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From D-Day to V-Day

April 1945

April 28, 1945 - D-Day + 256

Task forces from the Canadian II Corps, currently reinforced by the 3rd Infantry Division, finished mopping up Wilhelmshaven, Emden and the peninsulas in the area.

Forces from the British Second Army’s VIII Corps prepared to cross the Elbe at Laueneburg. At the same time, the 8th Infantry Division under the US XVIII Corps assembled in the Lüneburg area and placed its 13th Infantry Regiment under the command of the 82nd Airborne Division so that it could build a bridgehead at Bleckede together with the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment commanded by Col William E. Ekman. From there, they crossed the Elbe in the night from April 29-30.

Battalions from the 83rd Infantry Division’s 329th Infantry Regiment under Col Edwin B. Crabill under the XIX Corps and units from the 125th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron commanded by Lt Col Anthony Kleitz occupied Zerbst.

The 11th Armored Division under the US Third Army’s XII Corps sent reconnaissance out to Passau, while the 26th Infantry Division advanced to the Hengersberg – Roggersing – Straching – Thurmansbang line. The 90th Infantry Division continued to advance along the Czechoslovak border, occupied Fuchsbrunn north of Furth im Wald, and set up a task force to launch an attack on the Bohemian town of Nýrsko. The 2nd Cavalry Group (Mechanized) advanced to the area east of Eisendorf (Železná), a village in the Bohemian Forest. The 97th Infantry Division’s 387th Infantry Regiment commanded by Col William D. Long conquered the Cheb airport and occupied several nearby villages. In the meantime, the 1st Infantry Division started to gradually take over the 97th Infantry Division zone. The 13th Armored Division’s Combat Command B under the XX Corps quickly advanced along the Danube to Plattling and the Isar River, while Combat Command R neared Dengling and Combat Command A neared Thalmassing. The 16th Armored Division relieved units from the 80th Infantry Division from policing duty in Nuremberg. Battalions from the 80th Infantry Division’s 318th and 319th Infantry Regiments then went through the positions of the 65th Infantry Division in Regensburg, and assembled south of the city. The 3rd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron crossed the Danube in the 71st Infantry Division’s zone and took up positions along the division’s right flank. In the operational zone of the III Corps, the 14th Cavalry Group (Mechanized), which was deployed south of the Lugwig Canal and the Altmühle River, received orders to cross the Danube in the sector of the 99th Infantry Division. The 14th Armored Division’s Combat Command A headed to the southeast to the Isar River after crossing the Danube. It then conquered Steinback and advanced to Moosburg. In the meantime, the 99th Infantry Division expanded the bridgehead over the Danube to the Abensberg – Mühlhausen – Geibenstetten line. Battalions from the 86th Infantry Division’s 341st Infantry Regiment crossed the Danube and, together with its sister 343rd Infantry Regiment, came to within about five miles from the Isar River. The 16th Armored Division’s 23rd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron was attached to the division, and its duty was to secure the division’s right flank.

The 20th Armored Division’s Combat Command A commanded by Brigadier General Cornelius M. Daly’s and Combat Command B commanded by Col Edwin H. J. Carns under the Seventh Army’s XV Corps rode through the positions of the 42nd and 45th Infantry Divisions and attacked Munich. The 101st Cavalry Group (Mechanized from the XXI Corps went crossed a railway bridge over the Lech River in Landsberg which combat engineers had quickly adapted for vehicle use. The group then headed southwards to the Ammer See and to the southeast to Rott. At 20.30 hrs, the 12th Armored Division’s Combat Command A started to cross the river behind the cavalry units, while Combat Command R crossed the Wertach River at Hiltenfingen. Battalions from the 3rd Infantry Division’s 7th and 15th Infantry Regiments conquered Augsburg. At the same time, its sister 30th Infantry Regiment commanded by Col Lionel C McGarr crossed the Lech River at Gersthofen and headed towards Munich. The 10th Armored Division under the VI Corps reached the Lech River and then waited for combat engineers to build bridges over the river. Combat Command B crossed the Austrian border and occupied the hills south of Füssen, while Combat Command A took up positions in Schöngau. The 44th Infantry Division’s 324th Infantry Regiment helped French units conquer Wertach, and the division’s 114th Infantry Regiment crossed the Austrian border at Steinach. Battalions from the 103rd Infantry Division’s 411th Infantry Regiment finished occupying Landsberg. At the same time, its sister 409th Infantry Regiment assembled in Schöngau, and the 410th Infantry Regiment advanced to the Lech River near Lechbruck.

Forces from the French 1st and 5th Armored, 2nd Moroccan Infantry and 4th Moroccan Mountain Divisions under the French First Army’s French I started to advance into Austria in two columns. One headed in the direction of Leutkirch, while the other went towards Ravensburg.

On April 28, 1945, a small convoy from the 42nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron armed with five light M 24 Chaffee tanks reached Hostouň, a small town located northwest of Domažlice in the Sudetenland. The men from the 42nd Recon soon became the main actors in an event that is now known under the rather action-packed name of Operation Cowboy. At that point, the Americans did not want to merely occupy another place on the map in its advance into the Czech interior. Its task was to return freedom to dozens of British and American POWs who were being held in and around the town to care for the enormous herd of horses from throughout occupied Europe. These were no ordinary horses. Not only Lipizzaners, but even Peter II of Yugoslavia’s horses were being kept here.

After negotiating with the commander of the horse farm in advance, the Americans got what they wanted. Hostouň surrendered without a fight, the Allied POWs won their freedom and the horses found new owners. Two days later, the liberators of Hostouň got involved in a bitter exchange of fire which left two of their men dead.