Operation Nordwind
Encyclopedia
Operation North Wind was the last major German
offensive of World War II
on the Western Front
. It began on 1 January 1945 in Alsace
and Lorraine
in northeastern France, and it ended on 25 January.
, Adolf Hitler
declared in his speech to his division commanders on 28 December 1944 (three days prior to the launch of Operation North Wind):
The objective was simple. The offensive was to break through the lines of the U.S. 7th Army and French 1st Army in the Upper Vosges
mountains and the Alsatian Plain, and destroy them. This would leave the way open for Operation Dentist
(Unternehmen Zahnarzt), a planned major thrust into the rear of the U.S. 3rd Army which would lead to the destruction of that army.
(Heeresgruppe G)—commanded by Generaloberst
(Colonel General) Johannes Blaskowitz
—and Army Group Upper Rhine
(Heeresgruppe Oberrhein)—commanded by Reichsführer-SS
Heinrich Himmler
—launched a major offensive against the thinly stretched, 110 km (68.4 mi) line of the U.S. 7th Army. Operation Nordwind soon had the understrength U.S. 7th Army in dire straits. The 7th Army—at the orders of U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower
—had sent troops, equipment, and supplies north to reinforce the American armies in the Ardennes
involved in the Battle of the Bulge
.
On the same day that the German Army launched Operation North Wind, the Luftwaffe
(German Air Force) committed almost 1,000 aircraft in support. This attempt to cripple the Allied
air forces based in northwestern Europe
was known as Operation Baseplate
(Unternehmen Bodenplatte). Bodenplatte failed without having achieved any of its key objectives.
The initial attack was conducted by three Corps of the German 1st Army of Army Group G, and by 9 January, the XXXIX Panzer Corps was heavily engaged as well. By 15 January, at least seventeen German divisions (including units in the Colmar Pocket
) were engaged from Army Group G and Army Group Upper Rhine, including the 6th SS Mountain
, 17th SS Panzergrenadier
, 21st Panzer, and 25th Panzergrenadier divisions. Another attack, smaller, was against the French positions south of Strasbourg
but it was finally stopped.
The U.S. VI Corps—which bore the brunt of the German attacks—was fighting on three sides by 13 January. With casualties mounting, and running severely short on replacements, tanks, ammunition, and supplies, Eisenhower, fearing the outright destruction of the U.S. 7th Army, rushed already battered divisions hurriedly relieved from the Ardennes, southeast over 100 km (62.1 mi), to reinforce the 7th Army. Their arrival was delayed, and the Americans were forced to withdraw to defensive positions on the south bank of the Moder River
on 21 January. The German offensive finally drew to a close on 25 January, the same day that the reinforcements began to arrive from the Ardennes. Strasbourg was saved but the Colmar Pocket
was a danger which had to be eliminated.
Operation Nordwind, although costly for both sides, permanently cleared the majority of all German forces from northeastern France.
In February 1945, with the assistance of the U.S. XXI Corps
, the French 1st Army collapsed the Colmar Pocket and cleared the west bank of the Rhine River of German forces in the area south of Strasbourg.
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
offensive of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
on the Western Front
Western Front (World War II)
The Western Front of the European Theatre of World War II encompassed, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and West Germany. The Western Front was marked by two phases of large-scale ground combat operations...
. It began on 1 January 1945 in Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
and Lorraine
Lorraine (province)
The Duchy of Upper Lorraine was an historical duchy roughly corresponding with the present-day northeastern Lorraine region of France, including parts of modern Luxembourg and Germany. The main cities were Metz, Verdun, and the historic capital Nancy....
in northeastern France, and it ended on 25 January.
Objectives
In a briefing at his military command complex at AdlerhorstAdlerhorst
Adlerhorst was a World War II bunker complex in Germany, located within Kransberg Castle , Wetterau in the Taunus mountains in the province of Hesse...
, Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
declared in his speech to his division commanders on 28 December 1944 (three days prior to the launch of Operation North Wind):
"This attack has a very clear objective, namely the destruction of the enemy forces. There is not a matter of prestige involved here. It is a matter of destroying and exterminating the enemy forces wherever we find them. The question of liberating all of Alsace at this time is not involved either. That would be very nice, the impression on the German people would be immeasurable, the impression on the world decisive, terrific psychologically, the impression on the French people would be depressing. But that is not important. It is more important, as I said before, to destroy his manpower."
The objective was simple. The offensive was to break through the lines of the U.S. 7th Army and French 1st Army in the Upper Vosges
Vosges
Vosges is a French department, named after the local mountain range. It contains the hometown of Joan of Arc, Domrémy.-History:The Vosges department is one of the original 83 departments of France, created on February 9, 1790 during the French Revolution. It was made of territories that had been...
mountains and the Alsatian Plain, and destroy them. This would leave the way open for Operation Dentist
Operation Zahnarzt
Operation Zahnarzt was a plan by the Germans to eliminate the Third Army. The plan of Operation Zahnarzt was to immediately come after Operation Nordwind...
(Unternehmen Zahnarzt), a planned major thrust into the rear of the U.S. 3rd Army which would lead to the destruction of that army.
The offensive
On 1 January 1945, German Army Group GArmy Group G
The German Army Group G fought on the Western Front of World War II and was a component of OB West.When the Allied invasion of Southern France took place, Army Group G had eleven divisions with which to hold France south of the Loire...
(Heeresgruppe G)—commanded by Generaloberst
Colonel General
Colonel General is a senior rank of General. North Korea and Russia are two countries which have used the rank extensively throughout their histories...
(Colonel General) Johannes Blaskowitz
Johannes Blaskowitz
Johannes Albrecht Blaskowitz was a German general during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords...
—and Army Group Upper Rhine
Army Group Oberrhein (Germany)
The Upper Rhine High Command , also incorrectly referred to as Army Group Upper Rhine , was a short-lived headquarters unit of the German Armed Forces created on the Western Front during World War II. The Upper Rhine High Command was formed on 26 November 1944 and was inactivated on 25 January 1945...
(Heeresgruppe Oberrhein)—commanded by Reichsführer-SS
Reichsführer-SS
was a special SS rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945. Reichsführer-SS was a title from 1925 to 1933 and, after 1934, the highest rank of the German Schutzstaffel .-Definition:...
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
—launched a major offensive against the thinly stretched, 110 km (68.4 mi) line of the U.S. 7th Army. Operation Nordwind soon had the understrength U.S. 7th Army in dire straits. The 7th Army—at the orders of U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
—had sent troops, equipment, and supplies north to reinforce the American armies in the Ardennes
Ardennes
The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and ridges formed within the Givetian Ardennes mountain range, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France , and geologically into the Eifel...
involved in the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
.
On the same day that the German Army launched Operation North Wind, the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
(German Air Force) committed almost 1,000 aircraft in support. This attempt to cripple the Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
air forces based in northwestern Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
was known as Operation Baseplate
Operation Bodenplatte
Operation Bodenplatte launched on 1 January 1945, was an attempt by the Luftwaffe to cripple Allied air forces in the Low Countries during the Second World War. The goal of Bodenplatte was to gain air superiority during the stagnant stage of the Battle of the Bulge, to allow the German Army and...
(Unternehmen Bodenplatte). Bodenplatte failed without having achieved any of its key objectives.
The initial attack was conducted by three Corps of the German 1st Army of Army Group G, and by 9 January, the XXXIX Panzer Corps was heavily engaged as well. By 15 January, at least seventeen German divisions (including units in the Colmar Pocket
Colmar Pocket
The Colmar Pocket ; in Alsace, France, was the site of an operation during the Second World War, between 20 January and 9 February 1945, where the French First Army and the U.S...
) were engaged from Army Group G and Army Group Upper Rhine, including the 6th SS Mountain
6th SS Mountain Division Nord
The 6th SS Mountain Division "Nord" was a German unit of the Waffen SS during World War II, formed in February 1941 as SS Kampfgruppe Nord ....
, 17th SS Panzergrenadier
17th SS Panzergrenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen
The 17. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Götz von Berlichingen was a German SS panzergrenadier division which saw action on the Western Front during World War II.-Formation and training:...
, 21st Panzer, and 25th Panzergrenadier divisions. Another attack, smaller, was against the French positions south of Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
but it was finally stopped.
The U.S. VI Corps—which bore the brunt of the German attacks—was fighting on three sides by 13 January. With casualties mounting, and running severely short on replacements, tanks, ammunition, and supplies, Eisenhower, fearing the outright destruction of the U.S. 7th Army, rushed already battered divisions hurriedly relieved from the Ardennes, southeast over 100 km (62.1 mi), to reinforce the 7th Army. Their arrival was delayed, and the Americans were forced to withdraw to defensive positions on the south bank of the Moder River
Moder River
The Moder is a long river in northeastern France, left tributary of the river Rhine. Its source is near the hamlet Moderfeld, in the commune of Zittersheim. It joins the Rhine near the Iffezheim Lock, in Germany.- Notes :...
on 21 January. The German offensive finally drew to a close on 25 January, the same day that the reinforcements began to arrive from the Ardennes. Strasbourg was saved but the Colmar Pocket
Colmar Pocket
The Colmar Pocket ; in Alsace, France, was the site of an operation during the Second World War, between 20 January and 9 February 1945, where the French First Army and the U.S...
was a danger which had to be eliminated.
Results
In the bitter, desperate fighting of Operation Nordwind, the VI Corps suffered a total of 14,716 casualties. The total casualties for the U.S. 7th Army as a whole is unclear, but it included approximately 3,000 killed, 9,000 wounded, and 17,000 sick and injuredOperation Nordwind, although costly for both sides, permanently cleared the majority of all German forces from northeastern France.
In February 1945, with the assistance of the U.S. XXI Corps
XXI Corps (United States)
Initially constituted on 2 December 1943 in the Army of the United States, the XXI Corps was activated on 6 December 1943 at Camp Polk, Louisiana. XXI Corps fought for 116 days in the European Theater of Operations, fighting from Alsace through southern Germany and into Austria. The corps was...
, the French 1st Army collapsed the Colmar Pocket and cleared the west bank of the Rhine River of German forces in the area south of Strasbourg.
See also
- Battle of the BulgeBattle of the BulgeThe Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
- Operation BaseplateOperation BodenplatteOperation Bodenplatte launched on 1 January 1945, was an attempt by the Luftwaffe to cripple Allied air forces in the Low Countries during the Second World War. The goal of Bodenplatte was to gain air superiority during the stagnant stage of the Battle of the Bulge, to allow the German Army and...
- Colmar PocketColmar PocketThe Colmar Pocket ; in Alsace, France, was the site of an operation during the Second World War, between 20 January and 9 February 1945, where the French First Army and the U.S...
- Operation Spring AwakeningOperation FrühlingserwachenOperation Frühlingserwachen was the last major German offensive launched during World War II. The offensive was launched in Hungary on the Eastern Front...