bigpigeon.us webpage WWII - Germany > ETO > Rhineland 1945, updated by RAC 17 May 2022. Incomplete.
By the end of January 1945, Germany forces had given up their gains from the massive Ardennes counteroffensive of December and retreated back to the defensive fortifications known as the Siegfried Line or West Wall.
The Western Allies Rhineland Campaign, suspended in mid-December 1944, then resumed.
General Eisenhower, commanding Allied ground forces, envisaged a two-step approach to taking the war to the German heartland east of the Rhine River.
I have broken the massive Rhineland Campaign of the late winter 1945 into four components:
Links to The Rhineland 1945 subordinate webpages: (to be removed)
By the end of January 1945, Germany forces had given up their gains from the massive Ardennes counteroffensive of December and retreated back to the defensive fortifications known as the Siegfried Line or West Wall.
The Western Allies Rhineland Campaign, suspended in mid-December 1944, then resumed.
General Eisenhower, commanding Allied ground forces, envisaged a two-step approach to taking the war to the German heartland east of the Rhine River.
- First the seven armies under his command would secure the entire west bank of the Rhine.
- Then a massive crossing of the lower Rhine would deposit a large mobile force on the east bank. That force could then race across the north German plain and meet Soviet forces advancing from the east.
- The First Army seized a bridge across the Rhine on 7 March.
- The Third Army crossed the Rhine by boat at multiple locations late in March.
I have broken the massive Rhineland Campaign of the late winter 1945 into four components:
- North Rhineland, February-March 1945 - the Ninth and First Armies in February and early March.
- Mid Rhineland, February 1945 - the Third Army.
- Mid Rhineland March 1945 - the First and Third Armies in early March.
- South Rhineland March 1945 - the Seventh and Third Armies in mid and late March.
Links to The Rhineland 1945 subordinate webpages: (to be removed)
- Ninth & First Armies - during the Rhineland Campaign, advanced to the lower Rhine between Wesel and Remagen.
- Third & Seventh Armies - during the Rhineland Campaign, advanced to the middle Rhine between Coblenz and Mannheim.
In early February, the western Allies faced two physical obstacles as they began major offensive action eastwards against the Wehrmacht:
At the beginning of February, Allied lines were generally near the Westwall with two exceptions:
The Rhineland Campaign's goal in early 1945 was to break through the Siegfried Line and occupy the left bank of the Rhine. This would be followed by a Rhine crossing in the northern Rhineland. |
The Rhineland Campaign Overview
The arrows on the accompanying Canadian map show the major actions of the seven Allied armies during the Rhineland Campaign, starting on 8 February. The heavy dashed line shows the situation on 23 March 1945, with three Rhine crossings already in place. US sources generally use 21 March as the Rhineland Campaign ending date. My report ETO Ground Forces Outline includes the corps that comprised each of the four United States armies during February and March 1945. General Eisenhower preferred to capture all of the Rhine's left bank before attempting a crossing. Crossing plans were based on a massive amphibious and airborne operation in the vicinity of Wesel at the top of the map. Thus the Rhineland Campaign was initially planned with the future Wesel crossing in mind, with priority to Montgomery's 21st Army Group in the north. Bradley's 12th Army Group in the middle was initially cast in a supporting role. Dever's 6th Army Group in the south was recovering from recent battles and did not participate in the Rhineland Campaign until mid March. As the Rhineland Campaign progressed, events caused drastic changes in the original plans. Apropros of this, it was General Eisenhower who passed into common parlance the saying "Plans are worthless, but planning is everything". |
I conceptualize the Rhineland Campaign of 1945 as consisting of three phases. To demark each phase, I've used the date on the accompanying map.
First Phase, 8 Feb - 5 Mar 1945, Advance past the Roer River in the north & the Siegfried Line in the middle.
Summary of US Army major actions:
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Second Phase, 6 - 10 Mar 1945, Close to the Rhine in the North, breakout in the middle:
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Third Phase, 11-24 Mar 1945, Clear the Palatinate and Saarland in the south:
Ninth Army prepared for the pending Rhine Crossing. First Army prepared for a breakout from the Remagen Bridgehead. Third Army bridged the Moselle River in various locations and raced southeast, both to different Rhine crossing sites and to support the Seventh Army offensive. Seventh Army's offensive , Operation Undertone, began on 15 March. Note on the accompanying map that Seventh Army still had to advance through northeastern Alsace, and then through the Siegfried Line. Considering these difficulties, the Seventh Army turned over additional portions of the Palatinate to the Third Army. The revised army boundary passed through Kaiserslautern as shown on the accompanying map. Operation Undertone, the official Seventh Army offensive, began on 15 March and ended on 24 March. |
The Rhineland Campaign Ends
When the Rhineland Campaign officially ended on 21 March 1945, the Western Allies front lines lay on the Rhine River with two exceptions:
In the next two days, two new Allied bridgeheads would appear on the east bank of the Rhine:
The final European Theater campaign of WW II, the Central Europe Campaign, officially began on 22 March 1945. |
Sources for the WW II - The Rhineland Campaign 1945 webpage:
- My major source for the Rhineland Campaign was The Last Offensive by Charles B. MacDonald, on-line at https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-E-Last/index.html#index.
- The The Westwall & the Rhine River map is courtesy of https://www.vewa-ev.de.
- The Rhineland Campaign Overview map is courtesy of the Canadian website tothosewhoserved.org.
- The Sixteen German Federal States index map is courtesy of the Nations Online Project. (not being used)
- The Siegfried Line Smashed, Eifel Plateau Overrun, and Palatine Cleared maps are courtesy of the United States Military Academy.
- The End of the Official Rhineland Campaign map is courtesy of the United States Military Academy. I do not believe the death figures in small type are all correct.