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From D-Day to V-Day

April 1945

April 29, 1945 - D-Day + 257

Tank units from the British Guards Armoured Division were assigned to the British Second Army's British XXX Corps, and later mopped up the Cuxhaven peninsula together with other Corps units. The British 15th Infantry Division under the British VIII Corps, currently with reinforcements from the 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade, crossed the Elbe River at Lauenburg and headed for the Baltic coast. Battalions from the 82nd Airborne Division's 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment under the US XVIII Corps reached the Elbe and, together with the 8th Infantry Division's 13th Infantry Regiment, took over the area along the river from the British 5th Infantry Division. The 125th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron under the Ninth Army advanced east of the Elbe to Zerbst and waited for Red Army troops to arrive.

Forces from the US First Army's VII Corps strengthened their current positions and carried out recon. Meanwhile, the 9th Armored Division's Combat Commands A and R moved into to the Jena area, while the US V Corps started to relocate to a new operational zone in the south. In the area under the VIII Corps, the 1st Infantry Division took over the 97th Infantry Division's sector located on the left flank of the XII Corps.

The 11th Armored Division's Combat Command B under the US Third Army's XII Corps attacked to the southeast in the direction of Passau, reaching as far as Hutthurm. In the interim, the 26th Infantry Division advanced to the Spitzendorf – Otterskirchen line and made contact with 11th Armored Division units. A 90th Infantry Division task force headed out of Neukirchenu bei Heiligen Blut and took Nýrsko without a fight. Meanwhile, the 2nd Cavalry Group (Mechanized) advanced to Zwiesel to secure the pass located to the northeast of Regen. In the course of the day, the 5th Infantry Division was reassigned to the XII Corps. The 13th Armored Division under the XX Corps advanced to the Isar River and built a bridgehead. With artillery support and protected by a smoke screen, two infantry companies crossed the river in Platting. Combat engineers immediately started to build a bridge, while CCR advanced to the river in the Landau area. Combat Command A reached the river at Landshut. Troops from the 80th Infantry Division's 318th and 319th Infantry Regiments advanced behind tank columns from the 13th Armored Division, while their sister 317th Infantry Regiment remained in reserve near Köfering. The 14th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) under the III Corps crossed the Danube in the section assigned to the 99th Infantry Division, and headed towards the Isar River. Regiments from the 99th Infantry Division advanced to the Pfettrach – Bruckberg – Moosburg line that day. The 14th Armored Division's Combat Command A reached the Isar River at Moosburg and started to prepare for an assault crossing. At the same time, the division sent a column out along the river to Altdorf, where it ran up against heavy enemy fire out of Landshut. Meanwhile, Combat Command R and B units assembled in the Fürth – Schatzhofen area. 86. The 86th Infantry Division crossed the Amper Canal, occupied Freising and continued towards the Isar River.

Divisions from the Seventh Army's XV Corps attacked Munich. Tank columns from the 20th Armored Division headed up the attack, followed by combat troops from the 3rd, 42nd and 45th Infantry Divisions. In the course of the day, the Americans liberated the concentration camp in Dachau and fought their way through to the suburbs of Munich. Col Vennard Wilson's 106th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) secured the Corps' left flank. The 12th Armored Division under the XXI Corps finished crossing the Lech River and advanced to the southeast, towards Innsbruck, Austria. Armored units from the 101st Cavalry Group (Mechanized) conquered Weilheim and Diessen, secured the bridges over the Ammer River and sent reconnaissance patrols out to the northeast, along the eastern shore of the Ammersee towards Munich. The 12th Armored Division's Combat Command A reached Oberau and made contact with the 10th Armored Division. Battalions from the 4th Infantry Division's 12th and 22nd Infantry Regiments under the VI Corps crossed the Lech River in Schwabstadl and headed for the west bank of the Amper River. The division's 8th Infantry Regiment sent part of its units out to Augsburg. The 10th Armored Division's Combat Command A crossed the Lech River in Schongau and broke through Saulgrub to reach Garmisch-Partenkirchen, while Combat Command B made its way over the river in Füssen and then advanced beyond Reutte. The 44th Infantry Division's 114th Infantry Regiment advanced along mountain paths towards Gran. Meanwhile, its sister 324th Infantry Regiment attempted to mop up the Wertach – Jungholz pass, but was deflected by a strong enemy counterattack. The 103rd Infantry Division's 411th Infantry Regiment attacked Unterammergau after being relieved by units from the 101st Airborne Division in Landsberg. At the same time, the 103rd Division's 410th Infantry Regiment crossed the Lech River in Lechburg and mopped up the Steingaden-Buching highway.

A tank column from the French First Army's 1st Armored Division advanced to Kempten, while the other headed along the Iller River Valley towards Immenstadt. In the meantime, the French 5th Armored Division conquered Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance.

The war in the skies over the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia continued in full force. Fighter bombers from the Ninth Air Force attacked southern Bohemia that day. A large column of Wehrmacht vehicles advanced through the picturesque town of Mirotice in the Písek district when an American reconnaissance airplane suddenly appeared on the horizon. The legendary 20 mm flak mounted on the Sd. Kfz. 7/1 half-tracks in the column opened fire to defend itself. The Americans responded almost immediately. Shortly before noon, a formation of Thunderbolts from the 362nd Fighter Group appeared over the city and opened a fierce attack against the German troops. The consequences were tragic for the Wehrmacht soldiers as well as for the residents of Mirotice. Only a few minutes were needed to turn the column of vehicles into burning scrap metal, and many homes in the town lay in ruins. There were casualties among the Germans as well as the town's residents.

During the raid, apparently fire from the ground damaged one of the P-47s enough that the pilot, 2/Lt Frederick W. Turner, decided to make an emergency landing. He found a suitable spot to land by the small village of Štědronín near the Vltava River. After leaving his craft, locals recall that the pilot ran off into the nearby forest. Although not enough information is available regarding his subsequent fate, he did survive the war. The loss of Frederick Turner was the second to last in the history of the Ninth Air Forces' 362nd Fighter Group during World War II. The list of missing US Air Force fighter pilots on the European front was closed by a 362nd Fighter Group Thunderbolt which crashed the very next day, burying young Virgil Paul Kirkham in the wreckage.

General Alois Liška, the commander of the Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade operating in Dunkirk, France, flew to the 21st Army Group Command with a request for the brigade to be relieved so it could be deployed to Czechoslovakia. His request was turned down and the Czechoslovaks remained in Dunkirk until May 8, 1945. Only afterwards did the troops start their big move back home to Czechoslovakia.