The Colmar operation ( January 20 - February 9, 1945 ) is a military operation of the three corps of France and the United States against the 19th German army during World War II with the aim of encircling and eliminating the German group in the Colmar area.
| Colmar operation | |||
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| Main conflict: World War II | |||
 Operation Card | |||
| date | January 20 - February 9, 1945 | ||
| A place | Alsace | ||
| Total | Allied victory | ||
| Opponents | |||
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| Commanders | |||
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| Losses | |||
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Content
Background
As a result of the Alsatian-Lorraine operation , the 19th German army, the Colmar "sack," was surrounded.
The idea of the operation to eliminate the "sack" was to, using the covering position, strike at the northern and southern faces of the ledge, defeat the Germans and go to the Rhine . The 1st Corps of the 1st French Army, consisting of 4 divisions, was supposed to advance from Mulhouse in the general direction on Breyz , and the 2nd Corps (3 infantry and armored divisions) had the task of advancing from an area 20 km north of Colmar to get around it with north and east and exit onto the Rhine north of Breisach.
The alignment of forces
Allies
- 6th Army Group (J. Divers)
- 7th American Army ( A. Patch )
- 1st French Army ( J.-M. de Latre de Tassigny )
Germany
- 19th German Army (G. Fertch )
Progress of operation
On January 20, the 1st French Corps launched an offensive from the Mulhouse region to the north. Having suffered significant losses, the French were able to advance only to a depth of 4-5 km. On January 22, the 20th French Corps went on the offensive, but also did not achieve noticeable success.
Then D. Eisenhower strengthened the 1st French army with the American corps, consisting of 3 infantry and armored divisions. On January 29, this corps went on the offensive. After several days of fierce fighting, the enemy’s resistance was finally broken. On February 3, American troops occupied Colmar , and two days later they connected with the 1st French Corps. The remnants of 4 German divisions were surrounded and captured, the other half of the group, having suffered significant losses, retreated to the right bank of the Rhine. By February 9, the Colmar “bag” was eliminated.
Summary
The 6th Army Group entered the Rhine from the Swiss border to the area north of Strasbourg and crossed the river at the end of March. Further in April it advanced along the southern part of Germany and in Austria through the Alps .
On May 4, 1945, the American 103rd Infantry Division of the 7th American Army from the 6th Army Group crossed the Alps on the Brenner Pass and met the American 88th Infantry Division advancing from the south of the 5th American Army from the 15th Army Group allies in northern Italy .
Notes
- ↑ De Lattre, p. 398
- ↑ Clarke and Smith, p. 556
- ↑ Clarke and Smith, p. 556–557.
Literature
- The history of the Second World War 1939-1945. Volume 10. - M .: Military Publishing, 1984. - S. 240.