Battle of the Rhineland theFSSF
. com/history/campaigns/northwesteuro.. .
index P.?g!!.
about
contact
forum
blgg
webmaster
site historv
site ma.P.:
JlUblic
Hislo[Y Q!:ganization Tactical ~giments Corps/Branches Ranks Uniforms Insignia f..q!!iJlment WeaJlons Vehicles Other Media Enenies Procedures Glossa[Y Researchers & Colle
History Wars & Campaigns
Battle of the Rhineland
Boer War First World War Western Front Trench Warfare: 1914-1916 Allied Offensive: 1916 Allied Offensives: 1917 German Offensive: 1918
The Battle of the Rhineland was fought in Feb-Mar 1945 between Allied forces from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States (as well as smaller national contingents), and the German forces occupying territory south and west of the Rhine River during the North-West Europe campaign of the Second World War.
Advance to Victory: 1918
Siberia
SecondWorld War
Situation
War Against Ja~an North Africa Italian Cam~aign Sicil~ - -
Southern Ital~ The Sangro and Moro
BattlesoftheFSSF
Cassino
Liri Valley Advance to Florence Gothic Line Winter Lines
In early 1945, after a long winter stalemate, military operations by the Allied armies in North-West Europe resumed. The exertions of the First Canadian Army in the Battle of the Scheidt had resulted in the port of Antwerp being opened in late 1944. A build up of Allied forces on the western front, as Southern France was cleared of German soldiers and the other Allies advanced to the German frontier, "laid the foundation for a further offensive on the western front. The enemy's costly effort in the Ardennes and imposed delay, but the broad pattern of Allied strategy remained unchanged ."1
North-West Europ
North-West Euro~
Normand~
Southern France
Channel Ports
The Battle of the Rhineland would be the first of three major strategic phases
DieP.11!! ? NormanQY. - Southern France - Channel Ports - ?? J:!.ijmegen Salient - Rhineland - Final Phase
envisaged by General Eisenhower:
Scheidt
Nijme,gen Salient Rhineland Final Phase Korean War Cold War
Gu~War
In planning our forthcoming spring and summer offensives, I envisaged the operations which would lead to Germany's collapse as falling into three phases: first, the destruction of the enemy forces west of the Rhine and closing to that river; second, the seizure of bridgeheads over the Rhine from which to develop operations into
The Rhineland Feb - Mar 1945
Operations
Germany; and third, the destruction of the remaining enemy east of
GAUNTLET Aug~ (Spitsbergen)
the Rhine and the advance into the heart of the Reich. This was the
HUSKY Jul 1943 COTTAGE Aug 1943
(Sicily) (Kiska)
same purpose that had guided all our actions since early 1944. 2
TIMBERWOLF Oct 1943
(Italy)
OVERLORD Jun 1944 (Normandy) The initial goal was to reach the Rhine River, the last significant natural
MARKET-GARDEN SeR 44 (Arnhem) barrier between Allied forces and Germany. From their winter positions in the
BERLIN Nov 1944 VERrTABLE Feb 1945
(Nijmegen) (Rhineland)
Nijmegen
Salient, the
First Canadian
Army
reinforced
by elements
of the
British 2nd Army, began operations to advance south east, clearing all land
Battle Honours
west of the river. Operation VERITABLE was a costly advance through
Boer War Paardeberg
18 Feb 00 flooded terrain and German defensive lines, followed by Operation
First World War
BLOCKBUSTER which succeeded in driving through almost to the banks of
Western Front
the Rhine River. Operation BLOCKBUSTER II cleared the town of Xanten to
Trench Warfare: 1914-1916
Ywes, 1915
22Apr-25 May 15
end
the
fighting
in
the
Rhineland.
A
supporting
operation
by
the
US
9th
Gravenstafel
22-23 Apr 15 Army, Operation GRENADE, was planned to coincide from the River Roer to
St. Julien
24 Apr-4 May 15 the south but was delayed for two weeks by German flooding of the Roer
The Rhineland - The Reichswald - Waal Flats - lvloyland V Goch-Calcar Road - The Hochwald - Veen - xanten
Frezenberg
Beliewaarde
8-13 May 15 valley.
24-25 lvlay 15
Festubert, 1915 i?iuntSorrai-
15-25 lvlay 15 2-13 Jun 16
Allied Offensive: 1916
Sorn me, 1916
Albert Bazentin
Pozieres
Gu ill ernont
1 Jul-18 1-Jov 16 The Rhineland battle was intended to be a prelude to a set-piece crossing of '
.1-13Jul16 the Rhine by the 21st Army Group. While this operation did proceed in late ;,
.14-17 Jul 16 .23 Jul-3 Sep 16
Mar 1945, American forces
managed to
cross the
river in
other locations i ?
.3-6 Sep 16 with less preparation, including the capture of an intact bridge at Remagen ?
Ginchy Flers-Courcelette
Thie~val Le Transloy Ancre Heights
.9 Sep 16 on 7 Mar 1945 by the US 1st Army, and a crossing by the US 3rd Army the
15-22 Sep 16 26-29 Sep 16
day
before
the
British
crossing,
Operation
PLUNDER.
PLUNDER
was
. 1-18 Oct 16 supported by Operation VARSITY, a large airborne drop on the far side of
1 Oct-11 Nov 16 the Rhine in which the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion played an active
Ancre, 1916
13-18 Nov 16 part. The Rhine crossings and battles afterward comprised the Final Phase
Allied Offensives: 1917
Arras 1917
8 Apr-4 11/iay 17
of the war in Europe.
Vlmy,Jfill
.9-14 Apr 17
Arleux
28-29 Apr 17 The Battle Honour "The Rhineland" refers only to actions fought west of the
Scarpe, 1917 Hil l 70 lvlessines , 1917
.3-4 May17 river, while the Battle Honour "The Rhine" was awarded to units fighting in
.15-25 Aug 17
.7-1 4 Jun 17 the crossing itself as well as on the east bank during the Final Phase.
Ypres, 1917
.. 31 Jul-10 Nov 17
Awaiting the final clearing of the Rhineland on 4 Mar 1945 at
Pilckern
31 Jul-2 Aug 17
Kranenburg, Germany. From left to right General H.D.G. Crerar
Langemarck, 1917 .16-18 Aug 17
i-C First Canadian Army, Lieutenant General G.G. Simonds GC
Menin Road
.20-25 Sep 17
Canadian Corps, Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke (CiGS), Prime
Polygon Wood
26 Sep-3 Oct 17
Winston Churchill, and at far right Field Marshal B.L. Montgome
Broodseinde
.4 Oct 17
i-C 21st Army Group
Poelcapelle
.9 Oct 17
Passchendaele
Ca rnbrai, 1917
.12 Oct 17
20 Nov-3 Dec 17 The Battle
German Offensive: 1918
1
18
:~B~ap~a:u:m~e1),
: 1918
Rosieres
21 ~~~;J :J'r ~~ The terrain in the Rhineland was marked by clear boundaries, 24-2~ M:; 18 bordered on one side by the Rhine and the other by the Maas, 26-27 Mar 18 measuring about 50 kilometres long by from 20 to 30 kilometres wide ,
The Battle of the Rhine! Sfeb-11 Mar1945
1 of 4
2021-03-02, 4:40 p.m.
canadiansoldiers. com
.com/history/ campaigns/northwesteuro ...
Avre
A Apr 18 widening as one moved further from the Allied start line. The first
::ts~aires
::~;:;;~ third, from the Allied viewpoint, was flooded and the other two were
lv!sssines , 1918
1?0-11 Apr 18 covered in thick mud due to winter rains. Much of the ground was
Bailleu!
13-15Apr18 marked by thick forests, and there were no nolicably high or low
Kemmer
17-19Apr18 features. Engagement ranges were short. Defences were well
AmieAndsvance
lo
Victory: 1918 8_11 Aug
18
prepared,
as
the
enemy
had
four
months
to
. improve
. . pos1l1ons,
Arras, 1918
.26 Aug-3 Sep 18 including some of the pre-war Siegfried Line obstacles. The Germans
Scarpe, 1918
26-30Aug 18. built strong points and hedgehogs - positions for all-around defence
Drocourt-Queant
Hindenburg Line canal du Nord
12
s?e2p?_39s0ecpt
18 18
against
attack
from
any
direction.
All
these
factors
"made
for
a
very
:27sep-2 Oct 18 complex battle, extremely difficult for higher headquarters to 'read' on
i:'
t
St. Quentin canal .29 Sep-2 Oct 18 an hour-by-hour basis, and the brunt of the decision-making seems to
Epehy
8 :~;n~i:~~;:
~i: ;~ 3-5 Oct 18 have fallen on the two corps commanders, Sir Brian Horrocks (British
~~;
XXX Corps) and (Lieutenant General Guy) Simonds (II Canadian
I
Sambre
.4 Nov 18 Corps)."3
Pursuit to Mons .28 Sep-11Nov Second World War war Against Japan
< The initial attack on 8 Feb 1945 .(Operation VERITABLE) was
British 2nd
south-East Asia
launched by three British divisions and the 3rd Canadian Infantry
Hong Kong
8-25 Dec 41 Division on the flooded left flank over the Waal Flats. The ancient city
Italian Campaign
of Cleve was bombed flat and the heaviest artillery bombardment of
Landing inBSaitctillex of Sicily 9.12 Jul 43 Ihe e.nti.re war was Ia,.d on' . The Materb om Gap was cons,?dered Ihe
Grammichele
15 Jul 43 key to the advance; 3,000 metres of open ground stretching between
Piazza Armerina : ?;~,'::"nera
16-17 Jul 43 Cleve and the trees of The Reichswald to the south. The British made
~~:~; 3~: :; it through on 11 Feb after three costly days of fighting through the
Leonforte
21-22 Jul 43 woods. The 3rd Division, making use of amphibious vehicles, had a
~gl@ Adrano
Catenanuova
24-28 Jul 43 slightly easier time and many opted to withdraw as the British
29 Jul-7Aug 43 advances threatened to cut them off
29-30 Jul 43
?
E_egalbuto
Centuri~
29 Jul-3Aug 43 31 Jul-3Aug43 As the British advance slackened, the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division
Traina Valley
2-6 Aug 43 moved up, and both divisions now had as their objective the Goch-
Pursuit to Messina 2-17 Aug 43
.
.
Southern Italy
Calcar ~oad, which _would be th_e Start Line for the second ~hase of
Landing at Regg)Q
3 Sep 43 the Rhineland fighting, Operation BLOCKBUSTER. The line was
Potenza
Motta Monlecorvino
Termoli
Monte San
Marco
19-20 Sep 43 cleared at great cost; one of the fallen , Sergeant Aubrey Cosens of
~31-~
0 0
cctt
43 43
Th_e
Q_ ueen's
Own
Rifles
of
Canada,
was
awarded
a
posthumous
6-7 Oct 43 Victoria Cross.
1 u~ t(Army_
?a~2:~&.tlf
/
// ?~
Gambatesa
7-8 Oct 43
CamP-Qbasso
Baranello Colle d'Anchise Tarella
11-14 Oct 43 17-18 Oct 43
22-24 Oct 43 24-27 Oct 43
The Germans practised their traditional tactics of giving ground L..1_j__? _ _ __":-?-?~'=":'z.,_ _ _ _ _J::JallllllBIIL_ _j
under pressure but then immediately launching counter-attacks to recover the lost ground before the Canadians could
consolidate their successes. When that happened, infantry companies which had been badly weakened in the initial a:
The Sangro and Moro
The Sang.[Q
19 Nov-3 Dec 43
Castel di Sang.[Q .23-24 Nov 43
The Moro
5-7 Dec 43
San Leonardo
8-9 Dec 43
The Gullx
.. 10-19 Dec 43
were often cut off and assailed from all sides. The ultimate response was to call down artillery fire on their own positions... Veritable... (cost) the British nearly seven thousand casualties and the Canadians nearly two thousand - a re roughly proportionate to their respective commitments - while the Germans lost about twelve thousand killed, the samt number taken prisoner, and perhaps another twenty thousand wounded. 4
Casa Berardi
Ortona
.. 14-15 Dec 43 20-28 Dec 43 For the second phase, BLOCKBUSTER, the 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division replaced the 3rd in the line. To the south, the
San Nicola-San
.31 Dec 43 American 9th Army was also advancing to the Rhine in Operation GRENADE, delayed until 23 Feb due to the German deslrL
Point 591Tommaso29 Dec 43_
two key dams on the_Roer River and consequent heavy flooding making the area impassable. They found, once they were m
---=ro;;:e M.Jcchia
4 Jan 44 north towards the Bnt1sh and Canadians , that most of the Germans had been moved away to oppose VERITABLE. The Gem
Battles of the FSSF
were desperate to hold out at long as possible west of the Rhine as at least 17 divisions were streaming to the bridges at We:
Monte Camino .5 Nov-9 Dec 43 now only 15 kilometres from the Canadians and 20 from the Americans.
Monte la D~ensa-
2-8 Dec 43
tv1onte la Rem etanea.
Hill 720
25 Dec 43 The 2nd and 4th Canadian Divisions now advanced roughly abreast into more heavy forest; The Hochwald, Tuschenw
Monte MajQ
3-8 Jan 44. Bambergerwald, running along a low ridge and with positions improved by the Germans for the previous two weeks. l
Radicosa
Monte Vischiataro
Anzio
: 3an 44 Division went straight into the Hochwald while the 4th Division aimed for a narrow gap in the woods. Two attacks went in , an
22 Jan-22 ~ 1,;,~ made apparent an armoured division was not able to simply blast through; the Germans had a wide variety of close-range c
Rome
.22 May-4 Jun 44 weaponry, the tanks had trouble negotiating the mud , and the Canadians didn't have enough infantry to clear a path for th,
Advance
.22 May-22 Jun 44 The battle for the Hochwald Gap lasted from 27 Feb to 3 Mar and advances were measured in hundreds of yards . The 3rd
to the Tiber. Monte Arrestino
25 Ma 44 returned to the line and the 2nd Division sent a brigade to assist in opening the gap. The other two brigades of the 2nd Divis
Rocca Massima
27 Ma~ 44 pressure on the Germans elsewhere on the line. Captain Frederick Tilston of The Essex Scottish was awarded a Victoria C
Colle Ferro
2 Jun 44 his actions in one of the many small unit actions.
Cassino
Cassino II
Gustav Line
Sant' Angelo in
11-18 May 44
.
11 .18 May 44 By the second week of Mar, the Germans had fallen back to the Wesel Pocket, and final actions at Veen and Xanten had cle,
13May44 final defenders away by the 10th. A hastily organized operation to "bounce" the Rhine was scrubbed when the sound of 1
Teodice.
demolitions announced that the last bridges over the River had been blown up.
Pignataro
14-15 May44
Uri Valley
Liri Vallex Hitler Line
18-30 May 44 Casualties 18-24 May 44
: :~i:~rossing
1!;: ::~ ~ The fight to advance 20 miles into the Rhineland and clear the remaining German units west of the great river took as lor
Ceprano
26-27 May44 month - as the 200 mile advance that would follow it. The cost in terms of casualties was also higher; 9,284 American soldi
Torrice~:~sns:~~~sFtorenc!OMay 44 17,685 British and Canadian soldiers became casualties. 5 First Canadian Army took 22,000 German prisoners and f
Advance
17 Jul-10Aug 44 seriously wounded 22,000 more. Including the losses inflicted by the US 9th Army (which lost 7,300 men, took 29,000 prison,
to Florence. TSraansfiamluecncehiLoine
killed or seriously wounded 16,000 Germans during the Rhineland fighting) the Germans all told lost 90,000 men while i
20-30 Jun 44
.
. 6
20_21 Jun 44 23,000 Allied casualties.
Arezzo
4-17 Jul 44
Cerrone
. _ 25 - 31 Aug 44 Battle Honours
Gothic Line
Gothic Line
25 Aug-22 Sep 44
lvbnteciccardo
27-28 Aug 44 The following Battle Honours were awarded to Canadian units participating in the Battle of the Rhineland:
2 of 4
2021-03-02, 4:40 p.m.
.. .
M::mtecchio
30-31 Aug 4'I
Point 204 (Pozzo Alto) Monte Lura
31 Aug 4'I 1 Sep 4'I
? The Rhineland
Bargo Santa Maria Tomba di Pesaro
Coriano
1 Sep 4'I 1-2 Sep4'1 3-15Sep4'1
? The Reichswald ? Waal Flats
VVinter Lines
Rimini Line
14-21 Sep 4'I
San Martino-
14-18 Sep 4'I
? Cleve ? Mayland Wood
San Lorenzo. San Fortunato
18-20 Sep 4'I
? Goch-Calcar Road
Casale
23-25 Sep 4'I
? The Hochwald
Sant' Angelo in Salute.
11-15Sep4'1
? Veen
Bulgaria Village
Cesena
13-14 Sep4'1 15-20 Sep 4'I
? Xanten
Pisciatello
16-19Sep4'1
Savio Bridgehead Monte La Pieve
20-23 Sep 4'I Notes
13-19 Oct 4'I
Monte Spaduro Monte San Bartolo Lam one Crossing Capture of Ravenna Naviglio Canal Fosso Vecchio Fosso Munio Conventello-
Com acchio.
19-24 Oct 4'I 11-14 Nov4'1 2-13 Dec 44
3-4 Dec 4'I 12-15 Dec 4'I 16-18 Dec 4'I 19-21 Dec 4'I
2-6 Jan 45
1. Stacey, C.P., The Canadian Army 1939-1945: An Official Historical Summary (Queen's Printer, Ottawa, ON, 1948), p.236 2. Quoted in Stacey, Ibid, p.236 3. Marteinson, John. We Stand on Guard: An Illustrated History oflhe Canadian Army (Ovale Publications, Montreal, PQ, 1992) ISBN 2894290438 p.317 4. Ibid, pp.318-319 5. Whitaker, Denis & Shelagh Rhineland: The Battle to End the War (Stoddart Publishing Company, Ltd., Toronto, ON, 1989) ISBN 0773753907 p.347. William
below for reference) gives a fiture of 15,634, broken down as 10,300 British and 5,655 Canadian. 6. Williams, Jeffery The Long Left Flank: The Hard Fought Way to the Reich, 1944-45 (Stoddart Publishing Company, Ltd., Toronto, ON, 1988) ISBN 077372'
p.251
Granaro lo
3-5 Jan 4'I
Northwest Europe
DieP.R?!
19 Aug 42
Battle of Normandy
NormandY. Landing
6 Jun 4'I
Authie
7 Jun 4'I
Putot-en-Bessin
8 Jun 4'I
Bretteville
8-9 Jun 4'I
-l'Orgueilleuse
Le Masnil-Pat[)I
11 Jun 4'I
CarJ1Lquet
4-5 Jul 4'I
Caen
4-18 Jul 4'1
The Orne (Buron)
8-9 Jul 4'1
Bourguebus Ridg.?
18-23 Jul 4'1
Faubour~
18-19 Jul 4'I
Vaucelles
S~ur-Orne
19-23 Jul 4'I
Malt6t
22-23 Jul 4'I
Verrieres Ridge-Tilly.::
25 Jul 4'I
la-Cam1 ................
................
In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.
To fulfill the demand for quickly locating and searching documents.
It is intelligent file search solution for home and business.
Related download
- rhineland campaign 1944 army heritage center foundation
- the rhineland massacres mrcaseyhistory
- the rhinelands
- pleasantville high school
- the british perception of the remilitarization of the rhineland 1936
- the german occupation of the rhineland the national archives
- fcr 1 w giant bicycles
- france and the remilitarization of the rhineland 1936 jstor
- battle of the rhineland thefssf
- german settlement in pennsylvania an overview
Related searches
- battle of poland 1939
- worst battle of ww2
- the battle of berlin
- the battle of berlin casualties
- the battle of kiev 1941
- battle of the philippine islands
- battle of the philippines wwii
- battle of the philippines 1944
- battle of the philippines ww2
- who won the battle of berlin
- battle of the philippines
- battle of the philippine sea wikipedia