page_title: Colmar Pocket
section_title: Aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: Colmar Pocket / Aftermath
caption_attribution_description: English: Memorial to fallen World War II U.S. troops inside the Strasbourg cathedral.
context_page_description: The Colmar Pocket was the area held in central Alsace, France, by the German Nineteenth Army from November 1944 to February 1945, against the U.S. 6th Army Group during World War II. It was formed when 6th AG liberated southern and northern Alsace and adjacent eastern Lorraine, but could not clear central Alsace. During Operation Nordwind in December 1944, the 19th Army attacked north out of the Pocket in support of other German forces attacking south from the Saar into northern Alsace. In late January and early February 1945, the French First Army cleared the Pocket of German forces.
context_section_description: In compliance with General Eisenhower's direction, the Colmar Pocket was eliminated, and the U.S. 6th Army Group stood on the Rhine, from the Swiss border to a region well north of Strasbourg. The German 19th Army, although not completely destroyed, lost the bulk of its experienced combat troops (only the 708th Volksgrenadier Division escaped somewhat intact) and was forced to reform in Baden, using large infusions of inexperienced Volkssturm to replace its grievous losses on the plains of Alsace.  The Germans left behind 55 armored vehicles and 66 artillery pieces. The elimination of the Colmar Pocket allowed the 6th Army Group to concentrate on Operation Undertone, its assault to penetrate the Siegfried Line and invade Germany, undertaken in March 1945.
  For the fourth time in 75 years, the province of Alsace had changed hands between France and Germany.
  After the battle, the French granted the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division the right to wear the Croix de Guerre, and the president awarded the division, as an entity, the Distinguished Unit Citation. The U.S. 109th Infantry Regiment (28th Division) was also granted the right to wear the Croix de Guerre.
  Today, numerous streets in Alsace are named after Allied commanders and units that fought in the battle, and there are French and U.S. military cemeteries in the area.
caption: Memorial to fallen U.S. troops in the Strasbourg Cathedral.
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