Introduction to Final Western Campaigns of World War II
Battle of the Bulge. Germany staged its last great attack in December, 1944, when Rundstedt again struck through the Ardennes, scene of the 1940 triumph. Again that area was lightly defended; four divisions were stretched out over a 75-mile (120-km) front to permit offensive concentrations elsewhere. Against the four, Rundstedt brought up 24 divisions. Bad weather prevented air observations of his moves, making his attack a surprise.
The Germans broke through Allied defenses on December 16, causing a great bulge in the battle lines. The quick breakthrough threatened huge Allied supply dumps and even the port of Antwerp. The Seventh Armored Division delayed the Germans at St. Vith and the 101st Airborne Division was rushed to the key point of Bastogne. Although surrounded, the 101st refused to give in. Its acting commander, Brigadier General Anthony C. McAuliffe, replied to a German surrender demand with a single word: "Nuts!"
Patton's Third Army was brought up from the south against the southern flank of the Bulge, while the First Army and the British XXX Corps drove in from the north. Patton's moves were speedy. Two corps were in line by December 22. One of his divisions, the Fifth, was fighting along the Saar River on the morning of December 20; by night it was fighting 69 miles (111 km) away on the Sauer River. The Fourth Armored Division reached Bastogne on December 26 and the Germans were forced to retreat. They lost 120,000 men and 600 tanks.
Final Campaign In Italy, 1944-45
On January 22, 1944, a landing was made at Anzio behind the German lines. It failed to gain any immediate results as German forces held the invaders to a narrow beachhead. Hard fighting in March failed to shake German defenses along the Cassino line, but a heavy attack launched May 11 broke through. Cassino was occupied on May 18. An attack from Anzio on May 23 aided the advance on Rome, which was taken on June 4. The Germans fell back toward Lake Trasimeno.
After the fall of Rome on June 4, 1944, many French and American units were withdrawn from the Italian front to prepare for the landing in southern France in August. Many small units of varied nationalities were assigned to the Italian front. A Brazilian division was in line late in 1944. A Polish division had been notable in the fighting on the Cassino line. Besides American, British, French, and Italian forces, there were also Canadians, New Zealanders, South Africans, Indians, Greeks, Moroccans, Algerians, Arabs, and Senegalese.
A group of Americans of Japanese descent, mostly from Hawaii, organized as the 442nd Infantry Regiment, captured Turin in the final drive. The 92nd, made up of black Americans, was also in the final campaign.
In December, 1944, Field Marshal Sir Harold R. L. G. Alexander replaced Wilson as commander in the Mediterranean. General Clark took command of the 15th Army Group, and General Lucian K. Truscott of the Fifth Army. The British Eighth Army was commanded by Lieutenant General Sir R. L. McCreery.
Final Allied OffensivePursuit of the retreating German armies in the summer of 1944 was halted when the Germans reached the Gothic Line, an elaborately prepared defense system 150 miles (240 km) north of Rome. After three months of fighting, beginning on September 10, the line was finally penetrated. Mountain fighting against a German defensive line covering Bologna continued through the winter, and on April 9, 1945, a new offensive struck into the Po valley. From Bologna the Allied forces spread out over northern Italy, taking Milan on April 29, and seizing Venice, Trieste, the Brenner Pass, and Genoa. The German armies in Italy surrendered on May 2, 1945.
Final Russian Campaign, 1944-45
FinlandThe Soviet Union opened its summer campaign of 1944 on June 9 with an attack on Finland. The Mannerheim Line was broken on June 18 and Viipuri was captured. Finland signed an armistice on September 4.
Offensive Against GermanyHitler was convinced that the next great Soviet offensive would be in the southern part of the Eastern Front, with the goal of seizing the Balkan states and their important resources. Accordingly, he moved much of his strength away from the center of the front in Byelorussia and put it in the south. The Soviets, however, were planning an attack in the center.
Beginning on June 22, three years to the day after Germany had invaded the Soviet Union, the Soviets sent four army groups, led by Marshal Zhukov, against the central front. The capture of Vitebsk within two days shattered the Germans' defensive line, resulting in the encirclement and capture of about 158,000 German troops. Minsk was freed on July 3. The Germans were now in full retreat westward. By August 1, the Soviet troops were nearing Warsaw. The Soviets, together with the Polish government-in-exile, called for a rebellion in the city, and Polish patriots, having been led to expect Soviet aid, staged an uprising. The Soviets provided only token assistance, and the revolt was crushed by the Germans.
Near Idritsa, Soviet troops led by General Andrei Y. Yeremenko attacked the Germans on July 11, and troops led by General Ivan Maslennikov attacked a week later. Pskov was taken on July 23, and Kaunas on August 1, but the Germans rallied in Latvia and Estonia and halted the Soviet drive.
In the BalkansAn offensive launched against Romania in August quickly knocked that nation out of the war. Romania signed an armistice on August 23 and two days later declared war on Germany. On September 5 the Soviet Union declared war on Bulgaria. Three days later Bulgaria, without waiting to surrender to the Soviets, declared war on Germany. The Soviet Union granted Bulgaria an armistice on September 9 and formal surrender papers were signed on October 28.
Meanwhile, on October 20, Soviet troops aided by Yugoslav guerrillas had captured Belgrade. Tolbukhin and Malinovsky drove into Hungary and besieged Budapest on November 6. Resistance ended there on February 13, 1945.
Soviet Invasion of GermanyDuring September, Estonia and Latvia were cleared of German troops. On October 13 Chernyakhovsky crossed the border of East Prussia—the Soviet Union's first advance onto German soil. In January, 1945, the Russians launched a drive on the central front and took Warsaw on the 17th. Zhukov and Konev reached the Oder River in February, but the fortress of Kuestrin held out until March 12. Danzig was taken on March 30, Königsberg (Kaliningrad) on April 9, and Vienna on April 13.
The Capture of BerlinThe armies of Zhukov and Konev opened a drive on Berlin on April 16. They reached the outer limits of the city on April 21, and took Cottbus on April 23. The Russians and Germans fought street by street until May 2, when the city surrendered.
Hitler committed suicide on April 30. Mussolini was captured by Italian partisans and put to death on April 28.
The Surrender of Germany
Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz, who succeeded Hitler as head of the German state, accepted unconditional surrender. He sent Colonel General Alfred Jodl and General Admiral Hans Georg von Friedeburg to General Eisenhower's headquarters in Reims. There Jodl signed the final surrender document on May 7, effective May 8. On May 9 Friedeburg, Field Marshal General Wilhelm Keitel, and General Hans Jürgen Stumpff signed a similar document in Marshal Zhukov's headquarters in Berlin.