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From D-Day to V-Day

April 1945

April 4, 1945 - D-Day + 232

Not far from Lingen, the British Second Army’s British XXX Corps built a bridgehead on the Dortmund – Ems Canal. Part of the British 6th Airborne Division under the VIII Corps entered Osnabrück. The rest of the division went around the city and headed toward Minden, located on the Weser River.

The Ninth Army’s corps and divisions came back to under the command of the 12th Army Group. The 17th Airborne Division under the XIII Corps built a defense perimeter at Münster. The 5th Armored Division was still unable to occupy the bridges over the Weser River in Minden and Rinteln. In the night from April 4-5, 1945, units from the 84th Infantry Division prepared to cross the river at Bad Oeynhausen. The 102nd Infantry Division, which was advancing behind the 5th Armored and 84th Infantry Divisions, eliminated remnants of encircled enemy groups. The 2nd Armored Division’s Combat Command A under the XIX Corps headed out of Lage toward Lemgo. Operating on the Corps’ left flank, the 30th Infantry Division occupied Hiddesen and Detmold. The 95th Infantry Division crossed the Lippe River between Hamm and Lipporn, and advanced to Dinker. Lt Col Robert Quinn’s 15th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) mopped up the area along the Lippe River. The 8th Armored Division continued its attacks in the Ruhr pocket. Combat Command A launched an assault to the south to the Main River, occupying Erwitte and continuing on to Anröchte, while Combat Command R occupied Overhagen, Stirpe, Norddorf, Ebbingausen, and Völlinghausen. The 75th Infantry Division under the XVI Corps crossed the Dortmund – Ems Canal and conquered Waltrop, Henrichenburg, and Ickern.

Units from the 3rd Armored Division under the US First Army’s VII Corps prepared to renew an attack to the east. The 104th Infantry Division’s 413th Infantry Regiment occupied Holtheim and Kleinenberg. Meanwhile, together with the 4th Cavalry Group (Mechanized), battalions from its sister 415th Infantry Regiment advanced on Brilon. The 7th Armored Division’s Combat Command A commanded by Col William S. Triplet conquered Hildfeld, Grönebach, and Niedersfeld in the course of the day. The 9th Infantry Division’s 60th Infantry Regiment occupied Astenberg, while its sister 47th Infantry Regiment deflected an enemy counterattack in Oberkirchen. The 97th Infantry Division under the XVIII Corps started to take over the sector along the south bank of the Sieg River which was originally held by the 78th Infantry Division. At the same time, the 8th Infantry Division deflected an enemy counterattack launched against Siegen and Netphen, and forces from the III Corps were prepared to attack against the Ruhr Pocket.

The 6th Armored Division under Patton’s Third Army’s XX Corps surrounded Mühlhausen and sent reconnaissance units out to the city. The garrison in Kassel surrendered to units from the 80th Infantry Division. The 76th Infantry Division finished regrouping in the Homberg area and later advanced to the northeast towards Langensalz. The 5th Infantry Division was posted to the reserves and policed Frankurt am Main. Units from the 3rd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron mopped up the main road connecting Obermeiser and Vellmar northeast of Kassel. Forces from the VIII Corps took over the new section of the front between the XII and XX Corps. The 65th Infantry Division’s 261st Infantry Regiment commanded by Col William E. Carraway returned to its home unit from the 6th Armored Division. Its sister 259th Infantry Regiment commanded by Col Louis B. Rutte advanced to the Creuzberg area while the 260th Infantry Regiment assembled near Dattenrode. Battalions from the 89th Infantry Division’s 355th Infantry Regiment commanded by Col Jesse T. Harris started to advance to the east as the division’s 353rd Infantry Regiment commanded by Col Frank R. Maerdian moved to the Berka – Lauchröden area. The 4th Armored Division’s Combat Command B advanced to Mühlberg, and a large unit of German soldiers surrendered to CCB near Gotha. At the same time, Combat Command A went on the attack to the southeast towards Ohrdruf. The 6th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) mopped up the area west of the Fulda River, and after crossing the river it followed units from the 65th and 89th Infantry Divisions.

The 90th Infantry Division under the XII Corps continued to attack eastwards. The division’s 357th Infantry Regiment commanded by Col John H. Mason conquered Marksuhl and Moehra, while battalions from its sister 358th Infantry Regiment commanded by Col J. W. Bealke occupied Merkers – where the Germans had hidden gold and numerous works of art in the local salt mine. The 11th Armored Division’s Combat Command A commanded by Brigadier General Willard A. Holbrook occupied Suhl. Here his men liberated a large number of forced laborers who had been brought in from throughout Europe to work at the local munitions factory. The 26th Infantry Division advanced to the Werra River in the Schmalkalden – Wasungen section.

The 82nd Airborne Division, currently in the Fifteenth Army’s XXII Corps. took over the 86th Infantry Division’s operational zone.

The 14th Armored Division’s Combat Command B under the Seventh Army’s XV Corps neared Gemünden. Concealed by a smoke screen, battalions from the 42nd Infantry Division’s 232nd Infantry Regiment under the XXI Corps and part of the 12th Armored Division’s Combat Command A started to cross the Main River at Würzburg. At the same time, the 12th Armored Division’s Combat Command B expanded the bridgehead at Ochsenfurt, located to the north of Erlach. The 92nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron mopped up the hills east of Obernbreit, and Combat Command R occupied Martinsheim and Herrnberchtheim. Battalions from the 4th Infantry Division’s 12th and 22nd Infantry Regiments went on the attack in the Königshofen area north of Bad Mergentheim, and slowly advanced through the forested hills. In the area of the Neckar and Jagst Rivers, units from the VI Corps came under heavy enemy pressure. In the zone of the 10th Armored Division’s Combat Command A, 3rd Battalion companies from the 100th Infantry Division’s 398th Infantry Regiment launched a pre-dawn attack on Heilbron. In Neckargartach, they crossed the Neckar River and built a small bridgehead. In the afternoon, the 2nd Battalion from the Century Division’s 397th Infantry Regiment headed out to reinforce the bridgehead. Combat Command A mopped up the west bank of the river in the Frankenbach – Neckargartach sector, and Combat Command B cleared the area southwest of Böckingen. The 63rd Infantry Division’s 253rd Infantry Regiment commanded by Col Morris O. Edwards built a bridgehead on the Jagst River between Herbolzheim and Untergriesheim.

Units from the French First Army’s French II Corps occupied Karlsruhe. The fierce enemy forced the DA Alp mountain unit to halt its attack in the Mont Cenis area.

In the course of the day, Czechoslovak pilots from the No. 310, 312, and 313 Royal Air Force fighter squadrons took part in Operation Ramrod 1529, escorting 243 Lancasters headed for the German city of Nordhausen.

April 4, 1945, was once again a day when the Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade at the French port of Dunkirk suffered several casualties. In the rear at Cassel, Sgt František Tomeček (b. 1912), a native of Vizovice in the district of Zlín, was killed in a road accident. The west side of the Dunkirk perimeter also witnessed tragedy, when an enemy artillery attack killed Sgt Oldřich Jaroš (b. 1913) from the 2nd Artillery Regiment Unit. Oldřich was from Bohunice in the Brno district. Another accident occurred that day in the southern section of the perimeter, when a tiny Armored Humber drove off the road and turned over into a canal. Private Václav Pavel Michal from the Anti-Tank Canon Unit was killed. Václav (b. 1910) was born in Písek, a small city in South Bohemia. He was buried at the cemetery in St. Omer, France.