to secure the bridges. The 69th Infantry Division’s 273rd Infantry Regiment occupied Wurzen. In the course of the day, units from the 6th Armored and 76th Infantry Divisions under the VII Corps received orders to withdraw from the area east of the Mulde River and take up new defense positions along the river.

The 11th Armored Division’s Combat Command B under the US Third Army’s XII Corps headed out of Cham to the southeast along highway no. 85 to conquer Regen with support from artillery and tactical air forces. The 26th Infantry Division advanced without much trouble west of Cham to the Regen River. The division’s 104th Infantry Regiment crossed the river in Roding, and its sister 328th Infantry Regiment crossed in the Walderbach – Reichenbach area. The 90th Infantry Division’s 358th Infantry Regiment broke through the defense lines along the Vohenstrauss – Waidhaus highway and headed to the southeast to Eslarn, while its sister 357th Infantry Regiment conquered Vohenstrauss. In Burgtreswitz, the regiment took control of the bridge over Pfreimd Creek and subsequently continued to Pullenried and Teunz. The 2nd Cavalry Group (Mechanized) expanded its zone to the Floss – Flossenbürg area, and the 3rd Cavalry Group (Mechanized) under the XX Corps advanced all the way to the Danube. The group’s 3rd Reconnaissance Squadron reached the river between the Regen and Naab Rivers, and the 43rd Squadron in the sector in the Riegling – Poikam sector.

The 71st Infantry Division’s Motorized 14th Infantry Regiment quickly advanced out of Amberg to the southeast. In Burglengenfeld, the regiment crossed the Naab River and attempted to conquer the bridge over the Regen River in Regenstauf, but the Germans had managed to destroy the bridge just before the American units arrived. Assault units crossed the river in attack boats, while the remainder went over a pontoon bridge erected by combat engineers. The 65th Infantry Division’s 260th Infantry Regiment occupied Schönhofen, Eilsbrunn, and Bergmatting, while its sister 261st Infantry Regiment broke through Hemau and conquered Painten. The III Corps launched a coordinated attack to the southeast to the Danube that day. The 14th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) went out to Kelheim located on the north bank of the Danube, and later advanced along both sides of the Ludwig Canal (Danube – Main). Tank units from the 14th Armored Division’s Combat Commands B and R advanced to the Altmühl River in Belngries and Gungolding. Coming under heavy enemy fire, combat engineers immediately started to build a bridge over the river. Troops from the 99th Infantry Division’s 394th and 395th Infantry Regiments advanced immediately behind the armored units. Meanwhile, battalions from the 86th Infantry Division’s 342nd Infantry Regiment reached the Altmühl River near Eichstätt.

The 94th Infantry Division under the Fifteenth Army’s XXII Corps took responsibility for the Düsseldorf area, and Corps artillery units took up positions in the area around Cologne.

Infantry regiments from the 42nd and 45th Infantry Divisions under the Seventh Army’s XV Corps continued their rapid advance to the south to the Danube. At the bridgehead near Dillingen, the 12th Armored Division’s Combat Command A under the XXI Corps was reinforced by the 3rd Infantry Division’s 15th Infantry Regiment commanded by Col Hallett D. Edson. At the same time, after crossing the Danube, Combat Command B advanced to the south to positions near Burgau, while Combat Command R headed southwest along the Danube and sought out intact bridges over the river. The 4th Infantry Division’s Task Force Rodwell reached Giengen, while vanguard units from the 63rd Infantry Division quickly advanced to the Gerstetten – Geislingen area. Tank columns from the attached 10th Armored Division’s Combat Command R and troops from the 44th Infantry Division’s 324th Infantry Regiment under the VI Corps headed to the northeast along the northern bank of the Danube, conquering Ulm in a swift attack. Tanks from Combat Commands A and B, immediately followed by troops from the 44th Division’s 71st Infantry Regiment commanded by Col Ercil D. Porter, advanced from the Danube to the Iller River, where downed bridges halted their advance. Meanwhile, the 103rd Infantry Division mopped up the sector up to the Münsingen – Metzingen line and occupied Bad Urach and Wittlingen.

A French 1st Armored Division column under the French First Army’s French I Corps advanced to Ulm, which had already been occupied by US forces, while the other neared the Iller River. The 9th Colonial Infantry Division’s Task Force Landouzy occupied Lörrach and reached the Swiss border at Basel.

That morning, a unit from the Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade left Dunkirk to join General Patton’s forces on their way into the interior of West Bohemia. The Combined Unit was led by Lt Col Alois Sítek.

In the western section of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, American fighter bombers persisted in attacking opportune targets and putting the railroad network out of commission in the Pilsen district. It was no different on April 24, 1945, when several bombs fell on the train station and surrounding homes in Nezvěstice, a small town south of Pilsen. The explosions claimed two lives – one victim was Marie Lepší. As the town historian recorded, she was hiding in the shed behind the house, “but shrapnel from the bomb hit her in the head. She was killed on the spot. She had moved to Nezvěstice from Pilsen in order to find shelter here. Her house in Pilsen was damaged in an air raid, but it was in Nezvěstice where she died.”