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36th Infantry Division WW2 INFO, FILES, REPORTS, BOOKS, NARRATIVE, HISTORY 2CDs
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36th Infantry Division WW2 INFO, FILES, REPORTS, BOOKS, NARRATIVE, HISTORY 2CDs
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These CDs contain PDF, MP3, MP4, HTM and TXT files that you can listen to, watch, view or read from your computer's cd drive. These are not DVDs. They will not work in your DVD player.
These World War II Research CDs will get your started in your endeavor to learn about World War II, however, in many cases, files of a World War II division can be very scarce and so these CDs may not include everything you might expect to see on a research cd or may want to know about a Division. Those files did not exist or were unavailable in the Public Domain at the time this CD set was compiled. Further, files copied from books and the National Archives, etc., and are "as is" and may be incomplete or unreadable in parts and generally, there are no better source copies available. Due to CD space limitations, some of the files, like the comic book covers, newspaper clippings, posters and video files, are of reduced quality / resolution.
All of the files on the CDs are listed on the CDs Navigation page and the files are found in their folders on the CDs. All of the Pictures are embedded into the PDF files. The IMAGES folders on the CDs contain the few small JPG and GIF thumbnail images that are part of the Navigation page and do not enlarge and are not for viewing.
One of the goals in the assembling of the files on these CDs was to try to create a DIVISION RESEARCH TOOL, a FAMILY KEEPSAKE and a MINI-MUSEUM of sorts, all in one, in a 3 CD MULTIMEDIA compilation where one might learn about the Division through reading the available monographs, historical narratives, daily reports and rosters, etc., and get the feeling of what it may have been like for the families at home of the men fighting by including the numerous DOCUMENTS, GUIDES, COMIC BOOK COVERS, MAGAZINE COVERS, NEWSPAPER HEADLINES, BANNED CARTOONS, FILMS, RADIO BROADCASTS and NEWSREELS of the time. Try listening to the over 25 hours RADIO BROADCASTS as if it were 1944. In the evening, turn down the lights, turn off the television and sit quietly, listening to the old time radio shows and the interrupting news updates about the D-DAY INVASION OF NORMANDY just as it was happening.
CD1 is more Division specific and may contain historical narratives, daily reports and rosters and monographs, etc., while CDs 2 and 3 are more Campaign and World War II general history focused and may contain film and newsreel videos, radio programs, newspaper headlines, posters, comic book covers, cartoons, research guides and forms among other interesting things. In most cases, CDs 2 and 3 are virtually the same on all CD titles and for that reason CD1 is available alone for $10 plus $2 postage each as a special order if you request it.
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Researching
World War II
UnitHistories, Documents
Monographs, Books and Reports on CD
PDF Remastered and Keyword Searchable Top- Orderof Battle - ChronologyMap -Files - History- Campaigns - Bottom
36thInfantry
Division
Orderof Battle

Headquartersand Headquarters Company141st Infantry Regiment
142nd Infantry Regiment
143rd Infantry Regiment442nd Infantry Regiment (attachedOct - Nov 44)36th Infantry Division Artillery
131st Field Artillery Battalion(105mm)
132nd Field Artillery Battalion(105mm)
133rd Field Artillery Battalion(105mm)
155th Field Artillery Battalion(155mm)36th Reconnaissance Troop(Mechanized)
111th Engineer Combat Battalion
111th Medical Battalion
36th Infantry Division MilitaryPolice Platoon
36th Infantry Division SpecialTroops
36th Quartermaster Company
36th Signal Company
736th Ordnance Light MaintenanceCompany
36th Counter IntelligenceCorps Detachment


Casualties

Killed -1,523
Killed in action - 3,131
Wounded in action - 13,191

Died ofwounds - 506

Campaigns
Naples- Foggia9Sep 43 - 21 Jan 44Anzio22Jan - 24 May 44Rome- Arno

22Jan - 9 Sep 44

SouthernFrance15Aug - 14 Sep 44Rhineland15Sept 44 - 21 Mar 45Ardennes- Alsace16Dec 44 - 25 Jan 45CentralEurope22Mar - 11 May 45Medals

Medal ofHonor - 14
Distinguished Service Crosses- 80
Distinguished Service Medals- 2
Silver Stars - 2,354
Legion of Merit Medals -49
Soldier's Medals - 77
Bronze Star Medals - 5,407
Air Medals - 88

Medal of HonorRecepients

BernardP. Bell, T/Sgt.
142nd Infantry Regiment- Company I
Mittelwihr, France
18 December 1944

ArnoldL. Bjorklund, 1st Lt.
36th Infantry Division
nr. Altavilla, Italy
September 13, 1943

CharlesH. Coolidge, T/Sgt.
141st Infantry Regiment- Company M
Belmont sur Buttant, France
October 24 - 27, 1944

MorrisE. Crain, T/Sgt.
141st InfantryRegiment -Company E
Haguenau, France
March 13, 1945

WilliamJ. Crawford, Pvt.
36th Infantry Division
nr. Altavilla, Italy
September 13, 1943

EdwardC. Dahlgren, Sgt.
142nd Infantry Regiment- Company E
Oberhoffen, France
February 11, 1945

EmileDeleau, Jr., Sgt.
142nd Infantry Regiment- Company A
Oberhoffen, France
February 12, 1945

StephenR. Gregg, 2nd Lt.
143rd Infantry Regiment
nr. Montelimar, France
August 27, 1944

SilvestreS. Herrera, Pfc.
142nd Infantry Regiment- Company E
nr. Mertzwiller, France
March 15, 1945

CharlesE. Kelly, Cpl.
143rd Infantry Regiment- Company L
nr. Altavilla, Italy,
September 13, 1943

JamesM. Logan, Sgt.
36th Infantry Division
nr. Salerno, Italy
September 9, 1943

ThomasE. McCall, S/Sgt.
143rd Infantry Regiment- Company F
nr. San Angelo, Italy
January 22, 1944EllisR. Weicht, Sgt.
142nd Infantry Regiment- Company F
St. Hippolyte, France
December 3, 1944HomerL. Wise, S/Sgt.
142nd Infantry Regiment- Company L
Magliano, Italy
June 14, 1944


Top- Orderof Battle - ChronologyMap -Files - History- Campaigns - Bottom

1940
25Nov-The36th was called up Active FederalService at San Antonio, Texas. 14Dec- TheDivision departed for its MobilizationStation at Camp Bowie, Texas.19411Jun- The36th moved to Brownwood, Texas whereit participated in the VIII CorpsBrownwood Maneuvers.13Jun- TheDivision returned to Camp Bowie.Aug-TheDivision moved to Mansfield, Louisiana,and took part in Louisiana ManeuversAug. and Sep.2Oct-The Division returned to Camp Bowie.19421Feb- TheDivision was reorganized into a TriangularInfantry Division.19Feb- TheDivision moved to Camp Blanding, Florida.9Jul-TheDivision participated in the CarolinaManeuvers till 15Aug.17Aug- TheDivision was Staged at Camp Edwards,Massachusetts for its Port Call. 1943
2Apr- TheDivision departed the New York Portof Embarkation for North Africa.13Apr- The36th Infantry Division landed in NorthAfrica and trained at Arzew and Rabat.9Sep- TheDivision first saw action,when itlanded by sea at Paestum on the Gulfof Salerno against intense Germanopposition.12Sep- TheGermans launched counterattacks butthe 36th repulsed them with the aidof air support and naval gunfir andadvanced slowly, securing the areafrom Agropoli to Altavilla.15Nov- Aftera brief rest the 36th returned tocombat the 36th captured Mount Maggiore,Mount Lungo, and the village of SanPietro despite strong enemy positionsand severe winter weather.19441Jan- Thisgrueling campaign was marked by futileattempts to establish a secure bridgeheadacross the Rapido River until 8 Feb.12Mar-Afterassisting the 34th Division in theattack on Cassino and fighting defensivelyalong the Rapido River, the severelydepleted 36th withdrew for rest andrehabilitation. 25May- TheDivision was sent by sea to the Anziobridgehead to take part in OperationDiadem. 1Jun- The36th drove north to capture Velletri.5Jun- TheDivision entered Rome.26Jun- Pushingup from Rome, the 36th encounteredsharp resistance at Magliano, butreached Piombino before moving backto Paestum for rest and rehabilitation.15Aug- Aspart of the American 6th Army Group,the Division made another amphibiousassault landing, against light oppositionin the Saint-Raphaël-Fréjusarea of Southern France as part ofOperation Dragoon. 28Aug- Montelimarfell and large German units were trapped.15Sep- TheDivision was attached to the FrenchFirst Army and advanced to the MoselleRiver at Remiremont and the foothillsof the Vosges. In a grinding offensive,the Division crossed the Meurthe River,breached the Ste. Marie Pass and burst
into the Alsatian Plains. 13Dec- Theenemy counterattacked but the 36thheld the perimeter of the Colmar Pocket.15Dec- TheDivision was released from attachmentto the First French Army, and returnedto the control of VI Corps.20Dec- TheDivision resumed the attack, advancingnorthward along the Rhine River toMannheim meeting heavy resistanceat Haguenau, Oberhofen, and Wissembourg.In this action Company "G"143rd Infantry Regiment gained a PresidentialUnit Citation. 27Dec- TheDivision was reassigned to XXI Corps.
30Dec- TheDivision returned to Seventh ArmyReserve and was taken out of the linefor the first time since it had landedin the south of France. 19453Jan- TheDivision was reassigned to XV Corps.18Jan- TheDivision was reassigned to VI Corps.Mar-TheDivision returned to the line earlyMarch. 29Mar- The36th was reassigned to the SeventhArmy.22Apr- TheDivision moved to the Danube River.27Apr- TheDivision was reassigned to the XXICorps.30Apr- TheDivision attacked the "NationalRedoubt" at Künzelsau.8May-Thedivision was based in Kitzbuhel, Austriawhere it captured Field Marshall GerdVon Runstedt, the commander of allGerman army forces on the Westernfront.14Aug- TheDivision's final station was at Kufstein,Austria.Dec-After400 days of combat, the 36th InfantryDivision returned to the United States.15Dec- TheDivision was returned to the TexasArmy National Guard.
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36thInfantry Division
in World War II
CD1
Open all files fromthe folders on the CDs
Install AdobeAcrobat PDF Reader from CD 1
Thefiles below are found on CD 1Five Years,
Five Countries,
Five CampaignsAn Account of the
141st Infantry Regiment
in World War Pages - PDF 20 - 22 Jan 4436th Infantry Division
141st Infantry Regiment Rapido
31 Pages - PDF 20 - 22 Jan 4436th Infantry Division
143rd Infantry RegimentOperations in the
attacks across the Rapido River, NearSant' Angelo, Pages - PDF 1 - 3 Feb 4536th Infantry Division
141st Infantry Regiment Operations in the attack on Herrlisheim,North of Strasbourg, Alsace Rhineland CampaignCD1
33 Pages - PDF 2 - 6 Feb 4536th Infantry Division
143rd Infantry Regiment Operations in the Capture and Defense
of Rohrwiller, East of Bischwiller, FranceRhineland CampaignCD1
34 Pages - PDF19 - 22 Mar 4536th Infantry Division
141st Infantry Regiment Operations at the Siegfried Line, Pages - PDF US Army WWII Chronology
1941 - Pages - PDF Medal of Honor
Recepients 1
14 Citations - PDFSep 43 - May 45
Cassino
To The AlpsCD 1
690 Pages - PDF9 Sep 43 - 4 Jun 44 Road To RomeCD 1
66 Pages - PDF9 Sep - 6 Oct 43SalernoCD 1
111 Pages - PDF 9 Sep 43 - 21 Jan 44Naples - FoggiaCD 1
32 Pages - PDF22 Jan - 24 May 44Anzio
CD 1
28 Pages - PDF22 Jan - 9 Sep 44Rome-Arno
CD 1
31 Pages - PDF 15 Aug - 14 Sep 44 Southern France
CampaignCD 1
32 Pages - PDF 16 Dec 44 - 25 Jan 45 Ardennes - Alsace
CampaignCD 1
56 Pages - PDF 15 Sep 44 - 21 Mar 45 Rhineland
CD 1
36 Pages - PDF22 Mar - 11 May 45 Central Europe
CD 1
36 Pages - PDF 19 Days
From Apennines
To the Alps
CD 1
90 Pages - PDFPictorial RecordWar Against
Germany and ItalyCD1
458 Pages - PDF Readers Guide

US Army
in World War II

CD 1
185 Pages - PDFResearch Guide
National Archives
Finding Information of
Personal Participation
in World War II Guide
CD 1
5 Pages - PDF National Art Gallery Guide to
Research Resources Relating to
World War IICD 1
20 Pages - PDFForm SF-180
Records Request Request for
Personnel RecordsCD 1
3 Pages - PDFChart Organization
US Army Division
CD 1
1 Page - PDF Situation Maps: PDF FilmThe
United States Army
Presents36th Infantry DivisionCD 1
20 Mins - .mp4 Order of Battle US ARMY
European Theater
of OperationsCD 1
618 Pages - PDFThefiles below are found on CD 2 VE Day
Eisenhower FlyerCD 2
1 Page - PDF Rank
Insignia of GradeCD 2
1 Page - PDF ChartEnlisted Men's
Uniform InsigniasCD 2
1 Page - PDF 2
19 Pages - PDF Mines - Booby Traps
Identification GuideCD 2
80 Pages - PDF Aircraft
Nose ArtCD 2
34 Pages - PDF
Aircraft
Recognition GuideCD 2
17 Pages - PDF

Aircraft
Insignia PosterCD 2
1 Page - PDF

US
World War II
PostersCD 2
249 Pages - PDF

German
World War II
PostersCD 2
75 Pages - PDF

Comic Book
Covers
CD 2
8 Pages - PDF Song LyricsArmy
HIT KIT
of Popular SongsCD 2
6 Pages - PDF Troopships
of World War 2
391 Pages - PDF British
Grenadier Guards
1939 - 1945CampaignsBEF - 1939 - 1940
Tunisia 1942 - 1943
Italy - 1943 - 1945
Europe 1944 - 1945CD 2
93 Pages - PDF FilmThe
BIG PICTURE
Documentary Film "Combat Infantryman"An Official
Television Report
to the Nation
From the
United States ArmyCD 2
Film Info - PDF
Film: 27m14s - MP4 Newsreels"Allied Vise Tightens
On Rhineland"
Universal Newsreel
7 Dec 44
Film: 7m17s"Nazis Surrender"
Universal Newsreel
14 May 45
Film: 7m24s"The Year 1945"
United Newsreel
Film: 8m34sCD 2
Newsreels - Folder 1 Sep 39 - 10 May 42 Graphic History
Of The WarCD 2
76 Pages - PDF 1985Veterans
Remerbrances
of World War II40th Anniversary
of VE Day CD 2
141 Pages - PDF Brief History
of World War IICD 2
55 Pages - PDF APOsArmy
Postal 2
149 Pages - PDF
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36th
Infantry Division

36th Infantry DivisionHistory

The36th Infantry Division was originallyactivated as the 15th Division,a Army National Guard Division fromTexas and Oklahoma. The designationwas changed to the 36th Divisionin 1917, possibly in July. The unitwas sent to Europe in July 1918and conducted major operations inthe Meuse-Argonne Offensive. DuringWorld War I, the division suffered2,584 casualties consisting of 466killed in action, and 2,118 woundedin action. The unit was inactivatedin June 1919.The 36th was called up again forActive Federal Service on 25 November,1940 at San Antonio, Texas. TheDivision loaded all of its equipment,Mustered its personnel, and departedfor its Mobilization Station atCamp Bowie, Texas on 14 December.The 36th moved to Brownwood, Texason 1 June 1941, where it participatedin the VIII Corps Brownwood Maneuversuntil 13 June. The Division thenreturned to Camp Bowie.

The Division thenmoved to Mansfield, Louisiana, andtook part in both the August andSeptember 1941 Louisiana Maneuvers.The Division then returned to CampBowie on 2 October where it wasreorganized into a Triangular InfantryDivision on 1 Feb 1942.

The Division thenmoved to Camp Blanding, Floridaon 19 February, and participatedin the Carolina Maneuvers between9 July and15 August. The Divisionthen was Staged at Camp Edwards,Massachusetts on 17 August for itsPort Call.

The Division departedthe New York Port of Embarkationon 2 April, 1943 for North Africa.

CombatChronicle
The 36th Infantry Division landedin North Africa 13 April, 1943 andtrained at Arzew and Rabat. It wasAssigned to the VI Corps, SeventhArmy, but attached to SOS, NATOUSA,for supply. The Division first sawaction, 9 September when it landedby sea at Paestum on the Gulf ofSalerno against intense German opposition.The Germans launched counterattackson September 12-14, but the 36threpulsed them with the aid of airsupport and naval gunfire, and advancedslowly, securing the area from Agropolito Altavilla.

After a brief restthe 36th returned to combat, 15November. It captured Mount Maggiore,Mount Lungo, and the village ofSan Pietro despite strong enemypositions and severe winter weather.This grueling campaign was markedby futile attempts to establisha secure bridgehead across the RapidoRiver, 1 January to 8 February,1944. After assisting the 34th Divisionin the attack on Cassino and fightingdefensively along the Rapido River,the severely depleted 36th withdrew,12 March for rest and rehabilitation.On 25 May the Division was sentby sea to the Anzio bridgehead totake part in Operation Diadem. Itdrove north to capture Velletri1 June and entered Rome on the 5th.Pushing up from Rome, the 36th encounteredsharp resistance at Magliano, butreached Piombino, 26 June beforemoving back to Paestum for restand rehabilitation.

On 15 August, aspart of the American 6th Army Group,the division made another amphibiousassault landing, against light oppositionin the Saint-Raphaël-Fréjusarea of Southern France as partof Operation Dragoon. A rapid advanceopened the Rhone River Valley. Montelimarfell 28 August and large Germanunits were trapped. On 15 Septemberthe Division was attached to theFrench First Army. The 36th advancedto the Moselle River at Remiremontand the foothills of the Vosges.In a grinding offensive, the Divisioncrossed the Meurthe River, breachedthe Ste. Marie Pass and burst intothe Alsatian Plains. The enemy counterattacked13 December but the 36th held theperimeter of the Colmar Pocket.On 15 December the Division wasreleased from attachment to theFirst French Army, and returnedto the control of VI Corps. TheGerman Army counterattacks out ofthe Colmar Pocket were so fierce,that at times, the field artillerywas forced to fire over open sights,at point blank range to stop them.On 20 December the Division resumedthe attack, advancing northwardalong the Rhine River to Mannheimmeeting heavy resistance at Haguenau,Oberhofen, and Wissembourg. In thisaction Company "G" 143rdInfantry Regiment gained a PresidentialUnit Citation. On 27 December theDivision was reassigned to XXI Corps,and the Division was pinched outand returned to Seventh Army Reserveon 30 December.

The Division wastaken out of the line for the firsttime since it had landed in thesouth of France. On 3 January, 1945the Division was reassigned to XVCorps. On 18 January the Divisionwas reassigned to VI Corps. It returnedto the line early March. The 36thwas reassigned to the Seventh Armyon 29 March, and moved to the DanubeRiver on 22 April. It was reassignedto the XXI Corps on 27 April andattacked the "National Redoubt"at Künzelsau on the 30th. The36th has been recognized by theUnited States Holocaust MemorialMuseum as a liberating unit fortheir work securing the subcampsof the Dachau concentration campsystem. By 8 May the division wasbased in Kitzbuhel, Austria whereit captured Field Marshall GerdVon Runstedt, the commander of allGerman army forces on the Westernfront, and it’s final stationwas at Kufstein, Austria on 14 August,1945.

After 400 days ofcombat, the 36th Infantry Divisionreturned to the United States inDecember 1945. It was returned tothe Texas Army National Guard on15 December, 1945.


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36th
Infantry Division

36thInfantry Division
Campaigns of World War II

Naples-Foggia9Sep 43 - 21 Jan 44Anzio22Jan - 24 May 44Rome-Arno

22Jan - 9 Sep 44

SouthernFrance15Aug - 14 Sep 44Rhineland15Sept 44 - 21 Mar 45Ardennes-Alsace16Dec 44 - 25 Jan 45CentralEurope22Mar - 11 May 45

Naples- Foggia
9 Sep 43 - 21 Jan 44

After Allied bombardmentof communications and airfieldsin Italy, Montgomery crossed theStrait of Messina on 3 September1943 and started northward. Fivedays later Eisenhower announcedthat the Italian Government hadsurrendered. Fifth Army, underClark, landed at Salerno on gSeptember and managed to staydespite furious counterattacks.By 18 September the Germans werewithdrawing northward. On 27 SeptemberEighth Army occupied the importantairfields of Foggia, and on IOctober Fifth Army took Naples.As the Allies pushed up the peninsula,the enemy slowed the advance andbrought it to a halt at the GustavLine.

Anzio
22 Jan - 24 May 44

The four monthsof this campaign would see someof the most savage fighting ofWorld War II.

Following thesuccessful Allied landings atCalabria, Taranto, and Salernoin early September 1943 and theunconditional surrender of Italythat same month, German forceshad quickly disarmed their formerallies and begun a slow, fightingwithdrawal to the north. Defendingtwo hastily prepared, fortifiedbelts stretching from coast tocoast, the Germans significantlyslowed the Allied advance beforesettling into the Gustav Line,a third, more formidable and sophisticateddefensive belt of interlockingpositions on the high ground alongthe peninsula’s narrowestpoint.

During the fourmonths of the Anzio Campaign theAllied VI Corps suffered over29,200 combat casualties (4,400killed, 18,000 wounded, 6,800prisoners or missing) and 37,000noncombat casualties. Two-thirdsof these losses, amounting to17 percent of VI Corps’effective strength, were inflictedbetween the initial landings andthe end of the German counteroffensiveon 4 March. Of the combat casualties,16,200 were Americans (2,800 killed,11,000 wounded, 2,400 prisonersor missing) as were 26,000 ofthe Allied noncombat casualties.German combat losses, sufferedwholly by the Fourteenth Army,were estimated at 27,500 (5,500killed, 17,500 wounded, and 4,500prisoners or missing), figuresvery similar to Allied losses.

The Anzio Campaigncontinues to be controversial,just as it was during its planningand implementation stages. Theoperation, according to U.S. ArmyCenter of Military History historianClayton D. Laurie, clearly failedin its immediate objectives ofoutflanking the Gustav Line, restoringmobility to the Italian campaign,and speeding the capture of Rome.

Yet the campaigndid accomplish several goals.The presence of a significantAllied force behind the Germanmain line of resistance, uncomfortablyclose to Rome, represented a constantthreat. The Germans could notignore Anzio and were forced intoa response, thereby surrenderingthe initiative in Italy to theAllies. The 135,000 troops ofthe Fourteenth Army surroundingAnzio could not be moved elsewhere,nor could they be used to makethe already formidable GustavLine virtually impregnable.

Rome- Arno
22 Jan - 9 Sep 44

The Allied operationsin Italy between January and September1944 were essentially an infantryman’swar where the outcome was decidedby countless bitterly fought smallunit actions waged over some ofEurope’s most difficultterrain under some of the worstweather conditions found anywhereduring World War II.

SouthernFrance
15 Aug - 14 Sep 44

The Allied invasionof southern France in the latesummer of 1944, an operation firstcode-named ANVIL and later DRAGOON,marked the beginning of one ofthe most successful but controversialcampaigns of World War II. However,because it fell both geographicallyand chronologically between twomuch larger Allied efforts innorthern France and Italy, bothits conduct and its contributionshave been largely ignored. Plannedoriginally as a simultaneous complementto OVERLORD, the cross-Channelattack on Normandy, ANVIL actuallytook place over two months later,on 15 August 1944, making it appearalmost an afterthought to themain Allied offensive in northernEurope. Yet the success of ANVILand the ensuing capture of thegreat southern French ports ofToulon and Marseille, togetherwith the subsequent drive northup the Rhone River valley to Lyonand Dijon, were ultimately toprovide critical support to theNormandy-based armies finallymoving east toward the Germanborder.

Rhineland
15 Sep 44 - 21 Mar 45

The RhinelandCampaign, although costly forthe Allies, had clearly been ruinousfor the Germans. The Germans sufferedsome 300,000 casualties and lostvast amounts of irreplaceableequipment. Hitler, having demandedthe defense of all of the Germanhomeland, enabled the Allies todestroy the Wehrmacht in the Westbetween the Siegfried Line andthe Rhine River. Now, the ThirdReich lay virtually prostratebefore Eisenhower’s massedarmies.

Ardennes- Alsace
16 Dec 44 - 25 Jan 45

In August 1944,while his armies were being destroyedin Normandy, Hitler secretly putin motion actions to build a largereserve force, forofferding itsuse to bolster Germany’sbeleaguered defenses. To providethe needed manpower, he trimmedexisting military forces and conscriptedyouths, the unfit, and old menpreviously untouched for militaryservice during World War II.

In September Hitlernamed the port of Antwerp, Belgium,as the objective. Selecting theEifel region as a staging area,Hitler intended to mass twenty-fivedivisions for an attack throughthe thinly held Ardennes Forestarea of southern Belgium and Luxembourg.Once the Meuse River was reachedand crossed, these forces wouldswing northwest some 60 milesto envelop the port of Antwerp.The maneuver was designed to severthe already stretched Allied supplylines in the north and to encircleand destroy a third of the Allies’ground forces. If successful,Hitler believed that the offensivecould smash the Allied coalition,or at least greatly cripple itsground combat capabilities, leavinghim free to focus on the Russiansat his back door.

Central Europe
22 Mar - 11 May 45

By the beginningof the Central Europe Campaignof World War II, Allied victoryin Europe was inevitable. Havinggambled his future ability todefend Germany on the Ardennesoffensive and lost, Hitler hadno real strength left to stopthe powerful Allied armies. YetHitler forced the Allies to fight,often bitterly, for final victory.Even when the hopelessness ofthe German situation became obviousto his most loyal subordinates,Hitler refused to admit defeat.Only when Soviet artillery wasfalling around his Berlin headquartersbunker did the German Fuehrerbegin to perceive the final outcomeof his megalomaniacal crusade.


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For Mac or PC computer use. A monographis a work of writing or essay or book on a specificsubject and may be released in the manner of a bookor journal article. Files copied from books andthe National Archives and are 'as is' and may beincomplete or unreadable in parts. For Special Requestsor more information about this or any of my other"Researching WWII" CDs like it, send an email to (removed per policy).

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