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Battle Of Aachen
The Battle of Aachen was a battle of World War II, fought by American and German forces in and around Aachen, Germany, between 12 September and 21 October 1944. The city had been incorporated into the Siegfried Line, the main defensive network on Germany's western border; the Allies had hoped to capture it quickly and advance into the industrialized Ruhr basin. Although most of Aachen's civilian population was evacuated before the battle began, much of the city was destroyed and both sides suffered heavy losses. It was one of the largest urban battles fought by U.S. forces in World War II, and is considered one of the toughest urban encounters in the entire war. As a result, Aachen became the first city on German Reich, internationally recognized German soil to be captured by the Allies. Despite the battle ending with a German surrender, their tenacious defense significantly disrupted Allied plans for the advance into Germany. Background By September 1944, the Allies of World W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Allied Advance From Paris To The Rhine
The Siegfried Line campaign was a phase in the Western Front (World War II)#1944–1945: The Second Front, Western European campaign of World War II, which involved engagments near the German defensive Siegfried Line. This campaign spanned from the end of Operation Overlord and the push across northern France, which ended on 15 September 1944, and concluded with the opening of the German Ardennes counteroffensive, better known as the Battle of the Bulge. Background German forces had been routed during the Allies of World War II, Allied Operation Cobra, break-out from Normandy. The Allies advanced rapidly against an enemy that put up little resistance. But after the liberation of Paris in late August 1944, the Allies paused to re-group and organise before continuing their advance from Paris to the Rhine, River Rhine. The pause allowed the Germans to solidify their lines—something they had been unable to do west of Paris. By the middle of September 1944, the three Western Al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
29th Infantry Division (United States)
The 29th Infantry Division (29th ID), also known as the "Blue and Gray Division", is an infantry division (military), division of the United States Army based at Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County, Virginia. The division is currently a formation (military), formation of the Army National Guard and includes units from Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, and West Virginia. Formed in 1917, the division deployed to France as a part of the American Expeditionary Force during World War I. It was called up for service again during World War II. The division's 116th Regiment, attached to the 1st Infantry Division (United States), First Infantry Division, was the first wave of troops ashore during Normandy landings, Operation Overlord, the landings in Normandy, France. It supported a special Ranger unit tasked with clearing strong points at Omaha Beach. The rest of the 29th ID came ashore later, then advanced to Saint-Lô, and eventually through France and into Germ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Ruhr
The Ruhr ( ; , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr Area, sometimes Ruhr District, Ruhr Region, or Ruhr Valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 1,160/km2 and a population of over 5 million (2017), it is the largest urban area in Germany and the third of the European Union. It consists of several large cities bordered by the rivers Ruhr to the south, Rhine to the west, and Lippe to the north. In the southwest it borders the Bergisches Land. It is considered part of the larger Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region of more than 10 million people, which is the third largest in Western Europe, behind only London and Paris. The Ruhr cities are, from west to east: Duisburg, Oberhausen, Bottrop, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Bochum, Herne, Hagen, Dortmund, Hamm and the districts of Wesel, Recklinghausen, Unna and Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis. The most populous cities are Dortmund (with a population of app ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Siegfried Line
The Siegfried Line, known in German as the ''Westwall (= western bulwark)'', was a German defensive line built during the late 1930s. Started in 1936, opposite the French Maginot Line, it stretched more than from Kleve on the border with the Netherlands, along the western border of Nazi Germany, to the town of Weil am Rhein on the border with Switzerland. The line featured more than 18,000 bunkers, tunnels and tank traps. From September 1944 to March 1945, the Siegfried Line was subjected to a large-scale Allied offensive. Name The official German name for the defensive line construction program before and during the Second World War changed several times during the late 1930s. It came to be known as the "Westwall", but in English it was referred to as the "Siegfried Line" or, sometimes, the "West Wall". Various German names reflected different areas of construction: * Border Watch programme (pioneering programme) for the most advanced positions (1938) * Limes programme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Volkssturm
The (, ) was a ''levée en masse'' national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was set up by the Nazi Party on the orders of Adolf Hitler and established on 25 September 1944. It was staffed by conscripting males between the ages of 16 and 60 years, who were not already serving in some military unit. The ''Volkssturm'' comprised one of the final components of the Total war#Nazi Germany, total war promulgated by Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, part of a Nazi endeavor to overcome their enemies' military strength through force of will. ''Volkssturm'' units fought unsuccessful battles against Allies of World War II, Allied forces at the end of the war. On several occasions, its members participated in atrocities, accompanied by German civilians and the Hitler Youth, which were overseen by members of the Schutzstaffel, SS or ''Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany, Gau'' leaders ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
49th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
The 49th Infantry Division () was a military formation of the Heer (1933-1945), German ''Heer'' (Army) which served during the later years of the Second World War. History On 1 February 1944, the 191st Reserve Division (Wehrmacht), 191st Reserve Division was reorganised in the Boulogne-sur-Mer area of ''Militärverwaltung in Belgien und Nordfrankreich'' (Military Administration in Belgium and Northern France). After formation the division was used for coastal defence between Boulogne-sur-Mer and Étaples. In mid-August 1944 the division was relocated to Paris and eventually back into the Low Countries, and was smashed at the Battle of Mons (near the Albert Canal) by the 21st Army Group. The divisional commander, Lt Gen Siegfried Macholz, tried to reorganise his shattered units at Hasselt, but managed to assemble only 1,500 men – mostly support troops who had no anti-tank guns and only piece of artillery: a Soviet 122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19). Only one regimental headquarters ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
12th Volksgrenadier Division
The 12th Infantry Division (German: "12. Infanteriedivision") – later known as the 12th Volksgrenadier Division – was a Wehrmacht military unit of Nazi Germany that fought during World War II. The division was formed in 1934. It participated in the invasion of Poland in 1939 and the 1940 campaign in France and the Low Countries. In the Soviet Union, the division joined Operation Barbarossa. The division was destroyed in the Soviet Operation Bagration in the summer of 1944. The division was re-activated in September 1944 and posted to the newly created Western Front. History and organisation Formation The division was formed in 1934 from Pomerania's Mecklenburger population, with its home station being in Schwerin. In order to hide Germany's remilitarisation – a breaking of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles – the unit was codenamed ''Infanterieführer II'' to disguise its size. It did not assume its bona-fide designation until the creation of the Wehrmacht was annou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
246th Volksgrenadier Division
The 246th Infantry Division () was a division of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. Towards the end of the war, it was redeployed under the name 246th Volksgrenadier Division. Operational history The 246th Infantry Division was formed in Trier (Wkr. XII) and initially stationed on the Saar Line, later in South-western France from August 1941 until January 1942. On formation, it consisted of 313th, 352nd and 404th infantry regiments; an artillery regiment; a pioneer battalion; an anti-tank battalion; a signals battalion, and other subunits. The division lacked 50mm anti-tank guns, and used trophy French vehicles. From February 1942 to January 1943 the division served in the area of Vitebsk and was a part of the 9th Army. Most of the operations in which the division participated were in the area of Bely and south-west of it, the sector extending to Smolensk. The division's most active period was during the Winter-Spring of 1942, but from May it was transferred to the ''Ka ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
183rd Volksgrenadier Division
The 183rd Volksgrenadier Division () was a German unit during World War II. History In September 1944 the 183 Volksgrenadier Division was formed of what was left of the 183rd Infantry Division, complemented by non-fighting military personnel (from navy and air force) and civilians. The 183rd Infantry Division had come into existence on 15 September 1944, having been formed from the so-called Schatten-Division Döllersheim. At the end of November Grenadier-Regiment 330 was destroyed at Geilenkirchen during a massive allied offensive against the German positions between the rivers Wurm and Rur, between Geilenkirchen and Linnich. Aim of the Ninth US Army was the Rur crossing at Linnich, which would open the way to Cologne. The offensive was called Operation Queen and was launched on 16 November. The 330th Infantry Regiment of the 183rd Volksgrenadier Division was holding the front line at Floverich, Loverich and Setterich, where the Americans attacked with the 2nd Armored Divisi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
116th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)
The 116th ''Panzer'' Division, also known as the "Windhund (Greyhound) Division", was a German armoured formation that saw combat during World War II. History Formation The 116th Division was constituted in the Rhineland and Westphalia areas of western Germany in March 1944 from the remnants of the 16th ''Panzergrenadier Division'', and the 179th Reserve ''Panzer Division''. The 16th had suffered heavy casualties in combat on the Eastern Front near Stalingrad, and the 179th was a second-line formation that had been on occupation duty in France since 1943. Western Front In 1944, it participated in opposing the Normandy landings, the Battle of Normandy, and was later trapped in the Falaise Pocket following Operation Cobra, Operation Bluecoat, Operations Totalize and Tractable. Along with the 2nd SS Panzer Division, it was responsible for holding the pocket open to allow German troops to escape. It managed to escape, although with only 600 infantry and 12 tanks int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
LXXXI Army Corps (Wehrmacht)
The LXXXI Army Corps () was an army corps of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. The corps was established in occupied France in 1942 and remained active until 1945. History The LXXXI Army Corps was established in occupied France on 28 May 1942 from the renamed ''Höheres Kommando z. b. V. XXXII''. In turn, the Higher Command XXXII, not to be confused with the XXXII Army Corps, had been established on 15 October 1939 from the Grenzschutz-Abschnittkommando 2. The initial commander of the LXXXI Army Corps was Adolf-Friedrich Kuntzen. The LXXXI Army Corps, initially headquartered at Rouen, was originally subordinate to the 15th Army under Army Group D between June 1942 and July 1944. It was then moved to the 5th Panzer Army in August 1944, to the 7th Army between September and October 1944, and to the 5th Panzer Army between November and December 1944. It was moved back to the 15th Army in early 1945. On 5 March 1945, ''Gauleiter'' of Cologne-Aachen Josef Grohé demanded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
28th Infantry Division (United States)
The 28th Infantry Division ("Keystone") is a unit of the United States Army National Guard, and is the oldest division-sized unit in the Army. Some of the units of the division can trace their lineage to Benjamin Franklin's battalion, The Pennsylvania Associators (1747–1777). The division was officially established in 1879 and was later redesignated as the 28th Division in 1917, after the entry of America into the First World War. Today, the division contains units from Pennsylvania Army National Guard, Pennsylvania, Maryland Army National Guard, Maryland, Ohio Army National Guard, Ohio, and New Jersey Army National Guard, New Jersey. It was originally nicknamed the "Keystone Division," as it was formed from units of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard; Pennsylvania being known as the "Keystone State." During World War II, it was given the nickname the "Bloody Bucket" division by Wehrmacht, German forces due to the shape and color of its red keystone insignia. Today the 28th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
