The death throes of the Third Reich were not pretty and took many lives.
Key Point: Berlin was doomed, yet they continued to resist. Here is how Nazi Germany finally came to its brutal end.
In January 12, 1945, Hitler received the news he had been dreading the Soviet Red Army had launched its winter offensive. He wasted no time. Within four days Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, commander in chief West, received the following order: “CinC West is to withdraw the following formations from operations [they were still involved in the Battle of the Bulge] immediately and refit them: I SS Panzer Corps with 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte and 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend; II SS Panzer Corps with 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich and 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen. Last day of refitting is 30th January. Reinforcements will be provided under the authority of the SS Supreme Operations Office.”
World War II: The U.S. Army s Determined Drive on the Moselle River
In September 1944, the American Third Army in France mounted a drive to bridge the Moselle River at Dieulouard and cut the German forces in two.
Here s What You Need to Know: On September 5, 1944, American intelligence estimates of German forces in the sector of the 80th Infantry Division, between Nancy and Metz in northeastern France, described scattered units and limited defenses along the east bank of the Moselle River. Elements of the 3rd and 15th Panzergrenadier Divisions were reported to be withdrawing through the area as German Army Group G attempted to gather Panzer units behind the front.