bigpigeon.us webpage WWII US > Web Sources > Sources - Germany, © 2023 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 11 Jan 2023.
==> 1 - World War II History - Web Portals and Libraries - War with Germany. (updated 8 Oct 2022)
Most, but not all, of the following official histories are available on the web in two locations:
Below, CMH denotes the US Army Center of Military History; [] contains the CMH publication number.
United States Army official histories of the War with Germany:
The Mediterranean Theater of Operations
MTO 1 - United States Army in World War II, Mediterranean Theater of Operations series: (maps are scalable)
ETO 1 - United States Army in World War II, European Theater of Operations series: (almost all maps are scalable)
Free on-line history books from erenow.net, https://erenow.net
==> 2 - World War II History - Maps and Atlases - War with Germany.
Map Collections:
ETO Military Situation Maps:
Individual Maps:
See also:
==> 3 - World War II History - Statistics, Summaries, and Timelines & Chronologies - War with Germany.
==> 4 - World War II history - US Army - War with Germany.
World War II US Army Orders of Battle and Combat Chronicles - War with Germany:
WWII Unit Histories - ETO Ground Forces:
The US Ninth Army:
The US Third Army's February 1945 Sauer & Our River crossings into Germany:
The US Fifteenth Army:
https://www.scribd.com/document/105041963/WWII-15th-Army-History - History of the Fifteenth United States Army, 21 August 1944 to 11 July 1945.
==> 5 - World War II history - US Army Air Force - War with Germany. (USAAF, USAF, and AAF are abbreviations.)
Specific to the Eighth & Ninth Air Forces in England:
==> 6 - World War II history - US Navy - War with Germany.
==> 7 - World War II history - Books - War with Germany.
American Armies and Battlefields in Europe: World War II, https://www.abmc.gov/sites/default/files/2021-04/AABEWWII_new%20size.pdf - high-quality maps.
The Liberation Trilogy is a series of three military history books about the United States' involvement in World War II, written by American author Rick Atkinson and published by Henry Holt & Co. These three books are not on the web, but were the major print sources for my outline of the US Army in the War with Germany.
==> As yet unclassified - War with Germany.
World War II Germany POW Camps:
https://military.wikia.org/wiki/List_of_prisoner-of-war_camps_in_Germany#World_War_II_POW_Camps -
Most, but not all, of the following official histories are available on the web in two locations:
- https://history.army.mil/catalog/browse/pubnum.html - U.S. Army Center of Military History Publications Catalog.
- http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/ - Hyperwar, U.S. Army in World War II.
Below, CMH denotes the US Army Center of Military History; [] contains the CMH publication number.
United States Army official histories of the War with Germany:
The Mediterranean Theater of Operations
MTO 1 - United States Army in World War II, Mediterranean Theater of Operations series: (maps are scalable)
- Northwest Africa: Seizing the Initiative in the West, by George F. Howe, 1957, 2002, 748 pp. [CMH #6-1]
- Sicily and the Surrender of Italy, by Albert N. Garland & Howard M. Smyth, assisted by Martin Blumenson, 1993, ~550 pp. [CMH #6-2]
- Salerno to Cassino, by Martin Blumenson, 1993 [CMH #6-3]
- Cassino to the Alps, by Ernest F. Fisher Jr., 1989, 584 pp. [CMH #6-4]
- Sicily 9 July--17 August 1943, by Andrew J. Birtle [CMH #72-16]
- Naples-Foggia: 9 September 1943--21 January 1944, by Kenneth V. Smith [CMH #72-17]
- Anzio: 22 January--24 May 1944, by Clayton D. Laurie, 27 pp. [CMH #72-19]
- Rome-Arno: 22 January--9 September 1944, by Clayton D. Laurie, 33 pp. [CMH #72-20] - slow to load; static but high-quality maps.
- North Apennines: 10 September 1944-4 April 1945, by Dwight D. Oland, 31 pp. [CMH #72-34]
- Po Valley: 5 April-8 May 1945, by Thomas Popa, 26 pp. [CMH #72-33]
- To Bizerte with the II Corps (23 Apr - 13 May 1943), 1990 [CMH #100-6] - scalable but low-quality maps.
- Salerno: American Operations from the Beaches to the Volturno (9 September--6 October 1943) [CMH #100-7] - slow to load; static maps.
- Volturno: From the Volturno to the Winter Line (6 October--15 November 1943) [CMH #100-8] - some good maps.
- Fifth Army at the Winter Line (15 November 1943--15 January 1944) [CMH #100-9] - static maps.
- Anzio Beachhead (22 January-25 May 1944) [CMH #100-10] - scalable maps
ETO 1 - United States Army in World War II, European Theater of Operations series: (almost all maps are scalable)
- The Supreme Command, by Forrest C. Pogue, 1953, ~544 pp. [CMH #7-1] - some static maps.
- Logistical Support of the Armies, Volume I: May 1941-September 1944, by Roland G. Ruppenthal, 1953, ~597 pp.[CMH #7-2]
- Logistical Support of the Armies, Volume II: September 1944-May 1945, by Roland G. Ruppenthal, 1959, ~540 pp. [CMH #7-3]
- Cross-Channel Attack, by Gordon A. Harrison, 1950, ~495 pp. [CMH #7-4]
- Breakout and Pursuit, by Martin Blumenson, 1961, ~702 pp. [CMH #7-5]
- The Lorraine Campaign, by Hugh M. Cole, 1949, ~613 pp. [CMH #7-6]
- The Siegfried Line Campaign, by Charles B. MacDonald, 1961, ~670 pp. [CMH #7-7] - the 1944 ETO Rhineland Campaign & Netherlands operations.
- The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge, by Hugh M. Cole, 1965, ~710 pp. [CMH #7-8]
- The Last Offensive, by Charles B. MacDonald, 1972, ~532 pp. [CMH #7-9] - the 1945 ETO Rhineland Campaign.
- Riviera to the Rhine, by Jeffrey J. Clarke & Robert R. Smith , ~605 pp. [CMH #7-10] - the US Seventh Army in France from mid-August 1944 to mid-March 1945.
- Normandy: 6 June--24 July 1944, by William M. Hammond, 47 pp. [CMH #72-18] - four maps, one scalable.
- Northern France: 25 July--14 September 1944, by David W. Hogan, 31 pp. [CMH #72-30] - five scalable maps.
- Southern France: 15 August--14 September 1944, by Jeffrey C. Clarke, 31 pp. [CMH #72-31] - four scalable maps.
- Ardennes-Alsace, 16 December 1944 - 25 January 1945, by Roger Cirillo, 54 pp. [CMH #72-26] - seven scalable maps.
- Rhineland: 15 September 1944--21 March 1945, by Ted Ballard, 35 pp. [CMH #72-25] - four scalable maps.
- Central Europe: 22 March--11 May 1945, by Edward M. Bedessem, 35 pp. [CMH #72-36] - four scalable maps.
- Omaha Beachhead, 6-13 June 1944, 1945, 2001, 167 pp. [CMH Pub 100-11] - scalable maps.
- Utah Beach to Cherbourg, 6-27 June 1944, by Roland G. Ruppenthal, 1947, 2006, 213 pp. [CMH #100-12] - scalable maps.
- St-Lo, 7-20 July 1944, by David Garth and Charles H. Taylor, 50 pp. [CMH #100-13] - scalable maps.
Free on-line history books from erenow.net, https://erenow.net
- The Ardennes 1944-1945: Hitler's Winter Offensive, https://erenow.net/ww/ardennes-1944-1945-hitlers-winter-offensive/, by Christer Bergstrøm.
==> 2 - World War II History - Maps and Atlases - War with Germany.
Map Collections:
- https://www.westpoint.edu/academics/academic-departments/history/world-war-two-europe - links to United States Military Academy at West Point maps of the War with Germany.
- https://www.westpoint.edu/academics/academic-departments/history/atlases - USMA West Point on-line map collection. Some of these maps are also at http://www.emersonkent.com/maps.htm.
- medium.com/@Inflab/western-front-maps-of-world-war-ii-58798ee9d792 - Western Europe only; includes some simpler maps from infobase.com besides many of the West Point maps.
- http://liberationtrilogy.com/maps-timeline/ - maps & timeline from all three volumes of The Liberation Trilogy.
- http://liberationtrilogy.com/books/guns-at-last-light/maps-from-the-guns-at-last-light/images-for-maps-from-the-guns-at-last-light/ - maps only from Volume 3 of The Liberation Trilogy.
ETO Military Situation Maps:
- https://www.loc.gov/collections/world-war-ii-maps-military-situation-maps-from-1944-to-1945/ - shows location of ETO and some enemy divisions on a daily basis. Since this collection is somewhat difficult to navigate, I have broken it up into nine groups of fifty maps each. Maps are scalable.
- https://www.loc.gov/resource/g5701sm.gct00021/?st=list&c=50 - maps 1-50, 6 June - 25 July 1944.
- https://www.loc.gov/resource/g5701sm.gct00021/?c=50&sp=2&st=list - maps 51-100, 26 July - 13 Sep 1944.
- https://www.loc.gov/resource/g5701sm.gct00021/?c=50&sp=3&st=list - maps 101-150, 14 Sep - 2 Nov 1944.
- https://www.loc.gov/resource/g5701sm.gct00021/?c=50&sp=4&st=list - maps 151-200, 3 Nov - 22 Dec 1944.
- https://www.loc.gov/resource/g5701sm.gct00021/?c=50&sp=5&st=list - maps 201-250, 23 Dec - 10 Feb 1945.
- https://www.loc.gov/resource/g5701sm.gct00021/?c=50&sp=6&st=list - maps 251-300, 11 Feb - 1 April 1945.
- https://www.loc.gov/resource/g5701sm.gct00021/?c=50&sp=7&st=list - maps 301-350, 2 April - 21 May 1945.
- https://www.loc.gov/resource/g5701sm.gct00021/?c=50&sp=8&st=list - maps 351-400, 22 May - 10 July 1945.
- https://www.loc.gov/resource/g5701sm.gct00021/?c=50&sp=9&st=list - maps 401-416, 11-26 July 1945.
Individual Maps:
- https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Flusssystemkarte_Rhein_04.jpg - high-resolution map of the Rhine River basin.
See also:
- See also the US Army official histories listed earlier in this webpage. These histories contain many maps, and most are scalable (enlarge by clicking and then mouse to the portion of interest.)
==> 3 - World War II History - Statistics, Summaries, and Timelines & Chronologies - War with Germany.
- http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/ww2time.htm - War with Germany timeline.
==> 4 - World War II history - US Army - War with Germany.
World War II US Army Orders of Battle and Combat Chronicles - War with Germany:
- https://archive.org/details/OrderOfBattleUsArmyEtoWw2/page/n2/mode/2up - Order of Battle of the United States Army Ground Forces in World War II, European Theater of Operations, 1945 (586 pages).
- https://history.army.mil/documents/ETO-OB/ETOOB-TOC.htm - Order of Battle for ETO divisions, the first portion of the above document.
- https://history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/cbtchron/cbtchron.html - brief Combat Chronicles for US Army divisions in WWII.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_formations_of_the_United_States_Army_during_World_War_II#Field_Armies - portal to wikipedia entries for WWII US Army army groups, field armies, corps, and divisions.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:World_War_II_orders_of_battle - World War II Orders of Battle (all countries).
- These sources are for divisions only; smaller stand-alone units are listed only in divisional attachments.
- Because of their length, expect sources to load slowly.
- I can't find an Order of Battle document for the Mediterranean Theater.
- I found combat chronicles too brief to be of major use; maybe after-action reports will eventually fill the gap.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied_advance_from_Paris_to_the_Rhine - ETO summary from late Aug 1944 to late Mar 1945. Few maps.
- http://home.scarlet.be/~sh446368/home.html - The Battle for the Hürtgen Forest. Lots of content.
WWII Unit Histories - ETO Ground Forces:
The US Ninth Army:
- 9th Army, Overview of European Operations, May 1944 - May 1945, https://83rdinfdivdocs.org/documents/9thArmy_may1944_may1945.pdf.
- History of the XVI Corps from its activation to the end of the war in Europe, https://digicom.bpl.lib.me.us/ww_reg_his/80/ - C/O Bangor, ME Public Library, https://www.bangorpubliclibrary.org. This is General Anderson's corps in the Ninth Army.
The US Third Army's February 1945 Sauer & Our River crossings into Germany:
- https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a163876.pdf - Assault Across the Sauer, from the Combat Studies Institute (CSI), the 80th Inf. Div. Sauer River crossing in Feb 1945. Three roster members died. (slow to load)
- https://mcoepublic.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/library/DonovanPapers/wwii/STUP2/A-F/DiesFrederick%20W.%20LTC.pdf - OPERATIONS OF THE 5TH INFANTRY DIVISION IN THE CROSSING OF THE SAUER RIVER 6-13 FEBRUARY 1945.
- https://www.80thdivision.com/WebArchives/AAReports.html - access the 80th Inf. Div. After Action Reports.
- https://www.80thdivision.com/AfterActionReports/80th_LossesInAction_Murrell.pdf - 80th Inf. Div. casualties by month.
- https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/2016/07/21/george-s-pattons-end-run-the-story-of-his-final-days/ -
- I am trying to determine if deaths in the February crossings over these swollen rivers were underreported.
The US Fifteenth Army:
https://www.scribd.com/document/105041963/WWII-15th-Army-History - History of the Fifteenth United States Army, 21 August 1944 to 11 July 1945.
==> 5 - World War II history - US Army Air Force - War with Germany. (USAAF, USAF, and AAF are abbreviations.)
Specific to the Eighth & Ninth Air Forces in England:
- http://www.americanairmuseum.com - American Air Museum, Duxford, near Cambridge, England.
- http://www.8thafhs.org - Eighth Air Force Historical Society.
- http://www.8thafhs.com/tomt.php - Eighth Air Force databases, Groups, Bases, Targets, Missions.
- http://www.8thafhs.com/search.php - search multiple databases (not sure if it works correctly).
- https://mediafiles.thedms.co.uk/publication/ee-eet/cms/pdf/information-sheets/USAAF%20Airfields%20Guide%20and%20Map.pdf - Eighth Air Force bases in England - nice map.
- http://www.303rdbg.com/h-england-map.html - Eighth Air Force units in England with their bases.
==> 6 - World War II history - US Navy - War with Germany.
- https://uboat.net - WW I & II German submarine information.
- https://www.uboat-bases.com/en/ - U-Boat Bases of the Second World War in France.
==> 7 - World War II history - Books - War with Germany.
American Armies and Battlefields in Europe: World War II, https://www.abmc.gov/sites/default/files/2021-04/AABEWWII_new%20size.pdf - high-quality maps.
The Liberation Trilogy is a series of three military history books about the United States' involvement in World War II, written by American author Rick Atkinson and published by Henry Holt & Co. These three books are not on the web, but were the major print sources for my outline of the US Army in the War with Germany.
- An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942–1943 (2002)
- The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943–1944 (2007)
- The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944–1945 (2013)
- http://liberationtrilogy.com/books/army-at-dawn/maps-from-an-army-at-dawn/images-of-maps-from-an-army-at-dawn/ - access maps from An Army at Dawn.
- http://liberationtrilogy.com/books/day-of-battle/maps-from-the-day-of-battle/images-of-maps-from-the-day-of-battle/ - access maps from The Day of Battle.
- http://liberationtrilogy.com/books/guns-at-last-light/maps-from-the-guns-at-last-light/images-for-maps-from-the-guns-at-last-light/ - access maps from The Guns at Last Light.
==> As yet unclassified - War with Germany.
World War II Germany POW Camps:
https://military.wikia.org/wiki/List_of_prisoner-of-war_camps_in_Germany#World_War_II_POW_Camps -