YouTube Encyclopedic. It ended on 25 January 1945. Operation Nordwind (German: Unternehmen Nordwind) was the last major German offensive of World War II on the Western Front. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This is the order of battle of German and Allied forces during Operation Nordwind in World War II Contents 1 Allied Forces 1.1 Sixth Army Group (Devers) 1.1.1 US Seventh Army (Patch) 375 783. But their arrival was delayed, and on 21 January with supplies and ammunition short, Seventh Army ordered the much-depleted 79th and 14th Divisions to retreat from Rittershoffen and fall back on new positions on the south bank of the Moder River. On 25 January the German offensive was halted, after the US 222nd Infantry Regiment stopped their advance near Haguenau, and earning the Presidential Unit Citation in the process. This is a great story of a famous battle of World War II involving regiments of the 70th Division. Battle of Wingen-sur-Moder Operation Nordwind by Colonel Wallace Robert Cheves. Generalleutnant Hans von Obstfelder, Sixth Army Group (cont.) Eisenhower, fearing the outright destruction of the U.S. 7th Army, had rushed already battered divisions hurriedly relieved from the Ardennes, southeast over 100 km (62 mi), to reinforce the 7th Army. I just spoke to him and he does recall (if his memory serves him correctly) some panzers/tanks with flame throwers. Another smaller attack was made against the French positions south of Strasbourg, but it was finally stopped. Operation Nordwind began on the last day of 1944; elements of two German army groups attacked the U.S. On January 7 Luck approached the line south of Wissembourg at the villages of Rittershoffen and Hatten. The 125th Regiment of the 21st Panzer Division under Colonel Hans von Luck aimed to sever the American supply line to Strasbourg, by cutting across the eastern foothills of the Vosges at the northwest base of a natural salient in a bend of the River Rhine. Lieutenant General Jacob L. Devers, French First Army[4] Heavy American fire came from the 79th Infantry Division, the 14th Armoured Division, plus elements of the 42nd Infantry Division. This was the same day that the reinforcements began to arrive from the Ardennes. The German offensive was an operational failure, with its main objectives not achieved. General der Infanterie Siegfried Rasp. Lieutenant General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny[d], Army Group Upper Rhine[5] If you find our videos helpful you can support us by buying something from amazon. Division, 71st. -Video is targeted to blind users. Luck later said that the fighting around Rittershoffen had been "one of the hardest and most costly battles that ever raged".[7]. Two weeks of heavy fighting followed. Januar 1945 im Elsass und in Lothringen die letzte … Operation Nordwind (German: Unternehmen Nordwind) was the last major German offensive of World War II on the Western Front. This would leave the way open for Operation Dentist (Unternehmen Zahnarzt), a planned major thrust into the rear of the U.S. Third Army which would lead to the destruction of that army.[3]:494. This website contains a study into the Battle of Hatten-Rittershoffen during the late war German military offensive known as Operation Nordwind. A great story of leadership, courage, and fortitude in their struggle against the 6th SS Mountain Division. The U.S. VI Corps—which bore the brunt of the German attacks—was fighting on three sides by 15 January. .This is the order of battle of German and Allied forces during Operation Nordwind in World War II. It is a matter of destroying and exterminating the enemy forces wherever we find them. Order of battle for Operation Nordwind. 5-1/2 months after the end of the war in Europe. This article is about the 1944–1945 operation. The 7th Army—at the orders of U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower—had sent troops, equipment, and supplies north to reinforce the American armies in the Ardennes involved in the Battle of the Bulge. Sixth Army Group[1] Order of Battle for Operation Nordwind [Surhone, Lambert M.] on Amazon.com.au. Seventh and French First Armies in the snowy Vosges Mountains of northeastern France near the German border. Hatten and Rittershoffen are neighbouring villages in the French province of Alsace, near the German border. The Operation Nordwind plan called for Lt. Gen. Hans von Obstfelder’s German First Army to attack southward from the West Wall and into France, through Bitche, the Saverne Gap, and the Wissembourg Gap (the latter the site of first German success in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870) between the Low and High Vosges Mountains of Alsace-Lorraine, and link up with another thrust … It began on 31 December 1944 in Alsace and Lorraine in northeastern France, and ended on 25 January. Germans and Americans each occupying parts of the villages while civilians sheltered in cellars. *FREE* shipping on eligible orders. It began on 31 December 1944 in Rhineland-Palatinate, Alsace and Lorraine in southwestern Germany and northeastern France, and ended on 25 January 1945. Operation Nordwind was launched by German ground forces on 31 December 1944 against U.S. and French ground forces in the Rhineland-Palatinate and the Alsace and Lorraine regions of southwestern Germany and northeastern France as part of the European Theatre in World War II. Lieutenant General Alexander McC. For the 1941 operation, see, Grandes Unités Françaises, Vol. This is the order of battle of German and Allied forces during Operation Nordwind in World War II. "[3]:499, The goal of the offensive was to break through the lines of the U.S. On 31 December 1944, German Army Group G—commanded by Generaloberst Johannes Blaskowitz—and Army Group Oberrhein ("Upper Rhein")—commanded by Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler—launched a major offensive against the thinly stretched, 110-kilometre-long (68 mi) front line held by the U.S. 7th Army. By 21 December 1944, the German momentum during the Battle of the Bulge had begun to dissipate and it was evident the operation was on the brink of failure; it was believed an attack against the United States Seventh Army in southern France, which had extended its lines and taken on a defensive posture to cover the area vacated by the United States Third Army (which turned north to assist at the site of the German breakthrough), could relieve pressure on German forces in the Ardennes. Died of pneumonia approx. [6] In a briefing at his military command complex at Adlerhorst, Adolf Hitler declared in his speech to his division commanders on 28 December 1944 (three days prior to the launch of Operation Nordwind): "This attack has a very clear objective, namely the destruction of the enemy forces. Later successfully led French forces against the, United States Army Center of Military History, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Order_of_battle_for_Operation_Nordwind&oldid=986141389, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 30 October 2020, at 01:31. On the same day that the German Army launched Operation Nordwind, the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) committed almost 1,000 aircraft in support.