Rhineland Offensive

Rhineland Offensive
The Rhineland Offensive was a series of allied offensive operations by 21st Army Group commanded by Bernard Montgomery from 8 February 1945 to 25 March 1945, at the end of the Second World War. The operations were aimed at occupying the Rhineland and securing a passage over the Rhine river.
It was part of General Dwight D. Eisenhower's "broad front" strategy to occupy the entire west bank of the Rhine before its crossing. The Rhineland Offensive encompassed Operation Veritable, Operation Grenade, Operation Blockbuster, Operation Plunder and Operation Varsity.
Opposing forces
Allies
Forces deployed North to South:
Allied 21st Army Group
Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery
Canadian First Army
Lieutenant-General Henry D.G. Crerar
British XXX Corps (Lt-Gen Brian G. Horrocks)
British 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division (Maj-Gen Colin Muir Barber)
British 43rd (Wessex) Division (Maj-Gen Sir G. Ivor Thomas)
British 51st (Highland) Division (Maj-Gen Thomas G. Rennie)
British 53rd (Welsh) Division (Maj-Gen Robert Knox Ross)
British Guards Armoured Division (Maj-Gen Allan Henry Shafto Adair)
Canadian 2nd Infantry Division (Maj-Gen A. Bruce Matthews)
Canadian 3rd Infantry Division (Maj-Gen Daniel C. Spry)
Canadian II Corps (Lt-Gen Guy G. Simonds)
Canadian 4th Armoured Division (Maj-Gen Christopher Vokes)
British Second Army
Lieutenant-General Miles Dempsey
79th Armoured Division (Maj-Gen Sir Percy C.S. Hobart)
Britsh I Corps (Lt-Gen John T. Crocker)
Polish 1st Armoured Division (Maj. Gen. Stanisław Maczek)
49th (West Riding) Infantry Division (Maj-Gen Gordon H.A. MacMillan)
British VIII Corps (Lt-Gen Evelyn H. Barker)
11th Armoured Division (Maj-Gen George P.B. Roberts)
3rd Infantry Division (Maj-Gen Lashmer G. Whistler)
British XII Corps (Lt-Gen Neil M. Ritchie)
7th Armoured Division (Maj-Gen Lewis O. Lyne)
52nd (Lowland) Division (Maj-Gen Edmund Hakewill-Smith)
US Ninth Army
Lieutenant General William H. Simpson
75th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Ray E. Porter)
95th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Harry L. Twaddle)
US XVI Corps (Maj. Gen. John B. Anderson)
8th Armored ("Thundering Herd") Division (Maj. Gen. John M. Devine)
35th Infantry ("Santa Fe") Division (Maj. Gen. Paul W. Baade)
79th Infantry ("Cross of Lorraine") Division (Maj. Gen. Ira T. Wyche)
US XIII Corps (Maj. Gen. Alvan C. Gillem Jr.)
5th Armored ("Victory") Division ((Maj. Gen. Lunsford E. Oliver)
84th Infantry ("Railsplitters") Division (Maj. Gen. Alexander R. Bolling)
102nd Infantry ("Ozark") Division (Maj. Gen. Frank A. Keating)
US XIX Corps (Maj. Gen. Raymond S. McLain)
2nd Armored ("Hell on Wheels") Division (Maj. Gen. Isaac D. White)
29th Infantry ("Blue and Gray Division") Division (Maj. Gen. Charles H. Gerhardt)
30th Infantry ("Old Hickory") Division (Maj. Gen. Leland S. Hobbs)
83rd Infantry ("Thunderbolt") Division (Maj. Gen. Robert C. Macon)
Axis
Oberbefehlshaber West
Generalfeldmarschal Gerd von Rundstedt
Forces deployed North to South:
Heeresgruppe H
Generaloberst Johannes Blaskowitz
Twenty-Fifth Army
General der Infanterie Günther von Blumentritt
XXX Corps (Otto Fretter-Pico)
LXXXVIII Corps (Hans-Wolfgang Reinhard)
First Parachute Army
General der Fallschirmtruppe Alfred Schlemm
XLVII Panzer Corps (Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz)
II Parachute Corps (Eugen Meindl)
LXXXVI Corps (Erich Straube)
Heeresgruppe B
Generalfeldmarschal Walter Model
Fifteenth Army
General der Infanterie Gustav-Adolf von Zangen
XII SS Corps (Eduard Crasemann)
LXXXI Corps (Friedrich Köchling)
LVIII Panzer Corps (Walter Krüger)
Fifth Panzer Army
General der Panzertruppe Hasso von Manteuffel thru 9 Mar, then Generaloberst Josef Harpe
LXXIV Corps (Carl Püchler)
LXVII Corps (Otto Hitzfeld)
LXVI Corps (Walther Lucht)
See also
Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine
Notes
References
Further reading
Berkel, Alexander (2004). Krieg vor der Eigenen Haustür, Kleef, B.o.s.s. Druck und Medien. .
Hag, Leo ten (2014). Het natuurgebied rondom Nijmegen bezien als militair landschap3. .
Rawson, A. (2006). The Rhine Crossing. 9th US Army & 17th US Airborne, South Yorkshire, Pen & Sword Military. .
Rosendaal, J. (2014). De Bevrijding in Beeld. Van Neerpelt tot Wesel, 1944–1945, Nijmegen, Vantilt. .
Saunders, Tim (2006). Operation Plunder. The British & Canadian Rhine Crossing, South Yorkshire, Pen & Sword Military. .
Whitaker, W.D. en Whitaker, S. (1989). Rhineland. The Battle to end the war., Stoddart. .
External links
The Start Of The Rhineland Offensive, legionmagazine.com
Western Allied invasion of Germany
Rhine Province
February 1945 events in Europe
1945 in military history
1945 in Germany
Dwight D. Eisenhower