bigpigeon.us webpage  WWII - Germany > The ETO > Central Europe > Southern Germany, updated by RAC 11 Nov 2022.
​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 reached the Oder-Niesse demarcation line with Soviet forces.
  • The US Third Army and the 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
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 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 WW II Dead - Central Europe > Southern Germany:03-08 - Central Europe > Southern Germany: (six dead, updated 11 Nov 2022)
† Browning, William Albert, SN 37-489-019, US Army, Shelby Co.
  • Co. K, 22nd Inf. Regt., 4th Inf. Div., XXI Corps, Seventh Army; KIA 5 Apr 1945 near Ochsenfurt, SE of Würzburg, Bavaria, Germany; 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; 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; Central Europe > Southern Germany.
† Swanson, Jack Leonard, SN 37-652-893, US Army, Pott. Co.
  • Troop B, 116th Cavalry Recon. Sqdn., 101st Cavalry Gp., attached to 12th Armored Div., XXI Corps, Seventh Army; KIA 16 Apr 1945 W of Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany; 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; Central Europe > Southern Germany.
† Zentz, Ervin Emory, SN 37-699-101, US Army, Pott. Co. & Valley Co., NE
  • Co. B, 756th Tank Bn., attached to 3rd Inf. Div., XV Corps, Seventh Army; WIA 18 Apr 1945 Bavaria, Germany; DOW 21 Apr 1945 in hospital, France; Battle of Nuremberg - Central Europe > Southern Germany.​