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Battle of Kassel (1945)
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Kassel was a four-day struggle between the U.S. Army and the German Army in April 1945 for Kassel
, a medium-sized city northeast of Frankfurt am Main. The battle resulted as the U.S. Third Army pushed northeast from the region of Frankfurt and Mainz
. The battle opened on April 1, 1945 and ended with an American victory three days later. Opposing the Third Army's 80th Infantry Division were an infantry replacement battalion, some heavy tanks, and anti-aircraft guns. Although the Germans gave battle at Kassel, their army was on the brink of collapse as the Western Allies and the Red Army
made deep inroads into Germany. The defense of Kassel did not materially impede the Allied advance, and, one month after the battle ended, Germany was forced to capitulate.
. This advance brought General Patton
's troops to the Rhine River, which they crossed at Oppenheim
, near Mainz, on March 22, 1945. While the U.S. First Army
was marching on Paderborn
, the Third Army moved on a roughly parallel course further to the east to cover the First Army's right flank and prevent any German attempt to relieve their troops trapped in the Ruhr Pocket
. Moving east from its bridgehead across the Rhine, the Third Army's XII Corps fought through scattered German opposition and reached Frankfurt on March 26. After Frankfurt, Kassel was the largest city in Hessen, having had a population of 200,000 in 1939. Another corps of the Third Army, the XX, was directed to capture it. By March 30, elements of the Third Army were nearing Kassel, having moved some 220 kilometres (136.7 mi) in eight days.
Much of Kassel's center lay in ruins as the city had been bombed
40 times by the Allied air forces. Among the bombing targets in the city was the Henschel factory complex, which produced Tiger II
tanks. As the Americans approached, the Henschel Works finished work on thirteen Tiger II tanks, which were taken over by two companies of the German 510th and 511th Heavy Tank Battalions. Deployed on a military training ground south of the city was a battery of 88 mm anti-aircraft guns manned by Reichsarbeitdienst (RAD) members, a paramilitary labor service of the Nazi Party. Besides the tanks and AA-guns, the Germans had several hundred men of the 15th Armored Infantry Replacement and Training Battalion with which to defend the city. The German high command had designated Kassel a Festung (fortress) with dire orders to "resist to the last round." In the event, however, the designation of the city as Festung had little impact on the outcome of the battle. In command of the city's defense was Generalmajor Johannes Erxleben, a communications officer with little battle experience.
. Three kilometers northeast of Fritzlar, the Tigers fought a meeting engagement
with an armored spearhead of the U.S. Third Army, resulting in damage or destruction to six U.S. tank destroyers. The German tankers, however, were forced to retreat when their unit was subjected to heavy artillery fire. On April 1, leading elements of the Major General Horace L. McBride's U.S. 80th Infantry Division approached Kassel from the south, but were forced to halt by fire from the RAD anti-aircraft battery positioned on the Dönche training ground (51°17′21"N 09°25′56"E), a relatively flat area that allowed the 88 mm guns to engage in long range fire.
On April 2, the Americans again responded with heavy artillery fire, destroying the RAD AA battery. The U.S. 318th Infantry Regiment moved a battalion into the wooded high ground (Habichtswald) west of Kassel, while the U.S. 319th Infantry Regiment crossed the Fulda River
and moved north along its east bank. The 80th Division's third regiment, the 317th Infantry, was in divisional reserve. By the end of the day, western and southern suburbs of Kassel had been occupied by the Americans.
In the south, German infantry of the 15th Battalion mounted 15 half-tracks and, supported by about 12 tanks, moved south and surprised elements of the 1st Battalion, 318th Infantry. The subsequent exchange of fire saw six U.S. tank destroyers knocked out and one Tiger II damaged. The German infantry was separated from their tanks by enfilading fire from U.S. troops who had pulled back from the road. The German tanks continued south until they were struck by an American 155-mm artillery barrage that destroyed two tanks with direct hits. A second and similar German assault was less successful and also repelled by artillery fire.
Having reorganized, 80th Division troops, with the support of M16 half-tracks that mounted four heavy machine guns, closed on the German Kaserne from which the attack the previous day had originated. M16's of the 633rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery (Heavy Weapons) Battalion subjected the German base and its defenders to blistering fire and forced the capitulation of the base's garrison.
The U.S. 318th Infantry's advance north into Kassel was blocked by a 15-meter high railway embankment under which a street ran. The underpass was blocked by a German self-propelled gun whose fire commanded the approach to the underpass. After American attempts to take the embankment were repelled by Germans dug in on the other side, the regiment's 1st Battalion managed to cross the embankment to the northwest and approached the German positions from the flank. Early on the morning of April 3, the battalion took the surrender of some 500 German troops who believed their defensive position compromised.
Fighting in Kassel was house-to-house from April 2, but the German defenders were too few to defend effectively and the U.S. forces pushed into the city's center, fending off local counter-attacks by infantry and tanks. American tanks and the U.S. 319th Infantry were meanwhile approaching Kassel from the east bank of the Fulda River
. The U.S. 317th Infantry was guarding the Americans' flank in the west and the U.S. 318th Infantry pushed through the city, arriving in the vicinity of the command bunker of General Erxleben at 0900 on April 4, 1945. Faced with the collapse of his defenses, Erxleben dispatched a captain early on April 4 to discuss surrender terms with the Americans. The American reply was that the Germans had to cease resistance with no cease-fire to evacuate wounded or civilians, or that the fighting would continue. Around 1100 on April 4, U.S. tanks crossed the Fulda River from the east and moved toward the center of Kassel. At 1200, General Erxleben capitulated and was taken prisoner along with 1,325 others, effectively ending the Battle of Kassel.
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
, a medium-sized city northeast of Frankfurt am Main. The battle resulted as the U.S. Third Army pushed northeast from the region of Frankfurt and Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
. The battle opened on April 1, 1945 and ended with an American victory three days later. Opposing the Third Army's 80th Infantry Division were an infantry replacement battalion, some heavy tanks, and anti-aircraft guns. Although the Germans gave battle at Kassel, their army was on the brink of collapse as the Western Allies and the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
made deep inroads into Germany. The defense of Kassel did not materially impede the Allied advance, and, one month after the battle ended, Germany was forced to capitulate.
Background
After the Ardennes Offensive, the U.S. Third Army had pushed east and southeast into Germany, capturing Pruem and TrierTrier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
. This advance brought General Patton
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton, Jr. was a United States Army officer best known for his leadership while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness.Patton was commissioned in the U.S. Army after his graduation from...
's troops to the Rhine River, which they crossed at Oppenheim
Oppenheim
Oppenheim is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The town is well known as a wine town, the site of the German Winegrowing Museum and particularly for the wines from the Oppenheimer Krötenbrunnen vineyards.- Location :...
, near Mainz, on March 22, 1945. While the U.S. First Army
U.S. First Army
The First United States Army is a field army of the United States Army. It now serves a mobilization, readiness and training command.- Establishment and World War I :...
was marching on Paderborn
Paderborn
Paderborn is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader, which originates in more than 200 springs near Paderborn Cathedral, where St. Liborius is buried.-History:...
, the Third Army moved on a roughly parallel course further to the east to cover the First Army's right flank and prevent any German attempt to relieve their troops trapped in the Ruhr Pocket
Ruhr Pocket
The Ruhr Pocket was a battle of encirclement that took place in late March and early April 1945, near the end of World War II, in the Ruhr Area of Germany. For all intents and purposes, it marked the end of major organized resistance on Nazi Germany's Western Front, as more than 300,000 troops were...
. Moving east from its bridgehead across the Rhine, the Third Army's XII Corps fought through scattered German opposition and reached Frankfurt on March 26. After Frankfurt, Kassel was the largest city in Hessen, having had a population of 200,000 in 1939. Another corps of the Third Army, the XX, was directed to capture it. By March 30, elements of the Third Army were nearing Kassel, having moved some 220 kilometres (136.7 mi) in eight days.
Much of Kassel's center lay in ruins as the city had been bombed
Bombing of Kassel in World War II
The Kassel World War II bombings were a set of Allied strategic bombing attacks which took place from February 1942 to March 1945. The fire of the most severe air raid burned for seven days, at least 10,000 people died, 150,000 inhabitants were bombed-out, and the vast majority of the city center...
40 times by the Allied air forces. Among the bombing targets in the city was the Henschel factory complex, which produced Tiger II
Tiger II
Tiger II is the common name of a German heavy tank of the Second World War. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B,Panzerkampfwagen – abbr: Pz. or Pz.Kfw. Ausführung – abbr: Ausf. .The full titles Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf...
tanks. As the Americans approached, the Henschel Works finished work on thirteen Tiger II tanks, which were taken over by two companies of the German 510th and 511th Heavy Tank Battalions. Deployed on a military training ground south of the city was a battery of 88 mm anti-aircraft guns manned by Reichsarbeitdienst (RAD) members, a paramilitary labor service of the Nazi Party. Besides the tanks and AA-guns, the Germans had several hundred men of the 15th Armored Infantry Replacement and Training Battalion with which to defend the city. The German high command had designated Kassel a Festung (fortress) with dire orders to "resist to the last round." In the event, however, the designation of the city as Festung had little impact on the outcome of the battle. In command of the city's defense was Generalmajor Johannes Erxleben, a communications officer with little battle experience.
Battle
On March 30, 1945, seven German Tiger II tanks rolled south, heading for FritzlarFritzlar
Fritzlar is a small German town in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, north of Frankfurt, with a storied history. It can reasonably be argued that the town is the site where the Christianization of northern Germany began and the birthplace of the German empire as a political entity.The...
. Three kilometers northeast of Fritzlar, the Tigers fought a meeting engagement
Meeting engagement
A meeting engagement, a term used in warfare, is a combat action that occurs when a moving force, incompletely deployed for battle, engages an enemy at an unexpected time and place.-Description:...
with an armored spearhead of the U.S. Third Army, resulting in damage or destruction to six U.S. tank destroyers. The German tankers, however, were forced to retreat when their unit was subjected to heavy artillery fire. On April 1, leading elements of the Major General Horace L. McBride's U.S. 80th Infantry Division approached Kassel from the south, but were forced to halt by fire from the RAD anti-aircraft battery positioned on the Dönche training ground (51°17′21"N 09°25′56"E), a relatively flat area that allowed the 88 mm guns to engage in long range fire.
On April 2, the Americans again responded with heavy artillery fire, destroying the RAD AA battery. The U.S. 318th Infantry Regiment moved a battalion into the wooded high ground (Habichtswald) west of Kassel, while the U.S. 319th Infantry Regiment crossed the Fulda River
Fulda River
The Fulda is a river in Hesse, Germany. It is one of two headstreams of the Weser . The Fulda is 218 km in length....
and moved north along its east bank. The 80th Division's third regiment, the 317th Infantry, was in divisional reserve. By the end of the day, western and southern suburbs of Kassel had been occupied by the Americans.
In the south, German infantry of the 15th Battalion mounted 15 half-tracks and, supported by about 12 tanks, moved south and surprised elements of the 1st Battalion, 318th Infantry. The subsequent exchange of fire saw six U.S. tank destroyers knocked out and one Tiger II damaged. The German infantry was separated from their tanks by enfilading fire from U.S. troops who had pulled back from the road. The German tanks continued south until they were struck by an American 155-mm artillery barrage that destroyed two tanks with direct hits. A second and similar German assault was less successful and also repelled by artillery fire.
Having reorganized, 80th Division troops, with the support of M16 half-tracks that mounted four heavy machine guns, closed on the German Kaserne from which the attack the previous day had originated. M16's of the 633rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery (Heavy Weapons) Battalion subjected the German base and its defenders to blistering fire and forced the capitulation of the base's garrison.
The U.S. 318th Infantry's advance north into Kassel was blocked by a 15-meter high railway embankment under which a street ran. The underpass was blocked by a German self-propelled gun whose fire commanded the approach to the underpass. After American attempts to take the embankment were repelled by Germans dug in on the other side, the regiment's 1st Battalion managed to cross the embankment to the northwest and approached the German positions from the flank. Early on the morning of April 3, the battalion took the surrender of some 500 German troops who believed their defensive position compromised.
Fighting in Kassel was house-to-house from April 2, but the German defenders were too few to defend effectively and the U.S. forces pushed into the city's center, fending off local counter-attacks by infantry and tanks. American tanks and the U.S. 319th Infantry were meanwhile approaching Kassel from the east bank of the Fulda River
Fulda River
The Fulda is a river in Hesse, Germany. It is one of two headstreams of the Weser . The Fulda is 218 km in length....
. The U.S. 317th Infantry was guarding the Americans' flank in the west and the U.S. 318th Infantry pushed through the city, arriving in the vicinity of the command bunker of General Erxleben at 0900 on April 4, 1945. Faced with the collapse of his defenses, Erxleben dispatched a captain early on April 4 to discuss surrender terms with the Americans. The American reply was that the Germans had to cease resistance with no cease-fire to evacuate wounded or civilians, or that the fighting would continue. Around 1100 on April 4, U.S. tanks crossed the Fulda River from the east and moved toward the center of Kassel. At 1200, General Erxleben capitulated and was taken prisoner along with 1,325 others, effectively ending the Battle of Kassel.