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From D-Day to V-Day

April 1945

April 27, 1945 - D-Day + 255

The command of the US XVIII Corps, at that time a part of the British Second Army, moved into Uelzen. The 82nd Airborne Division received orders to take over positions along the Elbe from the British 5th Infantry Division by April 30, 1945; rhw British division was preparing to take up positions on the bridgehead in Bleckede.

In Torgau, the commander of the US V Corps Major General Clarence R. Huebner met with the Red Army 34th Corps Commander, Major General Balankov. Forces from the Ninth and First Armies evened out and secured the front line that day. The 1st Infantry Division was attached to the VIII Corps, which prepared to expand its zone southwards to the Czechoslovak border. It was subsequently ordered to take over the 97th Infantry Division’s sector.

The 11th Armored Division’s Combat Command A under the US Third Army’s XII Corps reached the Czechoslovak border north of Bischofsreuth. Meanwhile, the 26th Infantry Division cut off the main road between Regen and Deggensdorf, mopping up the town without much problem. Patrols from the 90th Infantry Division carrying out reconnaissance along the Czechoslovak border ran up against a relatively large group of German units north and northeast of Furth im Wald. Meanwhile, the 2nd Cavalry Group (Mechanized) improved its positions in Czechoslovakia, and 97th Infantry Division combat battalions mopped up Cheb. Units from the 71st Infantry Division occupied Regensburg, the original target of the XX Corps’ 65th Infantry Division, without a fight. In the interim, the 65th Infantry Division occupied Bad Abbach and Peising, and expanded the bridgehead over the Danube to Obertraubling and Teugn. The 13th Armored Division’s Combat Command B halted at the Pfatter – Geisling – Moosham line, while CCA received orders to cross the Danube southwest of Regensburg in the 65th Infantry Division’s sector. The 14th Armored Division under the III Corps regrouped and went on to advance along the Danube. The division’s Combat Command R relieved 86th Infantry Division units in Ingolstadt. Battalions from the 99th Infantry Division’s 393rd Infantry Regiment went through the positions of the division’s 394th Infantry Regiment. The battalions crossed the Danube in attack boats southwest of Kelheim, and went on to conquer Eining and Staubing. Meanwhile, the division’s 395th Infantry Regiment attempted to cross the river in Neustadt, but heavy enemy fire forced it to turn northwards and cross the river in the 392nd Infantry Regiment’s sector. Early that morning, the 86th Infantry Division’s 342nd Infantry Regiment crossed the Danube in Ingolstadt.

Regiments from the 42nd and 45th Infantry Divisions under the Seventh Army’s XV Corps tirelessly advanced southwards, while the 20th Armored Division prepared to attack Munich. The 12th Armored Division’s Combat Command A under the XXI Corps advanced to the Lech River at Landsberg, while Combat Command B headed towards Langerringen and CCR neared the west bank of the Wertach River in the Kirch-Siebnach – Ettringen sector. The 3rd Infantry Division’s 7th Infantry Regiment advanced to the Werk Canal and advanced along the canal southwards to Augsburg. The 10th Armored Division’s Combat Command R under the VI Corps advanced to the Landsberg area. In the meantime, Combat Command A moved towards the Lech River in Schöngau, and Combat Command B pushed the enemy to Füssen. The 103rd Infantry Division’s 411th Infantry Regiment followed Combat Command R to Landsberg and started to mop up the city. The division’s 409th Infantry Division attacked Schöngau, holding back and destroying a large enemy column of horse-drawn wagons along the way. Meanwhile, the 410th Infantry Regiment sent reconnaissance out to Kaufbeuren. Vanguard units from the 101st Airborne Division advanced to the Memmingen area.

That day, the commander of the Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade requested that French combat formations relieve the Czechoslovak units operating in Dunkirk at the time so that the Czechoslovaks would be able to get involved in liberating their home country. At the line in the east sector of the Dunkirk perimeter, PFC Candidate Gustav Sprach (b. 1921), a native of Prague, was tragically killed. He was buried at the cemetery in De Panne, Belgium.