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D-Day: The Invasion of Normandy
The invasion of Normandy had three phases. In the first phase, paratropps were dropped from planes to cause disrupt. This was partly unsuccesfull. Many soldiers did not land on target, or in water, or in front of German machine guns. The second phase included bombers bombing German communication lines, therefore, slowing their movements. The third phase waa a normal invasion. Millions of soldeirs landed through ships and took control of everything and started advancing deeper into the contry. -
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Breakout from Normandy
Even though there were way more Allied soldiers than Germans, the later put up such stiff fight that it took a whole month for the Allies to capture a city that would guarantee the allies reliable supplies. Throughout the next months, the allies kept advacing and the Germans kept retreating. In the end, after a leadership rearrangment, 50000 enemy soldiers surrendered to the allies. -
Liberation of Parris
The allied forces from Normandy combined with the allied forces that had landed in southern France, made the German position in France impossible to maintain. Soon, the underground freedom movement in Parris made an uprising against the Germans, causing Hitler to give orders that Parris should be burned down. The German military general in France however, turned on Hitler, made a deal with the French rebels, and quietly surrendered to the U.S. and France. -
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Operation Market-Garden
German forces were retreating eastward while the allies took over the western Europe. American General Eisenhower and Britsh Field Marshal Montgomery disagreed about the better way to fight. Eisenhower wanted to attack slowly and strongly while Montgomery wanted quick attacks and take overs. So, he planned an attack to take over the bridge on Rhine River at the city of Arnhem, in the Netherlands. He underestimated the Germans and of 10000 soldiers that he took with him, only 2000 returned. -
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Allied Offensive in the Saar Valley
While rest of the army was clearing the Germans from the North, General Patton and his Third Army was trying to go thorugh the West Wall, a series of defensies between France and Germany. This was going to take place with another allie attack up North but when weather caused this attack to be delayed, Patton continued woth his plans anyway. By December, he reached the West Wall and got past it defeating the Germans there. For the first time, allied troops were on German soil. -
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The Battle of the Bulge
Hitler's coounterattack to the allies was to create a wedge between the allie troops in Low Countries and those in France and eventually capture the city of Antwerp, an important supply route for the allies. The Germans attacked and within days penetrated deep within Allied territory. A big American army was traped by the Germans in a near town. So Eisenhower called off the advance toward Rhine and Patton's army rushed to help. Germans were traped and after suffering heavy causalties, retreated. -
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Allied Advance toward the Rhine
Ruhr Valley—home to most of Germany’s heavy industry—became a primary target while allies were moving to Rhine. Eisenhower wanted the region to be enveloped from two sides. Montgomery approached the Rhine in the north, while General Bradley was to come up from the south. The II Canadian Corps headed east, but soon became embroiled in bitter fighting. They joined up with the U.S. Army, and both of them cleared the Reichswald of enemy troops. Allies reached the Rhine but could not cross the river. -
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First Crossings of the Rhine
When the allies arrived at Rhine, the Germans had destroyed all the bridges and possible ways of crossing the river. In the end, Americans found a bridge that the Germans had missed and started crossing it immedietly. But after many attempts, the Germans destroyd that one, too, but by that time, Americans had managed to built two more bridges across the river and the British had built bridges of thier own in the north to ensure continued flow supplies for the allies. -
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Closing of the Ruhr Pocket
When the allies crossed the Rhine, they started going around the enemy armies, rather than try a head-on battle. This meant that a huge portion of the German army was trapped. Realizing the hopelessness of the situation, the German commander of the army commited suicide and some 325000 soldiers surrendered. Now, the allies started their conquest of western Germany. They still encountered small resistants but the surender of the German army destroyed Germany as an effective force in the west. -
Eisenhower’s Order to Halt at the Elbe
Allies were conquering Germany rapidly. British generals wanted to capture Berlin and end the Nazi rule. Eisenhower, wanted the Soviet trrops to get there and seize control of Berlin because that is what Stalin wanted and Eisenhower did not want to offend the Soviet leader. He forbid all the allie commanders to attack Berlin. Also, Eisenhower had heard that Hitler was making his last stand in the Alps, so Eisenhower wanted to take his forces in the South. -
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The Battle of Berlin
Since 1943, the Soviet had been pushing into Germany. By January 1945, the Russians were on German soil. Hitler knew that Berlin would be under attack any time and he built a formidable ring of defences around the city. On 21 April, the Soviet army broke into Berlin, and after two weeks of street fighting, Hitler committed suicide. On May 2, Berlin officially surrendered. This cost the Russians 300000 men and they captured about 450000 Germans. Five days later, the German government surrendred. -
First Meeting of Soviet and American Troops at Torgau
By late April most of Germany was in Allied hands, with the British in the northwest, the Americans in the southwest, and the Soviets moving in from the East toward Berlin. On April 25 elements of the 273rd U.S. Infantry Regiment encountered the 175th Soviet Rifle Regiment in the town of Torgau, northeast of Leipzig, which the Americans had captured only a few days earlier. A brief celebration ensued, as everyone knew that the war in Europe would not last much longer.
