bigpigeon.us webpage WWII Germany > The ETO, © 2023 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 25 May 2023.
Ground combat in the European Theater of Operations (the ETO) began in Normandy, France on D-Day, 6 June 1944, and ended in central Germany on 8 May 1945.
Links to Big Pigeon's WWII-Germany > The ETO submodules:
​Preliminary ETO webpages provide contextual material: Deadly fighting in Normandy through mid-August was followed by the quick liberation of most of France and Belgium: ​Then ensued the three-month War of Attrition, which lasted from mid-September to mid-December 1944: Germany launched end-of-year counteroffensives in the Ardennes and northern Alsace:​ ​The early 1945 ETO advance through the German Rhineland reached the west bank of the Rhine River: ​ETO forces crossed the Rhine, advanced across Germany to meet Soviet forces, and advanced into southern Germany: ​Concluding ETO webpages not specific to ground combat:About the above links to WWII-Germany > The ETO submodules:​
  • Numbers before major webpages correspond with the following official list of ETO campaigns.
  • WWII Home contains a list of all subpages.
  • Some webpages are still incomplete.
​United States Army official list of ETO campaigns with official dates:
  1. Normandy Campaign, 6 June – 24 July 1944 -- Allies land by sea and air and subsequently expand beachhead.
  2. Northern France Campaign, 25 July – 14 September 1944 -- German lines are broken; Germany withdraws from most of France and Belgium.
  3. Southern France Campaign, 5 August – 14 September 1944 -- Germans withdraw from Southern France.
  4. Ardennes-Alsace Campaign, 16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 -- German counteroffensives are driven back in the Ardennes and contained in Alsace.
  5. Rhineland Campaign, 15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945 -- Allies advance to Rhine River.
  6. Central Europe Campaign 22 March – 11 (sic) May 1945 -- Allies cross Rhine and advance into Germany; war in Europe ends with Germany's surrender effective 8 May.
European Theater Executive Summary, June 1944 - May 1945
Beginning with D-Day, ground combat in the ETO raged over northern and eastern France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, and western Germany.
European Theater operations consisted of two periods of grinding combat, each followed by a breakout:
  • War of Attrition in Normandy, 6 June - mid August 1944.
  • Breakout, liberation of France and Belgium, late August - mid September 1944.
  • War of Attrition near the German border, September 1944 - March 1945.
  • Breakout, conquest of western Germany, March - early May 1945.  Meanwhile the Soviet Army advanced westward through eastern Germany.
European Theater Overview
European Theater Overview
The Allied Armies on D-Day, 6 June 1944
The initial Allied forces that landed in Normandy were elements of two armies, comprising the 21 Army Group, under the command of British General Bernard Montgomery.
  • The US First Army commanded by General Omar Bradley.
  • The British Second Army, with a large Canadian contingent, commanded by General Miles Dempsey.
The Allied Armies on VE-Day, 8 May 1945
This map locates the seven front-line armies of the Western Allies at the end of hostilities on Victory in Europe day. Counterclockwise from upper-middle:
British 21st Army Group (Montgomery)
  • Canadian First Army (Crerar)
  • British Second Army (Dempsey)
US 12th Army Group (Bradley)
  • US Ninth Army (Simpson)
  • US First Army (Hodges)
  • US Third Army (Patton)
US 6th Army Group (Devers)
  • US Seventh Army (Patch)
  • French First Army (De Lattre)
The US 15th Army (Gerow), also shown, never saw substantial front-line combat and is seldom mentioned herein.
Victory in Europe
Victory in Europe (from "The Guns at Last Light")
Sources for Big Pigeon's WWII-Germany > The ETO webpage:
Major Sources:
  • None at this time.
Sources for webpage images: (C/O = courtesy of)
  • Normandy American Cemetery, webpage header photo - C/O the American Battle Monuments Commission.​
  • European Theater Overview, map - C/O the Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection at the University of Texas in Austin, TX.
  • The Victory in Europe map appeared in the the third and final volume of Rick Aktinson's trilogy about United States land operations in the German War.
​Other Sources: