bigpigeon.us webpage WWII-Germany > The ETO > Central Europe > The ETO, 4 April 1945, © 2023 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 9 Nov 2022.
​Below is a summary of ETO front line organization on 4 April 1945, including army groups, armies and corps.
ETO Overview, late March and early April 1945:
  • By the last week in March, combat in the European Theater had moved east beyond the Rhine River.
  • On 28 March, General Dwight Eisenhower, the supreme commander of Allied forces in the European Theater, addressed his plans for the ETO advance eastward through central Germany. Dashing General Montgomery's expectations, the main effort would be from Bradley's US 12th Army Group rather than Montgomery's British 21st Army Group.
  • On 1 April, US forces achieved a major goal, encircling the Ruhr industrial area.
  • On 4 April, the US Ninth Army was transferred from the British 21st Army Group back to the US 12th Army Group.
The ETO - 4 April 1945
The ETO, 4 April 1945
Scalable Version of above Map
The ETO Order of Battle, 4 April 1945
(front-line units are generally listed clockwise from northwest)
​(not checked against the situation map)
21st Army Group – (Montgomery)
Canadian First Army (Crerar)
  • Canadian I Corps
  • Canadian II Corps
British Second Army (Dempsey)
  • British XXX Corps
  • British XII Corps
  • British VIII Corps
Commentary, 21st Army Group:
Canadian First Army:
  • ​British I Corps, performing rear-area duties in the Antwerp area, left the Canadian First Army 1 April 1945.

12th Army Group – (Bradley)
US Ninth Army (Simpson), reverted from 21st to 12th Army Group 4 April 1945.
  • XIII Corps Gillem)
  • XIX Corps (McLain)
  • XVI Corps (Anderson) 
US First Army (Hodges) 
  • XVIII Airborne Corps (Ridgway)
  • VII Corps (Collins) 
  • III Corps (Van Fleet) 
  • V Corps (Huebner) 
US Third Army (Patton)
  • XX Corps (Walker)
  • VIII Corps (Middleton)
  • XII Corps (Eddy)
US Fifteenth Army (Gerow) - rear area duties
  • XXII Corps (Harmon) - on left bank of Rhine across from the Ruhr in early April 1945.
  • XXIII Corps (Van Fleet 6 February --> Gaffey 17 March 1945)
Commentary - 12th Army Group:
Third Army:
  • XII Corps:  Eddy --> Irwin April 1945.
Seventh Army:
The Seventh Army, rather than the Fifteenth Army, was chosen to be the US Army of Occupation in Germany.
Fifteenth Army:
1- After the Ruhr pocket collapsed in mid-April, the Fifteenth Army assumed military government duties thusly in what was called the Rhine Province Military District:
  • XXII Corps - Düsseldorf-Aachen-Cologne area.
  • XXIII Corps - Trier-Koblenz area.
2 - Gerow --> Patton 14 October 1945.

6th Army Group – (Devers)
US Seventh Army (Patch) 
  •  XV Corps (Haislip)
  • XXI Corps (Milburn) 
  •  VI Corps (Brooks)
French First Army (de Lattre)
  • French Second Corps
  • French First Corps, on left bank of Rhine protecting right flank of ETO line.
Commentary - 6th Army Group:
US Seventh Army:
The Seventh Army became the army of occupation in Germany, and then the US army based in Germany during the Cold War.
French First Army:
  • French First Corps was the last combat corps to cross the Rhine, crossing near Strasbourg 15 April.
The ETO Situation Map,  4 April 1945
In the 12th Army Group's 4 April 1945 situation map, note the conspicuous Ruhr Pocket in the upper middle.

Some US Ninth and First Army units were charged with reducing the Ruhr Pocket. Most other Allied ground forces were past the Rhine River advancing in a generally eastward direction into Germany.

About the ETO situation maps:
  • It's not likely that a situation map will interest the casual Big Pigeon visitor.
  • The 12th Army Group's situation maps generally include the other ETO army groups.
  • You can browse day-by-day through the situation maps by opening the scalable version.
  • These ETO situation maps are courtesy of the Library of Congress.
The ETO Situation Map, 4 April 1945
The ETO Situation Map, 4 April 1945
Scalable Version of Above Map
Sources for Big Pigeon's The ETO > Central Europe > The ETO, 4 April 1945 webpage:  ​Sources specific to this webpage: