Battle of the Lower Rhine: Tragedy and heroism in World War II

Battle of the Lower Rhine: Tragedy and heroism in World War II

On February 8, 1945, the battle on the Lower Rhine began with the bombing of Goch and Kleve, which was part of the operation veritable. This significant offensive of the Allies, led by Feldmarschall Bernard Montgomery and his Anglo-Canadian 21st Army group, was supposed to drive away German troops from the area between the Rhine and the Maas rivers. The operation lasted a total of 31 days and ended on March 10, 1945, shortly before the last German troops left the left side of the Rhine for the first time. The peace on the Lower Rhine followed two months before the unconditional surrender of the German Wehrmacht on May 8, 1945.

like RP online Canadian soldiers in the Reichswald. The attack began with the largest allied earfire in Europe: 11,000 tons of ammunition were fired, which corresponded to about half a million volleys. This massive artillery use led to considerable losses among the German soldiers of the 84th Infantry Division, which suffered from the fire. The estimated losses amount to 22,000 to 44,000 German soldiers and civilians as well as 15,674 British and Canadian deaths.

challenges and delays

Despite the impressive numbers, the Allies fought against considerable adversity. Bad weather turned the terrain into a mud desert, while dike blasting led to floods. The Allies's pliers attack was disabled by weather conditions and the German Wehrmacht. For example, the 9th US Army could not attack for almost two weeks because the drainage facilities of the RUR dams were destroyed. British and Canadian armed forces started storm with 50,000 soldiers, 500 tanks and 1,000 non -operational aircraft.

The attack was initiated on February 8 and reached important street nodes after a week. Nevertheless, the Allies had to expect delays due to floods and bad weather. From February 23, 1945, the Canadian troops began with the Operation Blockbuster, which was planned as a continuation of the offensive. On February 22, the military government took over the administration of Goch, with Pastor Jakob Brimmer's mayor.

results and strategic importance

The Operation Veritible led to high losses, but the British and Canadian armed forces were finally able to take Kranenburg quickly. Kleve and Materborn were reached after 30 hours of fight, and the complete line -up of Kleves took place after three days. The last withdrawal of the German troops took place on March 10, 1945. Despite all the difficulties, the cooperation between the Allies led to a decisive influence on the strategic situation in the region, such as National wwii museum

The operation was also of great importance because it paved the way for further operations such as plunder and Varsity. The possibility of crossing the Rhine was crucial to access the Ruhr region. The losses during the operations of veritable and blockbusters were 22,934 Allied soldiers, while the first Canadian army made 22,239 German prisoners. Overall, the number of German losses is estimated at around 90,000, which underlines the huge effects of this battle.