| Central German Front | |||||||
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| Part of World War II | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States Britain France
|  Germany
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| George S. Patton Omar Bradley Alexander Patch Courtney Hodges
| Gerd von Rundstedt Walter Model † Hermann Foertsch Hans von Obstfelder Paul Hausser Gustav-Adolf von Zangen
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The Central German Front was a theater of operations on the Western Front, in which American, Commonwealth, and French soldiers invaded Germany, crossing the Rhine and pushing the Germans back to Frankfurt by March 3. The advance here was led by US generals Omar Bradley and George S. Patton, while the other fronts were led by other Allied commanders. On May 8, the last Germans in the Central German Front surrendered.
Background[]
On August 20, 1944, the British, Canadians, Polish, and French liberated Paris, the capital of France, and they pushed the Germans out of the country by September. The Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler, ordered that the Volkssturm, a home guard of conscripts aged 16-60, be created to defend Germany from the Western Allies, as most of their regular units were engaged on the Eastern Front. On December 15, he attempted to push the Allies back to the coast of France in the Winter Offensive, but in January 1945, the Allies defeated all of the German divisions sent into Belgium. By then, they had pushed to the German border, while some units advanced into Austria. The reason why the Allies did not yet invade Germany was simple: they had no bridgeheads to cross; the Germans had blown up most of the bridges. However, some pontoon bridges were constructed, and on February 8, they began to invade Germany from three axes: Bernard Montgomery led the North German Front, Omar Bradley led the Central German Front, and Dwight D. Eisenhower led the Southern German Front. The worst resistance came from the center, as this was the heart of the country.
Battle[]
Central German Front, March 1
In late February, French and British troops secured a tight front line that stretched from Erkelenz to Metzervisse, facing minimal resistance from the Germans. However, the German Army began reinforcing their positions there, and sent not only regulars, but Provincial Militia, Waffen-SS conscripts, and Hitler Youth. The Allies made several failed counterattacks in late February, but gradually pushed the Germans out of the towns and villages they were hiding in.
On March 1, the Germans succeeded in a counteroffensive near Losheim, creating the so-called "Losheim Gap", in which inexperienced French troops failed to close a pocket of Wehrmacht soldiers. A French counterattack at Morbach was also beaten off, but the gap was closed by March 3.
Central German Front, March 2.
On March 2, the Germans succeeded in making counterattacks to the south, and cut off the vital French supply base at Hermeskeil. However, the British and Americans sent replacements for dead French soldiers, and they actually capitalized off of the strife of the Free French; they picked weapons, ammunition, helmets, and canteens off of the corpses of the fallen troops. The Losheim encirclement was devastated on March 3, when the Americans, British, French, and Canadians opened up a grand offensive designed to win the war.
Central German Front, March 3.
The Allies attacked from the north, center, and south at the same time, striking at the disorganized German troops, whose regiments had been shaved down to only a few troops after heavy fighting for small towns; each German town linked up to form complex supply lines that could fuel their frontline units. Hermann Foertsch's German 1st Army's crumbs attacked towards the towns of Hahn and Morbach from Bad-Sobernheim, desperately hoping to retain control of the southern half of the Central German Front, while a force of Germans attacked the town of Daun. Also, other attacks were made by the Wehrmacht, plus a few Allied counteroffensives, both resulting in heavy Allied and Axis losses.
Battles[]
- March 1: Losheim-Merzig Offensive (German victory)
- March 1-3: Losheim Gap (Allied victory)
- March 2: Morbach Counterattack (German victory)
- March 2: Hermeskeil Offensive (inconclusive)
- March 3: Battle of Daun (Allied victory)
- March 3: Dusseldorf Offensive
- March 3: Battle of Oplade
- March 3: Lohmar Offensive
- March 3: Battle of Kreuzberg
- March 3: Kurten Offensive
- March 3: Battle of Grevenbroich
- March 3: Battle of Crochem