Drive to the Siegfried Line
Encyclopedia
The Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine was one of the final Allied
phases in World War II
of the Western European Campaign.
This phase spans from the end of the Operation Overlord
(25 August 1944) incorporating the German winter counter offensive through the Ardennes (commonly known as the Battle of the Bulge
) up to the Allies preparing to cross the river Rhine in the early months of 1945. This roughly corresponds to the official U.S.
European Theater of Operations
Rhineland and Ardennes-Alsace campaigns.
by the Free French Army
in late August 1944, the Western Allies
paused to re-group and organise before continuing their advance from Paris to the Rhine. The pause by the Allies allowed the Germans to solidify their lines — something they had been unable to do west of Paris after their forces had been decimated during the Allied break out
from the Normandy lodgement
. This had allowed the Allies to advance rapidly against an enemy that was able to put up little resistance. Many towns and villages were liberated with little resistance.
By the middle of September 1944 the three Western Allies Army groups, the British 21st Army Group (Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery) in the north, the United States U.S. 12th Army Group (General Omar Bradley
) and to the south the Franco-American Southern Group of Armies (Lieutenant General Jacob L. Devers
) that had liberated southern France after landing
on the French Mediterranean coast — formed a broad front
under the Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower
and his headquarters SHAEF.
While Generals Montgomery, Bradley and Patton
all favored relatively direct thrusts into Germany
(with Montgomery and Bradley each offering to be the spearhead of such an assault), Eisenhower disagreed. Instead, he favored a "broad-front" strategy which would allow the Allies to regroup and shift their forces as needed, and to protect vital supply operations in the rear.
The rapid advance through France had caused a considerable logistical strain, made worse by the lack of any major port other than the relatively distant Cherbourg in western France. Although Antwerp was seen as the key to solving the Allied logistics problems, its port was not open to Allied shipping until the Scheldt
estuary was clear of German forces. As the campaign progressed, all the belligerents, Allied as well as German, felt the effects of the lack of suitable replacements for front-line troops.
There were two major defensive obstacles to the Allies. The first was the natural barriers made by the rivers of Eastern France. The second was the Siegfried Line
itself, which fell under the command, along with all Wehrmacht
forces in the west, of Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt
.
Much war materiel
still had to be brought ashore across the invasion beaches and through the one remaining Mulberry harbour
. Although small harbours, such as Isigny
, Port-en-Bessin
and Courcelles
, were being used, the major forward ports such as Calais
, Boulogne
, Dunkirk and Le Havre
either remained in German hands as "fortresses" or had been systematically destroyed. The availability of Cherbourg
had been valuable until the breakout, but then transport to carry supplies to the rapidly advancing armies became the limiting factor.
Although fuel was successfully pumped from Britain to Normandy via the Pluto
pipeline, this still had to reach the fronts, which were advancing faster than the pipelines could be extended. The railways had been largely destroyed by Allied attacks and would take much effort to repair, so fleets of trucks were needed in the interim. In an attempt to address this acute shortage of transport, three newly-arrived U.S. infantry divisions—the 26th
, 95th, and 104th—were stripped of their trucks in order to haul supplies. Advancing divisions of the U.S. 12th Army Group left all their heavy artillery and half their medium artillery left west of the Seine
, freeing their trucks to move supplies for other units. Four British truck companies were loaned to the Americans. Unfortunately, 1,500 British trucks were found to have critical engine faults and were unusable, limiting assistance from that quarter. The Red Ball Express
was an attempt to expedite deliveries by truck but capacity was inadequate for the circumstances.
The Dragoon Force
advancing from southern France were supplied adequately from Toulon
and Marseille
because they had captured intact ports and the local railway system was less damaged. This source supplied about 25% of the Allied needs.
The U.S. supply organization—Communications Zone
(COMZ)—is perceived to have failed to expedite solutions and to have been far too bureaucratic, employing 11,000 staff. COMZ and its commander—General John C. H. Lee
—were roundly criticised by American field generals. Failures to supply forward units led to unofficial arrangements, with pressed units "diverting" supplies intended for elsewhere. Eisenhower felt he could not exert authority since COMZ was directly answerable to Washington and not to SHAEF, but Eisenhower has been criticised for not exerting more pressure and influence than he did.
The mere occupation of Antwerp was not enough, as the lands surrounding the Scheldt would have to be liberated first to open the port of Antwerp. This was essential, since at this point the main allied supply lines still ran back to Normandy, presenting serious logistical problems. The solution was to get Antwerp into effective action quickly. The problem here was that, although this major port had been captured almost intact, its sea access was blocked by German occupation of the Scheldt
islands.
The delay in securing this area was seen as a major failure of Eisenhower′s "Broad Front" strategy, in failing to allow Sir Bernard Montgomery′s 21st Army Group to advance, the German 15th Army
was able to occupy and then dig in, whereas an immediate attack in September would probably have cleared the Scheldt without difficulty. The consequence was that Eisenhower was obliged to limit his army group commanders to one major advance at a time. As a result, German resistance was allowed to organise and deploy reserves. The Canadian 1st Army was given the task of clearing the Scheldt (see below).
personnel were reallocated to the Army, invalided troops were redrafted into the front line and Volkssturm
units were formed using barely trained civilians.
British manpower resources were limited after five years of war and through worldwide commitments. Replacements were no longer adequate to cover losses and formations were disbanded to maintain the strength of others. The Canadians were also short of manpower, due to a reluctance to require conscripts to serve outside Canada or Canadian waters. This had arisen from internal Canadian political difficulties during World War I
and there had been a wide consensus against conscription for overseas service.The legal embargo on compulsory overseas service was the subject of a national plebiscite on 27 April 1942. Around 64% supported the removal of the restriction, but in Francophone
Quebec
, 72% were against.
American losses now called on replacements from the U.S. Often these were inexperienced and unused to the harsh conditions of the latter part of the campaign. There were also complaints about the poor quality of troops released into the infantry from less-stressed arms of the U.S. Army. At one point, after the Battle of the Bulge had highlighted the shortage of infantrymen, the U.S. Army relaxed its embargo on the use of black soldiers in combat formations. Black volunteers performed well and prompted a permanent change in military policy.
By the beginning of the next year, the war′s outcome was clear. It became increasingly difficult to persuade Allied troops to risk their lives when peace was in sight. No one wished to be the last man killed.
was urgently needed to maintain the allied armies. By the time that Brussels
and Rotterdam
were liberated, it had become difficult for the 21st Army Group to be supplied adequately. Indeed, one corps—VIII Corps—was withdrawn from active service to free its transport for general use. The 1st Canadian 1st Army was tasked with liberating the ports during its advance along the French coast. The ports involved were Le Havre
, Dieppe
, Boulogne, Calais
, and Dunkirk, as well as Ostend
in Belgium. Adolf Hitler
had appreciated their strategic value and had ordered their status as "fortresses" that must receive adequate materiel
for a siege and be held to the last man.
Dieppe was evacuated by the Germans before Adolf Hitler
′s order had been received and, consequently, the Canadians took it with little trouble and with the port installations largely intact. Ostend had been omitted from the Fuhrer Order and was also undefended, although demolitions delayed its use. The other ports were defended to varying degrees, however, and they required substantial work to bring them into use, except for Dunkirk which was sealed off to the rear of the allied advance.
Campaign, Market Garden was commanded by Montgomery and had the objective to secure a bridgehead in the north, at Arnhem
, over the Rhine which would outflank the Siegfried Line.
Market Garden was composed of two distinct parts. Operation Market was to be the largest airborne operation in history, dropping three and a half divisions of U.S., British and Polish paratroopers to capture key bridges and prevent their demolition by the Germans. Operation Garden was a follow up ground attack by the British 2nd Army which would then more heavily garrison the area and relieve the paratroopers for new duties. It was assumed that the German forces would still be in a rout from the previous campaign and opposition would not be very stiff for either operation.
If successful, the Allies would have a direct route into Germany and by-pass German defences farther south. Further, Montgomery would be in a good position to aid with clearing German forces from Western Scheldt
. Doing so would allow Antwerp, a major port captured earlier, to be used as well as seizing territory from which the Germans launched V-1 and V-2
weapons against London
, Antwerp and elsewhere.
Eisenhower approved of Market Garden, giving supply priority to the 21st Army Group and diverted the U.S. 1st Army to the north of the Ardennes
to stage limited attacks to draw German defenders south, away from the target sites.
At first, it went well. The 101st
and 82nd Airborne Division
s took their objectives at Eindhoven, Veghel
and Nijmegen. Although their landings outside Arnhem were on target, the British 1st Airborne landing zones were some distance from Arnhem bridge and only on the north side of the river. Problems arose when the British 1st Airborne lost vital equipment—jeeps and heavy anti-tank guns—when gliders crashed. There had also been a severe underestimation of German strength in the area. To make matters worse, poor weather prevented aerial reinforcements and drastically reduced resupply. German resistance to the forces driving to Arnhem was highly effective, and a copy of the Allied battle plan had been captured.
In the end, Market Garden was unsuccessful. The Arnhem bridge was not held and the British paratroops absorbed tremendous casualty rates, approximately 77%.
—was given the task of clearing the Scheldt
of German forces. The 1st Army was the Canadian II Corps, which included the Polish 1st Armoured Division
, the British 49th
, the 52nd Divisions and the British I Corps.
The task involved four main operations. The first was to clear the area north of Antwerp and secure access to South Beveland. The second was to clear the Breskens
pocket north of the Leopold Canal ("Operation Switchback"). The third—"Operation Vitality"—was the capture of South Beveland. The final phase was the capture of Walcheren
Island, which had been fortified into a powerful German stronghold.
On 21 September 1944, the advance began. The Canadian 4th Armoured Division, moving north toward the south shore of the Scheldt around the Dutch town of Breskens were the first Allied troops to face the formidable obstacle of the double line of the Leopold and Dérivation de la Lys Canals. The canals were crossed and a bridgehead established, but fierce counter-attacks by the Germans forced them to withdraw with heavy casualties. The 1st Polish Armoured Division had greater success, moving northeast to the coast, occupying Terneuzen
and clearing the south bank of the Scheldt eastward to Antwerp. It was by then clear, however, that any further advances would be at tremendous cost.
The Canadian 2nd Infantry Division began its advance north from Antwerp on 2 October. Heavy casualties ensued, including the almost total destruction of the Canadian 5th Infantry Brigade
′s Black Watch Battalion
on 13 October. However, on 16 October Woensdrecht
was taken by the Canadians, following an immense artillery barrage which forced the Germans back. This cut South Beveland and Walcheren
off from the mainland and achieved the objective of the first operation.
Field-Marshal Montgomery issued a directive that made the opening of the Scheldt estuary the top priority. To the east, the British 2nd Army attacked westward to clear the Netherlands south of the Maas River. This helped secure the Scheldt region from an outside counter-attack.
In Operation Switchback, the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division mounted a two-pronged attack, with the Canadian 7th Infantry Brigade crossing the Leopold Canal and the Canadian 9th Infantry Brigade launching an amphibious assault from the coastal side of the pocket. Despite fierce resistance from the Germans, the 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade crossed the Leopold and the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade
moved southwards, opening a supply route into the pocket.
Operation Vitality—the third major phase of the Battle of the Scheldt—began on 24 October. The Canadian 2nd Infantry Division began its bridgeheads against South Beveland, but was slowed by mines, mud and strong enemy defences. The British 52nd (Lowland) Division
made an amphibious attack
to get in behind the Germans′ Beveland Canal defensive positions. Thus this formidable defence was outflanked, and the Canadian 6th Infantry Brigade began a frontal attack in assault boats. The engineers were able to bridge the canal on the main road. With the canal line gone, the German defence crumbled and South Beveland was cleared. The third phase of the Battle of the Scheldt was now complete.
The final phase, Operation Infatuate was the attack on the heavily fortified island of Walcheren
at the mouth of the West Scheldt
. The island′s dykes were breached by attacks from RAF Bomber Command
on 3, 7, and 11 October. This flooded the central part of the island, forcing the German defenders onto the high ground and allowing the use of amphibious vehicles. Units of the Canadian 2nd Infantry Division attacked the causeway on 31 October, and after a grim struggle, established a precarious foothold. They were relieved by a battalion of the British 52nd (Lowland) Division. In conjunction with the waterborne attacks, the 52nd continued the advance.
The amphibious landings began on 1 November with units of the British 155th Infantry Brigade landing on a beach in the south-eastern area of Vlissingen. During the next few days, they engaged in heavy street fighting against the German defenders. Also on 1 November, after a heavy naval bombardment by the British Royal Navy
, troops of 4th Commando Brigade, (with units for 10th Inter Allied Commando, consisting mainly of Belgian
and Norwegian
troops) supported by specialised armoured vehicles of the 79th Armoured Division were landed on both sides of the gap in the sea dyke. Heavy fighting ensued. A smaller force moved south-eastward, toward Vlissingen, while the main force went north-east to clear the northern half of Walcheren to link up with the Canadian troops who had established a bridgehead on the eastern part of the island. Fierce resistance was again offered by German troops defending the area, and fighting continued until 7 November. However, the fighting ended on 8 November after a force of amphibious vehicles entered Middelburg
, the capital of Walcheren.
Meanwhile, the Canadian 4th Armoured Division had pushed eastwards past Bergen-op-Zoom to Sint Philipsland
where it sank several German vessels in Zijpe harbor. With the approaches to the port of Antwerp free, the fourth phase of the Battle of the Scheldt was completed and on 28 November, the first convoy entered the port of Antwerp.
area. The approach was for the Canadian 1st Army—strengthened by XXX Corps—to advance south-eastward between the Rhine and Maas rivers while the U.S. 9th Army advanced north eastwards from the Roer. The two armies would meet in the Geldern
area. The British 2nd Army stayed west of the Maas, apart from two divisions that reinforced the Anglo-Canadian advance, but the German High Command were initially convinced that they were the principle threat and deployed their reserves in anticipation of an assault from Venlo
.
The two operations were delayed by the Battle of the Bulge
but they were rescheduled for 8 February 1945. Although the Anglo-Canadian attack (Operation Veritable
) started on time, the U.S. one (Operation Grenade
) was delayed by the threat and then the actuality of flooding by water released from the Roer dams. This delay allowed the Germans to concentrate their defence on the Anglo-Canadian assaults, but they were unable to do much more than to slow it in localised areas. When the Americans were able to advance, some two weeks later, there were few reserves left to face them and they made rapid progress until they encountered the German rearguard near the Rhine.
The two prongs met at Geldern, then pushed towards Rees
, finally expelling German forces on 21 March.
, which had to be dealt with before advancing on to assault the Siegfried Line itself. Initially, the city of Aachen was to be bypassed and cut off in an attempt by the allies to imitate the Blitzkrieg tactics the Germans had so effectively used (see below). However, the city was the first city to be assaulted on German soil and so had huge historical and cultural significance to the German people. Hitler personally ordered that the garrison there be reinforced and the city held. This forced allied commanders to re-think their strategy.
Some historians, including Stephen Ambrose
, have suggested that the siege of Aachen was a mistake. The battle stalled the eastward advance by the Allies and caused approximately 5,000 Allied casualties. The fighting was, by all accounts, brutal street-to-street, house-to-house style urban combat and tied up the available rescources of the advancing Allied armies. Ambrose has suggested that a more effective strategy would have been to have isolated the garrison at Aachen and continue the move east into the heart of Germany. In theory, this would have eliminated the ability of the German garrison in Aachen to operate as a fighting force by cutting off their supply lines. This might have forced the garrison to surrender or to move out of the city in an attempt to re-establish their supply lines. In the case of the latter, a confrontation in a more neutral setting would probably have resulted in fewer military and civilian casualties.
at Verdun and Commercy
. For five days after, however, the critical supply situation effectively ground the 3rd Army to a halt, allowing previously routed German forces to regroup and the reinforcement of their strongholds in the area.
Soon after, the 3rd Army came against Metz
, part of the Maginot Line
and one of the most heavily fortified cities in Western Europe. The city could not be bypassed, as several of its forts had guns directed at Moselle crossing sites and the main roads in the area. It could be also be used as a stronghold to organize a German counter-attack to the 3rd Army′s rear. In the following Battle of Metz
, the 3rd Army, while victorious, took heavy casualties.
Following Metz, the 3rd Army continued eastwards to the Saar River
and soon began their assault on the Siegfried Line.
was seen as a possible source of incursions into the American flank and the river dams in the area were a threat to the Allied advance downstream, so an assault to clear the area was started on 19 September 1944. The German defence was more stubborn than expected and the terrain was highly favorable to defence, largely negating American advantages in numbers and quality of troops. The battle—expected to last a few weeks—continued until February 1945 and cost 33,000 casualties (from all causes).
The value of the battle has been disputed. Recent historians argue that the outcome was not worth the foreseeable losses and, in any case, the American tactics played into German hands.
.
The Germans had been preparing a massive counter-attack in the West since the Allied breakout from Normandy. The plan called Wacht am Rhein ("Watch on the Rhine") was to attack through the Ardennes
and swing North to Antwerp, splitting the American and British armies. The attack started on 16 December in what became known as the Battle of the Bulge
. Defending the Ardennes were troops of the U.S. 1st Army. After initial successes in bad weather, which gave them cover from the Allied air forces, the Allies launched a counterattack to clear the Germans from the Ardennes. The Germans were eventually pushed back to their starting points by 25 January 1945.
The Germans launched a second, smaller offensive (Nordwind
) into Alsace
on 1 January 1945. Aiming to recapture Strasbourg, the Germans attacked the 6th Army Group at multiple points. Because Allied lines had become severely stretched in response to the crisis in the Ardennes, holding and throwing back the Nordwind offensive was a costly affair that lasted almost four weeks. The culmination of Allied counter-attacks restored the front line to the area of the German border and collapsed the Colmar Pocket.
advancing from Nijmegen area of the Netherlands
and the U.S. 9th Army crossing the Rur
in Operation Grenade
was planned to start on 8 February 1945, but it was delayed by two weeks when the Germans flooded the river valley by destroying the dam gates upstream. During the two weeks that the river was flooded, Hitler would not allow Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt
to withdraw East behind the Rhine arguing that it would only delay the inevitable fight. Hitler ordered him to fight where his forces stood.
By the time the water had subsided and the U.S. 9th Army was able to cross the Rur on 23 February, other Allied forces were also close to the Rhine′s west bank. Von Rundstedt′s divisions which had remained on the west bank of the Rhine were cut to pieces in the battle of the Rhineland and 280,000 men were taken prisoners. With a large number of men captured, the stubborn German resistance during the Allied campaign to reach the Rhine in February-March 1945 had been costly. Total losses reached an estimated 400,000 men.
The crossing of the Rhine was achieved at four points: One was an opportunity taken by U.S. forces when the Germans failed to blow up the Ludendorff Bridge
at Remagen
, one crossing was a hasty assault, and two crossings were planned.
After crossing the Rhine the Allies fanned out over West Germany (see Western Allied invasion of Germany).
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
phases in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
of the Western European Campaign.
This phase spans from the end of the Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
(25 August 1944) incorporating the German winter counter offensive through the Ardennes (commonly known as the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
) up to the Allies preparing to cross the river Rhine in the early months of 1945. This roughly corresponds to the official U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
European Theater of Operations
European Theater of Operations
The European Theater of Operations, United States Army was a United States Army formation which directed U.S. Army operations in parts of Europe from 1942 to 1945. It referred to Army Ground Forces, United States Army Air Forces, and Army Service Forces operations north of Italy and the...
Rhineland and Ardennes-Alsace campaigns.
Background
After the liberation of ParisLiberation of Paris
The Liberation of Paris took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the surrender of the occupying German garrison on August 25th. It could be regarded by some as the last battle in the Battle for Normandy, though that really ended with the crushing of the Wehrmacht forces between the...
by the Free French Army
Free French Forces
The Free French Forces were French partisans in World War II who decided to continue fighting against the forces of the Axis powers after the surrender of France and subsequent German occupation and, in the case of Vichy France, collaboration with the Germans.-Definition:In many sources, Free...
in late August 1944, the Western Allies
Western Allies
The Western Allies were a political and geographic grouping among the Allied Powers of the Second World War. It generally includes the United Kingdom and British Commonwealth, the United States, France and various other European and Latin American countries, but excludes China, the Soviet Union,...
paused to re-group and organise before continuing their advance from Paris to the Rhine. The pause by the Allies allowed the Germans to solidify their lines — something they had been unable to do west of Paris after their forces had been decimated during the Allied break out
Operation Cobra
Operation Cobra was the codename for an offensive launched by the First United States Army seven weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Normandy Campaign of World War II...
from the Normandy lodgement
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
. This had allowed the Allies to advance rapidly against an enemy that was able to put up little resistance. Many towns and villages were liberated with little resistance.
By the middle of September 1944 the three Western Allies Army groups, the British 21st Army Group (Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery) in the north, the United States U.S. 12th Army Group (General Omar Bradley
Omar Bradley
Omar Nelson Bradley was a senior U.S. Army field commander in North Africa and Europe during World War II, and a General of the Army in the United States Army...
) and to the south the Franco-American Southern Group of Armies (Lieutenant General Jacob L. Devers
Jacob L. Devers
General Jacob "Jake" Loucks Devers , commander of the 6th Army Group in Europe during World War II. He was the first United States military officer to reach the Rhine after D-Day.-Biography:...
) that had liberated southern France after landing
Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France on August 15, 1944, during World War II. The invasion was initiated via a parachute drop by the 1st Airborne Task Force, followed by an amphibious assault by elements of the U.S. Seventh Army, followed a day later by a force made up...
on the French Mediterranean coast — formed a broad front
Western Front (World War II)
The Western Front of the European Theatre of World War II encompassed, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and West Germany. The Western Front was marked by two phases of large-scale ground combat operations...
under the Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
and his headquarters SHAEF.
While Generals Montgomery, Bradley and Patton
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton, Jr. was a United States Army officer best known for his leadership while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness.Patton was commissioned in the U.S. Army after his graduation from...
all favored relatively direct thrusts into Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(with Montgomery and Bradley each offering to be the spearhead of such an assault), Eisenhower disagreed. Instead, he favored a "broad-front" strategy which would allow the Allies to regroup and shift their forces as needed, and to protect vital supply operations in the rear.
The rapid advance through France had caused a considerable logistical strain, made worse by the lack of any major port other than the relatively distant Cherbourg in western France. Although Antwerp was seen as the key to solving the Allied logistics problems, its port was not open to Allied shipping until the Scheldt
Scheldt
The Scheldt is a 350 km long river in northern France, western Belgium and the southwestern part of the Netherlands...
estuary was clear of German forces. As the campaign progressed, all the belligerents, Allied as well as German, felt the effects of the lack of suitable replacements for front-line troops.
There were two major defensive obstacles to the Allies. The first was the natural barriers made by the rivers of Eastern France. The second was the Siegfried Line
Siegfried Line
The original Siegfried line was a line of defensive forts and tank defences built by Germany as a section of the Hindenburg Line 1916–1917 in northern France during World War I...
itself, which fell under the command, along with all Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
forces in the west, of Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt
Gerd von Rundstedt
Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt was a Generalfeldmarschall of the German Army during World War II. He held some of the highest field commands in all phases of the war....
.
Logistics and supply
Although the breakout from Normandy had taken longer than planned, the advances until September had far exceeded expectations. Bradley, for example, by September, had four more divisions than planned and all of his forces were 150 mi (241.4 km) ahead of their expected position. One effect was that insufficient supplies could be delivered to the fronts to maintain the advance: actual demand had exceeded the expected needs.Much war materiel
Materiel
Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....
still had to be brought ashore across the invasion beaches and through the one remaining Mulberry harbour
Mulberry harbour
A Mulberry harbour was a British type of temporary harbour developed in World War II to offload cargo on the beaches during the Allied invasion of Normandy....
. Although small harbours, such as Isigny
Isigny-sur-Mer
Isigny-sur-Mer is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.-Geography:Positioned at the bottom of the baie des Veys, Isigny is an important milk production area, known for its AOC butter and cream, as well as its cheeses made by the Isigny Sainte...
, Port-en-Bessin
Port-en-Bessin-Huppain
Port-en-Bessin-Huppain is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.The commune contains the two towns of Port-en-Bessin and Huppain.-Population:-Media:...
and Courcelles
Courcelles
-France:Courcelles is also the name or part of the name of several communes in France:* Courcelles, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime département* Courcelles, Doubs, in the Doubs département...
, were being used, the major forward ports such as Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
, Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer
-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....
, Dunkirk and Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
either remained in German hands as "fortresses" or had been systematically destroyed. The availability of Cherbourg
Cherbourg-Octeville
-Main sights:* La Glacerie has a race track.* The Cité de la Mer is a large museum devoted to scientific and historical aspects of maritime subjects.* Cherbourg Basilica* Jardin botanique de la Roche Fauconnière, a private botanical garden.* Le Trident theatre...
had been valuable until the breakout, but then transport to carry supplies to the rapidly advancing armies became the limiting factor.
Although fuel was successfully pumped from Britain to Normandy via the Pluto
Operation Pluto
Operation Pluto was a World War II operation by British scientists, oil companies and armed forces to construct undersea oil pipelines under the English Channel between England and France. The scheme was developed by Arthur Hartley, chief engineer with the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company...
pipeline, this still had to reach the fronts, which were advancing faster than the pipelines could be extended. The railways had been largely destroyed by Allied attacks and would take much effort to repair, so fleets of trucks were needed in the interim. In an attempt to address this acute shortage of transport, three newly-arrived U.S. infantry divisions—the 26th
26th Infantry Division (United States)
The 26th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the United States Army. As a major formation of the Massachusetts Army National Guard, it was based in Boston, Massachusetts for most of its history...
, 95th, and 104th—were stripped of their trucks in order to haul supplies. Advancing divisions of the U.S. 12th Army Group left all their heavy artillery and half their medium artillery left west of the Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
, freeing their trucks to move supplies for other units. Four British truck companies were loaned to the Americans. Unfortunately, 1,500 British trucks were found to have critical engine faults and were unusable, limiting assistance from that quarter. The Red Ball Express
Red Ball Express
The Red Ball Express was an enormous truck convoy system created by Allied forces to supply their forward-area combat units moving through Europe following the breakout from the D-Day beaches in Normandy. The term "Red Ball" was a railroad phrase referring to express shipping...
was an attempt to expedite deliveries by truck but capacity was inadequate for the circumstances.
The Dragoon Force
Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France on August 15, 1944, during World War II. The invasion was initiated via a parachute drop by the 1st Airborne Task Force, followed by an amphibious assault by elements of the U.S. Seventh Army, followed a day later by a force made up...
advancing from southern France were supplied adequately from Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
and Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
because they had captured intact ports and the local railway system was less damaged. This source supplied about 25% of the Allied needs.
The U.S. supply organization—Communications Zone
Communications Zone
Communications Zone is a US Army and NATO term which describes a part of the theater of war operations.The Communications Zone is the rear part of theater of operations which contains the lines of communications, establishments for supply and evacuation, and other agencies required for the...
(COMZ)—is perceived to have failed to expedite solutions and to have been far too bureaucratic, employing 11,000 staff. COMZ and its commander—General John C. H. Lee
John C. H. Lee
John Clifford Hodges Lee was a US Army General. He graduated 12th out of 103 graduates from the United States Military Academy in 1909.He served in World War I, World War II and rose to the rank of Lieutenant General....
—were roundly criticised by American field generals. Failures to supply forward units led to unofficial arrangements, with pressed units "diverting" supplies intended for elsewhere. Eisenhower felt he could not exert authority since COMZ was directly answerable to Washington and not to SHAEF, but Eisenhower has been criticised for not exerting more pressure and influence than he did.
The mere occupation of Antwerp was not enough, as the lands surrounding the Scheldt would have to be liberated first to open the port of Antwerp. This was essential, since at this point the main allied supply lines still ran back to Normandy, presenting serious logistical problems. The solution was to get Antwerp into effective action quickly. The problem here was that, although this major port had been captured almost intact, its sea access was blocked by German occupation of the Scheldt
Scheldt
The Scheldt is a 350 km long river in northern France, western Belgium and the southwestern part of the Netherlands...
islands.
The delay in securing this area was seen as a major failure of Eisenhower′s "Broad Front" strategy, in failing to allow Sir Bernard Montgomery′s 21st Army Group to advance, the German 15th Army
German Fifteenth Army
The 15th Army was a World War II field army.The 15th Army was activated on January 15, 1941 with General Curt Haase in command. First seeing service in France, the army was involved in the protection of the Channel coast from a possible Allied invasion...
was able to occupy and then dig in, whereas an immediate attack in September would probably have cleared the Scheldt without difficulty. The consequence was that Eisenhower was obliged to limit his army group commanders to one major advance at a time. As a result, German resistance was allowed to organise and deploy reserves. The Canadian 1st Army was given the task of clearing the Scheldt (see below).
Manpower
German armies had lost large numbers of troops in Normandy and the subsequent pursuit. To counteract this, about 20,000 LuftwaffeLuftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
personnel were reallocated to the Army, invalided troops were redrafted into the front line and Volkssturm
Volkssturm
The Volkssturm was a German national militia of the last months of World War II. It was founded on Adolf Hitler's orders on October 18, 1944 and conscripted males between the ages of 16 to 60 years who were not already serving in some military unit as part of a German Home Guard.-Origins and...
units were formed using barely trained civilians.
British manpower resources were limited after five years of war and through worldwide commitments. Replacements were no longer adequate to cover losses and formations were disbanded to maintain the strength of others. The Canadians were also short of manpower, due to a reluctance to require conscripts to serve outside Canada or Canadian waters. This had arisen from internal Canadian political difficulties during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and there had been a wide consensus against conscription for overseas service.The legal embargo on compulsory overseas service was the subject of a national plebiscite on 27 April 1942. Around 64% supported the removal of the restriction, but in Francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, 72% were against.
American losses now called on replacements from the U.S. Often these were inexperienced and unused to the harsh conditions of the latter part of the campaign. There were also complaints about the poor quality of troops released into the infantry from less-stressed arms of the U.S. Army. At one point, after the Battle of the Bulge had highlighted the shortage of infantrymen, the U.S. Army relaxed its embargo on the use of black soldiers in combat formations. Black volunteers performed well and prompted a permanent change in military policy.
By the beginning of the next year, the war′s outcome was clear. It became increasingly difficult to persuade Allied troops to risk their lives when peace was in sight. No one wished to be the last man killed.
Channel ports
Use of the Channel portsChannel Ports
The Channel Ports are seaports in southern England and the facing continent, which allow for short crossings of the English Channel. There is no formal definition, but there is a general understanding of the term. Some ferry companies divide their routes into "short" and "long" crossings...
was urgently needed to maintain the allied armies. By the time that Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
and Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
were liberated, it had become difficult for the 21st Army Group to be supplied adequately. Indeed, one corps—VIII Corps—was withdrawn from active service to free its transport for general use. The 1st Canadian 1st Army was tasked with liberating the ports during its advance along the French coast. The ports involved were Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
, Dieppe
Dieppe, Seine-Maritime
Dieppe is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in France. In 1999, the population of the whole Dieppe urban area was 81,419.A port on the English Channel, famous for its scallops, and with a regular ferry service from the Gare Maritime to Newhaven in England, Dieppe also has a popular pebbled...
, Boulogne, Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
, and Dunkirk, as well as Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
in Belgium. Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
had appreciated their strategic value and had ordered their status as "fortresses" that must receive adequate materiel
Materiel
Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....
for a siege and be held to the last man.
Dieppe was evacuated by the Germans before Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
′s order had been received and, consequently, the Canadians took it with little trouble and with the port installations largely intact. Ostend had been omitted from the Fuhrer Order and was also undefended, although demolitions delayed its use. The other ports were defended to varying degrees, however, and they required substantial work to bring them into use, except for Dunkirk which was sealed off to the rear of the allied advance.
Market Garden
The first operation of the RhinelandRhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
Campaign, Market Garden was commanded by Montgomery and had the objective to secure a bridgehead in the north, at Arnhem
Arnhem
Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
, over the Rhine which would outflank the Siegfried Line.
Market Garden was composed of two distinct parts. Operation Market was to be the largest airborne operation in history, dropping three and a half divisions of U.S., British and Polish paratroopers to capture key bridges and prevent their demolition by the Germans. Operation Garden was a follow up ground attack by the British 2nd Army which would then more heavily garrison the area and relieve the paratroopers for new duties. It was assumed that the German forces would still be in a rout from the previous campaign and opposition would not be very stiff for either operation.
If successful, the Allies would have a direct route into Germany and by-pass German defences farther south. Further, Montgomery would be in a good position to aid with clearing German forces from Western Scheldt
Western Scheldt
The Western Scheldt in the province Zeeland in the southwestern Netherlands, is the estuary of the Scheldt river. This river once had several estuaries, but the others are disconnected from the Scheldt, leaving the Westerschelde as its only direct way to the sea. It is an important shipping route...
. Doing so would allow Antwerp, a major port captured earlier, to be used as well as seizing territory from which the Germans launched V-1 and V-2
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
weapons against London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Antwerp and elsewhere.
Eisenhower approved of Market Garden, giving supply priority to the 21st Army Group and diverted the U.S. 1st Army to the north of the Ardennes
Ardennes
The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and ridges formed within the Givetian Ardennes mountain range, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France , and geologically into the Eifel...
to stage limited attacks to draw German defenders south, away from the target sites.
At first, it went well. The 101st
101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division—the "Screaming Eagles"—is a U.S. Army modular light infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France, Operation Market Garden, the...
and 82nd Airborne Division
U.S. 82nd Airborne Division
The 82nd Airborne Division is an active airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute landing operations. Based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the 82nd Airborne Division is the primary fighting arm of the XVIII Airborne Corps....
s took their objectives at Eindhoven, Veghel
Veghel
Veghel is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands.Since 1994 Veghel and the neighbouring village of Erp have formed a single municipality.Veghel is twinned with Goch in Germany.- Population centres :*Boerdonk*Eerde*Erp*Keldonk...
and Nijmegen. Although their landings outside Arnhem were on target, the British 1st Airborne landing zones were some distance from Arnhem bridge and only on the north side of the river. Problems arose when the British 1st Airborne lost vital equipment—jeeps and heavy anti-tank guns—when gliders crashed. There had also been a severe underestimation of German strength in the area. To make matters worse, poor weather prevented aerial reinforcements and drastically reduced resupply. German resistance to the forces driving to Arnhem was highly effective, and a copy of the Allied battle plan had been captured.
In the end, Market Garden was unsuccessful. The Arnhem bridge was not held and the British paratroops absorbed tremendous casualty rates, approximately 77%.
Battle of the Scheldt
The logistics situation was becoming critical, so opening Antwerp was now among the highest priorities. On 12 September 1944, the Canadian 1st Army—under the command of Lieutenant-General Guy SimondsGuy Simonds
Lieutenant General Guy Granville Simonds, CC, CB, CBE, DSO, CD was a Canadian Army officer who commanded the II Canadian Corps during World War II. He served as acting commander of the First Canadian Army, leading the Allied forces to victory in the Battle of the Scheldt in 1944...
—was given the task of clearing the Scheldt
Scheldt
The Scheldt is a 350 km long river in northern France, western Belgium and the southwestern part of the Netherlands...
of German forces. The 1st Army was the Canadian II Corps, which included the Polish 1st Armoured Division
Polish 1st Armoured Division
The Polish 1st Armoured Division was an Allied military unit during World War II, created in February 1942 at Duns in Scotland. At its peak it numbered approximately 16,000 soldiers...
, the British 49th
British 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division
This military division was formed on 1 April 1908 as the West Riding Division in the Territorial Force of the British Army.- First World War :...
, the 52nd Divisions and the British I Corps.
The task involved four main operations. The first was to clear the area north of Antwerp and secure access to South Beveland. The second was to clear the Breskens
Breskens
Breskens is a harbour town on the Westerschelde in the municipality of Sluis in the province of Zeeland, in the south-western Netherlands. Its population is 4,280 ....
pocket north of the Leopold Canal ("Operation Switchback"). The third—"Operation Vitality"—was the capture of South Beveland. The final phase was the capture of Walcheren
Walcheren
thumb|right|250px|Campveer Tower in Veere, built in 1500Walcheren is a former island in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands at the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. It lies between the Oosterschelde in the north and the Westerschelde in the south and is roughly the shape of a rhombus...
Island, which had been fortified into a powerful German stronghold.
On 21 September 1944, the advance began. The Canadian 4th Armoured Division, moving north toward the south shore of the Scheldt around the Dutch town of Breskens were the first Allied troops to face the formidable obstacle of the double line of the Leopold and Dérivation de la Lys Canals. The canals were crossed and a bridgehead established, but fierce counter-attacks by the Germans forced them to withdraw with heavy casualties. The 1st Polish Armoured Division had greater success, moving northeast to the coast, occupying Terneuzen
Terneuzen
Terneuzen is a city and municipality in the southwestern Netherlands, in the province of Zeeland, in the middle of Zeelandic Flanders. With over 55,000 inhabitants, it is the most populous municipality of Zeeland.-Population centres :...
and clearing the south bank of the Scheldt eastward to Antwerp. It was by then clear, however, that any further advances would be at tremendous cost.
The Canadian 2nd Infantry Division began its advance north from Antwerp on 2 October. Heavy casualties ensued, including the almost total destruction of the Canadian 5th Infantry Brigade
Canadian 5th Infantry Brigade
The 5th Canadian Infantry Brigade was mobilized on 1 September 1939 as part of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. The brigade was formed before the declaration of World War II, and the battalions were promptly fleshed out by volunteers. Further expansion of the brigade was hindered by a...
′s Black Watch Battalion
The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada
The Black Watch of Canada is a reserve infantry regiment in 34 Brigade Group, Land Force Quebec Area. The regiment is located on rue de Bleury in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and is currently commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Bruno Plourde...
on 13 October. However, on 16 October Woensdrecht
Woensdrecht
Woensdrecht is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands.Woensdrecht is mainly known for Woensdrecht Air Base. In 1983 it was decided that the US would station 48 nuclear armed cruise missiles here, unless the USSR would reduce the number of SS-20 missiles to 378. Since the number was...
was taken by the Canadians, following an immense artillery barrage which forced the Germans back. This cut South Beveland and Walcheren
Walcheren
thumb|right|250px|Campveer Tower in Veere, built in 1500Walcheren is a former island in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands at the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. It lies between the Oosterschelde in the north and the Westerschelde in the south and is roughly the shape of a rhombus...
off from the mainland and achieved the objective of the first operation.
Field-Marshal Montgomery issued a directive that made the opening of the Scheldt estuary the top priority. To the east, the British 2nd Army attacked westward to clear the Netherlands south of the Maas River. This helped secure the Scheldt region from an outside counter-attack.
In Operation Switchback, the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division mounted a two-pronged attack, with the Canadian 7th Infantry Brigade crossing the Leopold Canal and the Canadian 9th Infantry Brigade launching an amphibious assault from the coastal side of the pocket. Despite fierce resistance from the Germans, the 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade crossed the Leopold and the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade
8th Canadian Infantry Brigade
The 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade was an infantry formation of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division during World War II-World War II:After training in Britain, the 8th Brigade formed part of the assault forces on D-Day, at Juno Beach...
moved southwards, opening a supply route into the pocket.
Operation Vitality—the third major phase of the Battle of the Scheldt—began on 24 October. The Canadian 2nd Infantry Division began its bridgeheads against South Beveland, but was slowed by mines, mud and strong enemy defences. The British 52nd (Lowland) Division
British 52nd (Lowland) Division
The British 52nd Division was a Territorial Army division that was originally formed as part of the Territorial Force in 1908.- World War I :...
made an amphibious attack
Amphibious warfare
Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...
to get in behind the Germans′ Beveland Canal defensive positions. Thus this formidable defence was outflanked, and the Canadian 6th Infantry Brigade began a frontal attack in assault boats. The engineers were able to bridge the canal on the main road. With the canal line gone, the German defence crumbled and South Beveland was cleared. The third phase of the Battle of the Scheldt was now complete.
The final phase, Operation Infatuate was the attack on the heavily fortified island of Walcheren
Walcheren
thumb|right|250px|Campveer Tower in Veere, built in 1500Walcheren is a former island in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands at the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. It lies between the Oosterschelde in the north and the Westerschelde in the south and is roughly the shape of a rhombus...
at the mouth of the West Scheldt
Scheldt
The Scheldt is a 350 km long river in northern France, western Belgium and the southwestern part of the Netherlands...
. The island′s dykes were breached by attacks from RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
on 3, 7, and 11 October. This flooded the central part of the island, forcing the German defenders onto the high ground and allowing the use of amphibious vehicles. Units of the Canadian 2nd Infantry Division attacked the causeway on 31 October, and after a grim struggle, established a precarious foothold. They were relieved by a battalion of the British 52nd (Lowland) Division. In conjunction with the waterborne attacks, the 52nd continued the advance.
The amphibious landings began on 1 November with units of the British 155th Infantry Brigade landing on a beach in the south-eastern area of Vlissingen. During the next few days, they engaged in heavy street fighting against the German defenders. Also on 1 November, after a heavy naval bombardment by the British Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, troops of 4th Commando Brigade, (with units for 10th Inter Allied Commando, consisting mainly of Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
troops) supported by specialised armoured vehicles of the 79th Armoured Division were landed on both sides of the gap in the sea dyke. Heavy fighting ensued. A smaller force moved south-eastward, toward Vlissingen, while the main force went north-east to clear the northern half of Walcheren to link up with the Canadian troops who had established a bridgehead on the eastern part of the island. Fierce resistance was again offered by German troops defending the area, and fighting continued until 7 November. However, the fighting ended on 8 November after a force of amphibious vehicles entered Middelburg
Middelburg
Middelburg is a municipality and a city in the south-western Netherlands and the capital of the province of Zeeland. It is situated in the Midden-Zeeland region. It has a population of about 48,000.- History of Middelburg :...
, the capital of Walcheren.
Meanwhile, the Canadian 4th Armoured Division had pushed eastwards past Bergen-op-Zoom to Sint Philipsland
Sint Philipsland
Sint Philipsland is a village in the Dutch province of Zeeland. Sint Philpsland is also the name of the island on which the village lies...
where it sank several German vessels in Zijpe harbor. With the approaches to the port of Antwerp free, the fourth phase of the Battle of the Scheldt was completed and on 28 November, the first convoy entered the port of Antwerp.
Veritable and Grenade
Montgomery′s 21st Army Group were tasked with clearing the west bank of the Rhine downstream from the KrefeldKrefeld
Krefeld , also known as Crefeld until 1929, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its centre lying just a few kilometres to the west of the River Rhine; the borough of Uerdingen is situated directly on the Rhine...
area. The approach was for the Canadian 1st Army—strengthened by XXX Corps—to advance south-eastward between the Rhine and Maas rivers while the U.S. 9th Army advanced north eastwards from the Roer. The two armies would meet in the Geldern
Geldern
Geldern ) is a city in the northwest of the federal state North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is part of the district of Cleves, which is part of the Düsseldorfadministrative region.-Location:...
area. The British 2nd Army stayed west of the Maas, apart from two divisions that reinforced the Anglo-Canadian advance, but the German High Command were initially convinced that they were the principle threat and deployed their reserves in anticipation of an assault from Venlo
Venlo
Venlo is a municipality and a city in the southeastern Netherlands, next to the German border. It is situated in the province of Limburg.In 2001, the municipalities of Belfeld and Tegelen were merged into the municipality of Venlo. Tegelen was originally part of the Duchy of Jülich centuries ago,...
.
The two operations were delayed by the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
but they were rescheduled for 8 February 1945. Although the Anglo-Canadian attack (Operation Veritable
Operation Veritable
Operation Veritable was a Second World War pincer movement conducted by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery's 21st Army Group to clear and occupy the land between the Rhine and Maas rivers. It took place between 8 February and 11 March 1945. It was a part of General Dwight Eisenhower's "broad front"...
) started on time, the U.S. one (Operation Grenade
Operation Grenade
During World War II, Operation Grenade was the plan for the U.S. 9th Army to cross the Roer river in February 1945.On 9 February, the U.S...
) was delayed by the threat and then the actuality of flooding by water released from the Roer dams. This delay allowed the Germans to concentrate their defence on the Anglo-Canadian assaults, but they were unable to do much more than to slow it in localised areas. When the Americans were able to advance, some two weeks later, there were few reserves left to face them and they made rapid progress until they encountered the German rearguard near the Rhine.
The two prongs met at Geldern, then pushed towards Rees
Rees
Rees is a Welsh name that traces back to the ancient Celts known as the Britons. The surname was first recorded in Carmarthenshire, and is derived from the personal name Rhys.It may refer to one of these people:...
, finally expelling German forces on 21 March.
Aachen
The U.S. 1st Army was focused on capturing the city of AachenAachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
, which had to be dealt with before advancing on to assault the Siegfried Line itself. Initially, the city of Aachen was to be bypassed and cut off in an attempt by the allies to imitate the Blitzkrieg tactics the Germans had so effectively used (see below). However, the city was the first city to be assaulted on German soil and so had huge historical and cultural significance to the German people. Hitler personally ordered that the garrison there be reinforced and the city held. This forced allied commanders to re-think their strategy.
Some historians, including Stephen Ambrose
Stephen Ambrose
Stephen Edward Ambrose was an American historian and biographer of U.S. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. He was a long time professor of history at the University of New Orleans and the author of many best selling volumes of American popular history...
, have suggested that the siege of Aachen was a mistake. The battle stalled the eastward advance by the Allies and caused approximately 5,000 Allied casualties. The fighting was, by all accounts, brutal street-to-street, house-to-house style urban combat and tied up the available rescources of the advancing Allied armies. Ambrose has suggested that a more effective strategy would have been to have isolated the garrison at Aachen and continue the move east into the heart of Germany. In theory, this would have eliminated the ability of the German garrison in Aachen to operate as a fighting force by cutting off their supply lines. This might have forced the garrison to surrender or to move out of the city in an attempt to re-establish their supply lines. In the case of the latter, a confrontation in a more neutral setting would probably have resulted in fewer military and civilian casualties.
Lorraine
In late August, the U.S. 3rd Army started to find itself running low on fuel. This situation was caused by the rapid Allied advance through France, and compounded by the shift of logistical priority to the northern forces to secure Antwerp. By 1 September 1944, with the last of its fuel, the 3rd Army managed one final push to capture key bridges over the Meuse RiverMeuse River
The Maas or Meuse is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea...
at Verdun and Commercy
Commercy
Commercy is a commune in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.It is the home of the madeleines referred to by Marcel Proust in A la Recherche du Temps Perdu.-History:...
. For five days after, however, the critical supply situation effectively ground the 3rd Army to a halt, allowing previously routed German forces to regroup and the reinforcement of their strongholds in the area.
Soon after, the 3rd Army came against Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
, part of the Maginot Line
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line , named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, and other defences, which France constructed along its borders with Germany and Italy, in light of its experience in World War I,...
and one of the most heavily fortified cities in Western Europe. The city could not be bypassed, as several of its forts had guns directed at Moselle crossing sites and the main roads in the area. It could be also be used as a stronghold to organize a German counter-attack to the 3rd Army′s rear. In the following Battle of Metz
Battle of Metz
The Battle of Metz was a three-month battle fought between the United States Army and the German Army during World War II. It took place at the city of Metz following the Allied breakout after the Normandy landings. The attack on the city by the U.S. Third Army faced heavy resistance from the...
, the 3rd Army, while victorious, took heavy casualties.
Following Metz, the 3rd Army continued eastwards to the Saar River
Saar River
The Saar is a river in northeastern France and western Germany, and a right tributary of the Moselle. It rises in the Vosges mountains on the border of Alsace and Lorraine and flows northwards into the Moselle near Trier. It has two headstreams , that both start near Mont Donon, the highest peak...
and soon began their assault on the Siegfried Line.
Hurtgen Forest
The Hurtgen ForestHurtgen Forest
The Hürtgen forest is located along the border between Belgium and Germany in the southwest corner of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Scarcely in area, the forest lies within a triangle outlined by Aachen, Monschau, and Düren...
was seen as a possible source of incursions into the American flank and the river dams in the area were a threat to the Allied advance downstream, so an assault to clear the area was started on 19 September 1944. The German defence was more stubborn than expected and the terrain was highly favorable to defence, largely negating American advantages in numbers and quality of troops. The battle—expected to last a few weeks—continued until February 1945 and cost 33,000 casualties (from all causes).
The value of the battle has been disputed. Recent historians argue that the outcome was not worth the foreseeable losses and, in any case, the American tactics played into German hands.
Operation Queen
Operation Queen was an Allied combined air-ground offensive against the German forces at the Siegfried Line, which was conducted mainly by the combined effort of the U.S. 9th and 1st Armies. The principal goal of the operation was to advance to the Rur River and to establish several bridgeheads over it, for a subsequent thrust into Germany to the Rhine River. Parts of this operation also included further fighting in the Hurtgen Forest. The offensive commenced on 16 November with one of the heaviest tactical air bombing by the western Allies of the war. Although the German forces were heavily outnumbered, the Allied advance was only very slow. After four weeks of intensive fighting, the Allies reached the Rur, but were not able to establish any bridgeheads over it. Fighting in the Hurtgen Forest also bogged down. The exhaustive fighting during Queen let the Allied troops suffer heavy casualties and eventually the Germans launched their own counteroffensive—Operation Wacht am Rhein—on 16 December, which would lead to the Battle of the BulgeBattle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
.
Winter counter-offensives
Ardennes
The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and ridges formed within the Givetian Ardennes mountain range, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France , and geologically into the Eifel...
and swing North to Antwerp, splitting the American and British armies. The attack started on 16 December in what became known as the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
. Defending the Ardennes were troops of the U.S. 1st Army. After initial successes in bad weather, which gave them cover from the Allied air forces, the Allies launched a counterattack to clear the Germans from the Ardennes. The Germans were eventually pushed back to their starting points by 25 January 1945.
The Germans launched a second, smaller offensive (Nordwind
Operation Nordwind
Operation North Wind was the last major German offensive of World War II on the Western Front. It began on 1 January 1945 in Alsace and Lorraine in northeastern France, and it ended on 25 January.-Objectives:...
) into Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
on 1 January 1945. Aiming to recapture Strasbourg, the Germans attacked the 6th Army Group at multiple points. Because Allied lines had become severely stretched in response to the crisis in the Ardennes, holding and throwing back the Nordwind offensive was a costly affair that lasted almost four weeks. The culmination of Allied counter-attacks restored the front line to the area of the German border and collapsed the Colmar Pocket.
Germany west of the Rhine
The pincer movement of the Canadian 1st Army in Operation VeritableOperation Veritable
Operation Veritable was a Second World War pincer movement conducted by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery's 21st Army Group to clear and occupy the land between the Rhine and Maas rivers. It took place between 8 February and 11 March 1945. It was a part of General Dwight Eisenhower's "broad front"...
advancing from Nijmegen area of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and the U.S. 9th Army crossing the Rur
Rur
The Rur , — not to be confused with the Ruhr — is a river which flows through portions of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. It is a right tributary to the river Meuse...
in Operation Grenade
Operation Grenade
During World War II, Operation Grenade was the plan for the U.S. 9th Army to cross the Roer river in February 1945.On 9 February, the U.S...
was planned to start on 8 February 1945, but it was delayed by two weeks when the Germans flooded the river valley by destroying the dam gates upstream. During the two weeks that the river was flooded, Hitler would not allow Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt
Gerd von Rundstedt
Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt was a Generalfeldmarschall of the German Army during World War II. He held some of the highest field commands in all phases of the war....
to withdraw East behind the Rhine arguing that it would only delay the inevitable fight. Hitler ordered him to fight where his forces stood.
By the time the water had subsided and the U.S. 9th Army was able to cross the Rur on 23 February, other Allied forces were also close to the Rhine′s west bank. Von Rundstedt′s divisions which had remained on the west bank of the Rhine were cut to pieces in the battle of the Rhineland and 280,000 men were taken prisoners. With a large number of men captured, the stubborn German resistance during the Allied campaign to reach the Rhine in February-March 1945 had been costly. Total losses reached an estimated 400,000 men.
Ludendorff Bridge
The Ludendorff Bridge was a railway bridge across the River Rhine in Germany, connecting the villages of Remagen and Erpel between two ridge lines of hills flanking the river...
at Remagen
Remagen
Remagen is a town in Germany in Rhineland-Palatinate, in the district of Ahrweiler. It is about a one hour drive from Cologne , just south of Bonn, the former West German capital. It is situated on the River Rhine. There is a ferry across the Rhine from Remagen every 10–15 minutes in the summer...
, one crossing was a hasty assault, and two crossings were planned.
- General Omar Bradley′s U.S. forces aggressive pursuit of the disintegrating German troops resulted in the capture of the Ludendorff Bridge across the Rhine River at RemagenRemagenRemagen is a town in Germany in Rhineland-Palatinate, in the district of Ahrweiler. It is about a one hour drive from Cologne , just south of Bonn, the former West German capital. It is situated on the River Rhine. There is a ferry across the Rhine from Remagen every 10–15 minutes in the summer...
by the U.S. 1st Army. Bradley and his subordinates quickly exploited the crossing made on 7 March and expanded the bridgehead into a full scale crossing. - Bradley told General George S. PattonGeorge S. PattonGeorge Smith Patton, Jr. was a United States Army officer best known for his leadership while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness.Patton was commissioned in the U.S. Army after his graduation from...
—whose U.S. 3rd Army had been fighting through the Palatinate—to "take the Rhine on the run". The 3rd Army did just that on the night of 22/23 March crossing the river with a hasty assault south of MainzMainzMainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
at OppenheimOppenheimOppenheim is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The town is well known as a wine town, the site of the German Winegrowing Museum and particularly for the wines from the Oppenheimer Krötenbrunnen vineyards.- Location :...
. - In the North, Operation PlunderOperation PlunderCommencing on the night of 23 March 1945 during World War II, Operation Plunder was the crossing of the River Rhine at Rees, Wesel, and south of the Lippe River by the British 2nd Army, under Lieutenant-General Sir Miles Dempsey , and the U.S. Ninth Army , under Lieutenant General William Simpson...
was the crossing of the Rhine river at ReesRees, GermanyRees is a town in the district of Cleves in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the right bank of the Rhine, approx. 20 km east of Cleves...
and WeselWeselWesel is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district.-Division of the town:Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighoven, Ginderich, Feldmark,Fusternberg, Büderich, Flüren and Blumenkamp.-History:...
by the British 21st Army Group on the night of 23/24 March. It included the largest airborne operation in history codenamed Operation VarsityOperation VarsityOperation Varsity was a successful joint American–British airborne operation that took place toward the end of World War II...
. At the point the British crossed the Rhine, it is twice as wide, with a far higher volume of water, than the points where the Americans crossed and Montgomery decided it could only be crossed safely with a carefully planned operation. - In the Allied 6th Army Group area, the U.S. 7th Army assaulted across the Rhine in the area between MannheimMannheimMannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
and WormsWorms, GermanyWorms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
on 26 March. A fifth crossing on a smaller scale was later achieved by the French First Army at SpeyerSpeyerSpeyer is a city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located beside the river Rhine, Speyer is 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Founded by the Romans, it is one of Germany's oldest cities...
.
After crossing the Rhine the Allies fanned out over West Germany (see Western Allied invasion of Germany).