The Battle of the Reichswald

The Battle of the Reichswald PDF Author: Tim Saunders
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1399010891
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
During winter 1944/45 few German officers believed that the Allies would attack the wooded Reichswald Plug on the narrow neck of land between the rivers Rhine and Maas. Consequently, relying on the natural defenses of the forest, the vaunted Siegfried Line had been allowed to peter out. The 84th Infantry Division held field defenses that had been worked on all autumn, but the defenders were thinly spread, and most German soldiers now faced the certainty of defeat. Originally hoping to use the frozen winter ground for a speedy assault, days before Operation VERITABLE began a thaw set in and the Allies faced attacking in the worst possible ground conditions. On the morning of 8 February, after protracted bombardment, delays multiplied as vehicles became bogged in saturated fields and shell holes, and roads broke up under heavy armor. However, just enough assault engineer equipment reached the outer German defenses, where they found the enemy infantry largely stunned by the bombardment. It took all of the first day to break through the mud and defenses into the Reichswald, while to the north, Canadians and Scots struggled across equally sodden open country with the Rhine floods rising fast. Despite the conditions, overnight the Canadians took to the flood waters to seize what were now island villages and the Scots dashed to capture the vital Materborn, which overlooked Kleve. With heavy rain compounding difficulties, mud and flood waters made movement of men and supplies increasingly difficult. Despite this and the arrival of German reinforcements, the Allies fought their way forward, forcing the Reichswald Plug and opening the way into the Rhineland and the final phases of the war.

The Battle of the Reichswald

The Battle of the Reichswald PDF Author: Tim Saunders
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1399010891
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
During winter 1944/45 few German officers believed that the Allies would attack the wooded Reichswald Plug on the narrow neck of land between the rivers Rhine and Maas. Consequently, relying on the natural defenses of the forest, the vaunted Siegfried Line had been allowed to peter out. The 84th Infantry Division held field defenses that had been worked on all autumn, but the defenders were thinly spread, and most German soldiers now faced the certainty of defeat. Originally hoping to use the frozen winter ground for a speedy assault, days before Operation VERITABLE began a thaw set in and the Allies faced attacking in the worst possible ground conditions. On the morning of 8 February, after protracted bombardment, delays multiplied as vehicles became bogged in saturated fields and shell holes, and roads broke up under heavy armor. However, just enough assault engineer equipment reached the outer German defenses, where they found the enemy infantry largely stunned by the bombardment. It took all of the first day to break through the mud and defenses into the Reichswald, while to the north, Canadians and Scots struggled across equally sodden open country with the Rhine floods rising fast. Despite the conditions, overnight the Canadians took to the flood waters to seize what were now island villages and the Scots dashed to capture the vital Materborn, which overlooked Kleve. With heavy rain compounding difficulties, mud and flood waters made movement of men and supplies increasingly difficult. Despite this and the arrival of German reinforcements, the Allies fought their way forward, forcing the Reichswald Plug and opening the way into the Rhineland and the final phases of the war.

The Battle of the Reichswald - Rhineland

The Battle of the Reichswald - Rhineland PDF Author: Tim Saunders
Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
ISBN: 9781399016872
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
During winter 1944/45 few German officers believed that the Allies would attack the wooded Reichswald Plug on the narrow neck of land between the rivers Rhine and Maas. Consequently, relying on the natural defences of the forest, the vaunted Siegfried Line had been allowed to peter out. The 84th Infantry Division held field defences that had been worked on all autumn, but the defenders were thinly spread, and most German soldiers now faced the certainty of defeat. Originally hoping to use the frozen winter ground for a speedy assault, days before Operation VERITABLE began a thaw set in and the Allies faced attacking in the worst possible ground conditions. On the morning of 8 February, after protracted bombardment, delays multiplied as vehicles became bogged in saturated fields and shell holes, and roads broke up under heavy armour. However, just enough assault engineer equipment reached the outer German defences, where they found the enemy infantry largely stunned by the bombardment. It took all of the first day to break through the mud and defences into the Reichswald, while to the north, Canadians and Scots struggled across equally sodden open country with the Rhine floods rising fast. Despite the conditions, overnight the Canadians took to the flood waters to seize what were now island villages and the Scots dashed to capture the vital Materborn, which overlooked Kleve. With heavy rain compounding difficulties, mud and flood waters made movement of men and supplies increasingly difficult. Despite this and the arrival of German reinforcements, the Allies fought their way forward, forcing the Reichswald Plug and opening the way into the Rhineland and the final phases of the war.

The Rhineland 1945

The Rhineland 1945 PDF Author: Ken Ford
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 9781841762760
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Known as the last great 'stand-up fight' of the Second World War (1939-1945), the battle for the Rhineland was brutal in the extreme. Eisenhower's 'broad front' policy called for the whole of the Rhineland to be taken before pushing his troops across the Rhine and into Germany itself. The Germans opened the Roer dams in a vain bid to temper this massive Allied offensive and this called for a drastic change in tactics. The ensuing battle was characterised by amphibious assaults on the fortified villages of the flooded Rhine lowlands, frontal assaults on the much vaunted Siegfried Line and the grim fighting for the Reichswald Forest. It was to be 'the last great killing ground in the west'.

Battle of the Reichswald

Battle of the Reichswald PDF Author: Peter Elstob
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780356034607
Category : Reichswald, Battle of the, 1945
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description


The Rhineland 1945

The Rhineland 1945 PDF Author: Ken Ford
Publisher: Greenwood
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 104

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Book Description
In early 1945 Allied Armies attempted to enter Germany by seizing the west bank of the Rhine. The Germans opened the Roer dams and the ensuing battle was characterized by amphibious attacks, frontal assaults on the much vaunted Siegfried Line and grim fighting for the Reichswald Forest.

Battle of the Reichswald

Battle of the Reichswald PDF Author: Peter Elstob
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780345279019
Category : Reichswald, Battle of the, 1945
Languages : en
Pages : 159

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Book Description


Breaking the Siegfried Line

Breaking the Siegfried Line PDF Author: Tim Saunders
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1399055305
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
In this second of Tim Saunders’ volumes on the opening stage of the 1945 Rhineland Campaign, the focus is to the north of the Reichswald, on the flood plain of the River Rhine and a narrow strip of slightly higher ground. Amidst the rapidly rising flood waters, 3rd Canadian Division earned the nickname ‘The Water Rats’ as they fought to clear villages and dykes, while on their right, the 15th Scottish Division fought through the Germans’ outer defenses with tanks becoming deeply bogged before facing the Siegfried Line defenses. Even though deceived by a faulty estimate of allied intent, German resistance to the Guards armored Brigade, the specialist assault vehicles of 79th armored Division and the Scottish infantry, was stiff as they broke through the anti-tank ditches and bunkers. Aiming to maintain momentum, General Horrocks, the commander of XXX Corps, released 43rd Wessex Division and 8 armored Brigade into the narrow corridor between the floods and the Reichswald, which resulted in a terrible traffic jam. Despite this, the West Country soldiers and tanks were soon in the badly bombed ruins of Kleve, the first substantial German city to be taken by the British. German reaction to the attack on the ‘Reichswald plug’ was to send their surviving panzer and panzergrenadier formations south into counter attacks to blunt the allied offensive that was poised to spill out into the Rhineland.

The Battle for the Rhineland

The Battle for the Rhineland PDF Author: Reginald William Thompson
Publisher: London : Hutchinson
ISBN:
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 270

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Book Description
Bogen beskriver slagene vest for Nedre Rhin i november-december 1944 og de første måneder af 1945. Kampen om Rhinlandet; Rhinen; Reichwald; Schmidt; Heinsland.

Rhineland

Rhineland PDF Author: W. Denis Whitaker
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780773722972
Category : Guerre, 1939-1945 (Mondiale, 2e) - Campagnes et batailles - Rhin, Vallée du
Languages : en
Pages : 422

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Book Description


Battle for the Bocage: Normandy 1944

Battle for the Bocage: Normandy 1944 PDF Author: Tim Saunders
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1526784246
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 441

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Book Description
This WWII military study examines the combat experiences of three Allied divisions charged with spearheading the invasion of Normandy. To lead the charge into France after the Normandy landings, General Montgomery brought three veteran desert formations back from the Mediterranean. They were the 50th Infantry and 7th Armored divisions, plus 4th Armored Brigade. Their task beyond the beaches was to push south to Villers Bocage with armor on the evening of D-Day in order to disrupt German counter-attacks on the beachhead. Difficulties on 50th Division’s beaches allowed time for German reinforcements to arrive in Normandy. As a result, 4th Armored Brigade was firmly blocked just south of Point 103 after an advance of less than five miles. A major counter-attack by Panzer Lehr failed, as did a renewed British attempt, this time by the vaunted 7th Armored Division, which was halted at Tilly sur Seulles. From here the fighting became a progressively attritional struggle in the hedgerows of the Bocage country south of Bayeux. More units were drawn into the fighting, which steadily extended west. Finally, an opportunity to outflank the German defenses via the Caumont Gap allowed 7th Armored Division to reach Villers Bocage. There then followed what the battalions of 50th Division describe as their ‘most unpleasant period of the war’, in bitter fighting, at often very close quarters, for the ‘next hedgerow’.