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“THE HELL OF WINTER”

“THE HELL OF WINTER”. 1944-1945 FROM FRANCE TO BERLIN. VERDUN, DIEPPE, ROUEN,ABBEVILLE, ANTWERP, & BRUSSELS,. Volkssturm “The Home Guard”. All able bodied men 16-60 to defend Germany By Mid-November all 6 Allied Armies were poised to break out of France and into Germany

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“THE HELL OF WINTER”

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  1. “THE HELL OF WINTER” 1944-1945 FROM FRANCE TO BERLIN

  2. VERDUN, DIEPPE, ROUEN,ABBEVILLE, ANTWERP, & BRUSSELS,

  3. Volkssturm “The Home Guard” • All able bodied men 16-60 to defend Germany • By Mid-November all 6 Allied Armies were poised to break out of France and into Germany • But German defensive build up was eclipsing the Allies numbers

  4. US TROOPS REACH SIEGFRIED LINE SEPT. 13, 1944

  5. On 17 September 1944 thousands of paratroopers descended from the sky by parachute or glider up to 150 km behind enemy lines. Their goal: to secure to bridges across the rivers in Holland so that the Allied army could advance rapidly northwards and turn left into the lowlands of Germany, skirting around the Siegfried line. If all carried out as planned it should have ended the war by Christmas 1944.

  6. OPERATIONMARKET & GARDEN A BRIDGE TO FAR

  7. Aachen. October, 1944

  8. Wacht am Rhein • December 16, 1944 • The operation's goal was to create an opening from Germany to Antwerp, Belgium • Hitler’s choice go East or West???

  9. The 6th Panzer Army of General Josef "Sepp" Dietrich would be responsible for the principal effort in the north. • The 5th Panzer Army of General Hasso von Manteuffel would drive in the same direction as the 6th, but on a more southerly route. The 7th Army of General Erich Brandenberger would attack between Vianden and Wasserbillig. Then it would take Luxembourg and cover the whole operation by joining Semois and the Meuse south of Givet

  10. “Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men”Patton

  11. The Ardennes Offensive

  12. “The Battle of the Bulge” • The "bulge" refers to the extension of the German lines in this battle, forming a growing salient into Allied controlled territory, seen clearly in maps presented in newspapers of the time.

  13. German assault began on 16 December 44, at 0530 hrs with a massive artillery barrage on the Allied troops facing the 6th SS Panzer Army • By 0800 all 3 German armies were attacking in the Ardennes • 1st wave was mostly infantry

  14. General Winter • Snowstorms engulf the forest • Grounded Allied aircraft, but also slowed the German advance • “The Red Ball Express” • 250,000 troops in a week

  15. Operation Stösser Fallschirmjager (German paratroopers) Miss drops scattered and left Allies concerned Operation Greif English-speaking Germans behind Allied lines “Krauts... speaking perfect English... raising hell, cutting wires, turning road signs around, spooking whole divisions, and shoving a bulge into our defenses". Patton

  16. Otto Skorzeny The most dangerous man in Europe

  17. Malmédy Massacre • 150 American POW’s executed by SS officers and 6th SS Panzer Army, Kampfgruppe Peiper • After the incident orders were given to shot all SS officers and paratroopers on sight

  18. BASTOGNE

  19. Small city stuck right smack in the middle of the German offensive in the Ardennes The town was being held by the US101st Airborne and Combat Command B or the US 10th Armored Division All roads led to Bastogne No supplies, cut off, no winter clothes Battling Bastards of Bastogne

  20. "Nuts!" • Awakened with an offer to surrender • 10 days and the weather breaks • One last shot and it is over • 506 Easy Co. • Band of Brothers

  21. By Dec. 23 p-47 started to destroy German troops By 24th the offensive was stalled short of the Meuse Patton’s 3rd Armored relieves Bastogne

  22. OPERATION BONENPLATTE • LUFTWAFFES OFFENSIVE AGAINST AIRFIELDS IN THE LOW COUNTRY • THE DAMAGE TO ALLIED AIRCRAFTS WAS HEAVY, BUT RECOVERABLE • THE LUFTWAFFE SUFFERED A DEATH BLOW AS AN OFFENSIVE WEAPON

  23. Operation Nordwind • LAST MAJOR OFFENSIVE • Seventh U.S. Army • ALSACE & LORRAINE • 14,716 casualties VI ARMY • US SUFFERS ROUGHLY 9000

  24. Houffalize PATTON AND MONTY FREEZING COLD-URINATE ON YOUR WEAPON TO KEEP IT FROM FREEZING BY 7 JAN. HITLER PULLS THE SS UNITS OUT Bradley and Patton both threatened to resign unless Montgomery's command was changed VICTORY IN THE ARDENNES

  25. The Battle of the Bulge ended when the two American forces met up on 15 JAN. 1945

  26. SOVIETS ENTER AND LIBERATE WARSAWLET THE RACE TO BERLIN BEGIN

  27. Dresden Firestorm • Feb. 13-14, 1945 • Dresden was a cultural center in Germany • 769 Lancasters struck the city in two waves and dropped 2500 tons of bombs • City burned for a week-- 35,000 killed, 1600 acres destroyed

  28. YALTA--FEB.45’“Big Three” • STALIN CHURCHILL ROOSEVELT • WHAT TO DO ABOUT POST WAR EUROPE? • WHO GET BERLIN? • WHAT ABOUT THE JAPANESE?

  29. A QUICK ENDING • BY MARCH THE OILFIELDS OF HUNGARY ARE LOST • THE GERMAN ARMY RETREATS TO IT’S INTERIOR • BERLIN IS ALL THAT REMAINS • IT IS A PRIZE THAT WILL BELONG TO THE SOVIETS

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