Their material support—weapons, fuel, ammunition, food—was lavish. US soldiers defused the situation by entering the church, kneeling, and praying the Mass with the parishioners. In addition, he could not reconcile surrender with the demands he placed on his officers and men throughout the war and his career. in the Ruhr Pocket in April, 1945. "What is left for a defeated general?" The staff of Army Group B knew they only had food supplies for three weeks owing to the millions of civilians that also had to be fed. Slashing north, firing on the run, and cutting across columns of German stragglers, Richardson rode his column hard. Bradley responded when Hodges told him the news "This will bust him wide open." [9], On 10 April the U.S. Ninth Army captured Essen. Field Marshal Model, crushed by the totality of the defeat, as well as the news that the Soviet government had listed him as a war criminal, was growing more despondent by the hour. On April 14, with the pocket torn in two and German units running out of ammunition and food, mass surrenders began. Amid the war’s final tumult, peals of relief at Adolf Hitler’s downfall, and horrifying revelations about the Final Solution, it’s easy to overlook the Battle of the Ruhr Pocket, the climax in a tale of two armies. The locals soon learned that any sign of resistance—German sniper fire, an infantry skirmish, or a random mortar round—seemed to madden the "Amis." And with the lucky break at Remagen, he saw a big one. [8], In the south, the attack of the U.S. III Corps and XVIII Airborne Corps on 5 and 6 April was delayed by German troops, who skillfully used the rugged terrain of the 80% forested Sauerland district to force the Americans to fight for every stream, wood and town. While the bulk of the U.S. forces advanced east towards the Elbe river, some 18 U.S. divisions remained behind to destroy the isolated forces of Army Group B. Seizing the Ruhr and striking a blow at German heavy industry had been part of the Allied operational plan even before D-Day. In the south, while the Third Army headed east, the First Army headed northeast and formed the southern pincer of the Ruhr envelopment. All four immediately launched concentric drives against the outmanned and unsupplied enemy, herding the Germans into a smaller and smaller space, packing them together, and making them an even more lucrative target for US firepower. The author focuses on the German perspective of the Second World War, and describes the experiences of former Wehrmacht soldiers, Volkssturm conscripts, Hitler Youth members, and civilians as they witnessed the collapse of the Third Reich. The Ruhr Pocket campaign of April 1945 ended Germany's hopes—and established the US Army. Their life's work—to win world dominance for Germany—had come to naught in the course of two bloody and fruitless world wars. The The Museum’s collection contains items from some of these visitors, American service members who wanted to sit in on one of the most significant trials in history. Blocking the American path was a pair of German armies comprising Army Group B, 400,000 men, with 5th Panzer Army on the right and 15th Army on the left. On 16 April the bulk of the German forces surrendered en masse to the U.S. divisions. The number of prisoners exceeded all expectations, amounting to 317,000 men, twice the US intelligence estimate. By 17 April ammunition supplies would be exhausted, so the non-combatant troops would be allowed to surrender on that day. [12][13], Rather than surrender his command, Field Marshal Walter Model dissolved Army Group B on 15 April. Montgomery launched Operation Plunder (now Plunder-Varsity) on March 23, kicking things off with a massive four-hour, 4,000-gun artillery barrage and followed by airborne drops by British 6th and US 17th Airborne Divisions. [13], The western part of the pocket continued a weak resistance until 18 April. The Ruhr Pocket campaign of April 1945 ended Germany's hopes—and established the US Army. "Herr Vicar, they are here," a woman whispered to the priest, at the very moment that a 76 mm. The reduction of the German pocket was begun right away on 1 April by the U.S. Ninth Army, with the forces of the U.S. First Army joining on 4 April. Having lost contact with its units, the German 15th Army capitulated the same day. The presence of SS troops was a common element in most instances of all-out resistance. Moreover, they did all these things at the end of a 4,000-mile logistical pipeline, and at a cost of just 10,000 casualties, remarkably light by late war standards. Model tried to get to the Harz mountains through the American lines in a small column, but could not make it. When Wagener did not respond, Model answered his own question: "In ancient times they took poison." This article is part of an ongoing series commemorating the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II made possible by Bank of America. A few German units attempted to launch counterattacks, but US momentum smothered them before they got started, and most G.I.s probably never even noticed them. The pincers snapped shut, and the US Army had its greatest encirclement of the war. Indeed, Montgomery had already decided to expand his crossing operation to include a two-division airborne drop, Operation Varsity, to disrupt the defenses and keep German reserves from getting to the front. Two road marches totaling 400 kilometers sufficed for a Combat Command of the 13th Armored to decline to 50% of authorized strength for its Sherman tanks by the time it reached the battle area. By April 11th, the pocket was half as large as it had been on the 1st; by the 14th, US attacks toward the town of Hagen had sliced the pocket in half. One man didn't surrender, however. 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