bigpigeon.us webpage  WWII Germany > The ETO > Central Europe > Southern Germany, © 2023 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 20 Dec 2022.

During April and May 1945, most roster casualties in Central Europe were incurred by the Seventh and Third Armies in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria in southern Germany.
​During the second part of April 1945 and the first week of May:
  • The First Canadian and  Second British Armies continued advancing northward through low-lying terrain towards the North Sea and the Danish Border.
  • The US Ninth and First Armies remained largely stationary, already having neared the Elbe-? demarcation line with Soviet forces.
  • The US Third, US Seventh, and First French Armies generally moved in a southerly direction through southern Germany and into portions of Czechoslovakia and Austria.
European Theater, 19 April - 8 May
European Theater, 19 April - 8 May
Scalable Version of the above Map
Alternative Scalable Version of above Map
With the suicide of Adolf Hitler in Berlin on 30 April followed by the fall of Berlin to Soviet forces, Germany military leaders could safely begin to begin planning an unconditional surrender to the Allies.
​Southern Germany Campaign Timeline
3 Apr 1945 US 45th Infantry Division captured Aschaffenburg, Germany.
5 Apr 1945 French First Army captured Karlsruhe, Germany.
8 Apr 1945 US Seventh Army captured Pforzheim in southwestern Germany.
11 Apr 1945 US Third Army captured Weimar, Germany and US Seventh Army reached Schweinfurt.
12 Apr 1945 In southwestern Germany, French troops captured Baden-Baden and US troops captured Heilbronn.
14 Apr 1945 In Germany, US Third Army captured Bayreuth and Gera.
15 Apr 1945 French First Army captured Kehl and Offenburg, Germany. On the same day, Dwight Eisenhower ordered US 3rd Army under George Patton and US 6th Army Group under Jacob Devers to make a thrust toward Austria.
16 Apr 1945 US troops reached the outskirts of Nürnberg, Germany.
17 Apr 1945 US troops captured the rail marshaling yard and airport of Nürnberg, Germany.
18 Apr 1945 US troops began fighting in the old city section of Nürnberg, Germany; meanwhile, US 3rd Army sent units across the Czechoslovakian border.
20 Apr 1945 US Seventh Army captured Nürnberg, Germany.
21 Apr 1945 French First Army captured Stuttgart, Germany.
22 Apr 1945 US Seventh Army established a bridgehead across the Danuber River in southern Germany, while US Third Army began moving south through the Danube Valley. To the west, French First Army reached the Swiss-German border.
24 Apr 1945 US Seventh Army crossed the Danube River to capture Ulm, Germany. Also in southern Germany, US 3rd Army reached the Danube River.
29 Apr 1945 US troops arrived at the outskirts of München, Germay. To the west, French First Army captured Freidrichshafen.
30 Apr 1945 US troops captured München, Germany. 50 kilometers to the northeast, at Moosburg, US Third Army freed over 100,000 prisoners of war.
3 May 1945 US Third Army crossed the Inn River in Germany.
4 May 1945 US Seventh Army occupied Innsbruck, Berchtesgaden, Germany and Salzburg, Austria.
5 May 1945 US Third Army captured Karlsbad and Pilsen in occupied Czechoslovakia.
You can locate the larger cities mentioned in the timeline on the following map.
Southern GermanySouthern Germany
Enlargable Version of the above Map
​Sources for Big Pigeon's The ETO > Central Europe > Southern Germany webpage:
  • Central Europe: 22 March--11 May 1945, by Edward M. Bedessem
  • Southern Germany Campaign Timeline, text, excerpted from https://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=322, C/O Peter Chen's World War II Database, https://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=322.
  • Southern Germany, map, https://www.dreamstime.com/germany-map-southern-germany-high-detailed-vector-map-german-inscription-germany-map-southern-germany-high-detailed-image139903126
Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead - The ETO > Central Europe > Southern Germany:
  • Taken from the bigpigeon.us WWII Dead module.
03-08 - The ETO > Central Europe > Southern Germany: (10 dead, updated 27 January 2024)
  • Note that all deaths were from Third and Seventh Army personnel.
† Browning, William Albert, SN 37-489-019, US Army, Shelby Co.
  • Co. K, 22nd Inf. Regt., 4th Inf. Div., XXI Corps, Seventh Amy; KIA 5 Apr 1945 near Ochsenfurt, SE of Würzburg, Bavaria, Germany; The ETO > Central Europe > Southern Germany.
† Cutler, Donald Lee, SN 39-603-009, US Army, Pott. Co.
  • Co. E, 254th Inf. Regt., 63rd Inf. Div., VI Corps, Seventh Army; KIA 8 Apr 1945 near Weißbach, SW of Würzburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany; The ETO > Central Europe > Southern Germany.
† Fintel, Hubert Alvin, SN 36-829-180, US Army, Milwaukee Co., WI
  • 56th Armored Inf. Bn., 12th Armored Div., XXI Corps, Seventh Army; KIA 15 Apr 1945 west of Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany; The ETO > Central Europe > Southern Germany.
† Hartwig, Harold William, SN 37-260-353, US Army, Pott. Co.
  • Co. I, 357th Inf. Regt., 90th Inf. Div., XII Corps, Third Army; KIA 18 Apr 1945, SE Germany, near Schwartzenbach & Hof, Bavaria; The ETO > Central Europe > Southern Germany.
† Kitson, Donald Edgar, SN 37-750-237, US Army, Audubon Co.
  • Co. A, 61st Armored Inf. Bn., 10th Armored Div., VI Corps, Seventh Army; KIA 8 Apr 1945 near Wolpertshausen, E of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany; Battle of Heilbronn - The ETO > Central Europe > Southern Germany.
† Macalister, Bruce Richard, SN O-444938, US Army, Douglas Co., NE
  • C.O., Co. K, 346th Inf. Regt., 86th Inf. Div., III Corps, Third Army; WIA 30 Apr 1945 near Berglern, Bavaria ~ 30 miles NE of Munich; DOW 1 May 1945; The ETO > Central Europe > Southern Germany.
† ​Nelson, Leonard Peter, SN 34-208-331, US Army, Audubon & Dade Co., FL Cos.
  • 158th Field Artillery Bn., 45th Inf. Div., XV Corps, Seventh Army; KIA 30 Apr 1945 near Munich, Bavaria, Germany; Central Europe > Southern Germany.
† Swanson, Jack Leonard, SN 37-652-893, US Army, Pott. & Harrison Cos.
  • Troop B, 116th Cavalry Recon. Sqdn., 101st Cavalry Gp., Seventh Army; KIA 16 Apr 1945 Bavaria, Germany; The ETO > Central Europe > Southern Germany.
† Wright, Arlos Edward, SN 37-697-737, US Army, Mills Co.
  • Co. K, 399th Inf. Regt., 100th Inf. Div., VI Corps, Seventh Army; KIA 21 Apr 1945 Waldenbronn, near Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany; The ETO > Central Europe > Southern Germany.
​† Zentz, Ervin Emory, SN 37-699-101, US Army, Pott. Co. & Valley Co., NE
  • Co. B, 756th Tank Bn., 3rd Inf. Div., XV Corps, Seventh Army; WIA 18 Apr 1945 Bavaria, Germany; DOW 21 Apr 1945 in hospital, France; Battle of Nuremberg - The ETO > Central Europe > Southern Germany.​​​