Last Roundup

The US 12th Army Group was using the Erfurt-Leipzig axis as their main line of advanceinto the heart of Germany. The industrial city of Erfurt was at the edge of the area which the Wehrmacht’s 11th Army was attempting to …

1945-04-11

35

The US 12th Army Group was using the Erfurt-Leipzig axis as their main line of advanceinto the heart of Germany. The industrial city of Erfurt was at the edge of the area which the Wehrmacht’s 11th Army was attempting to hold with its few remaining units. Despite their desperate sistuation, ad hoc German forces remained disciplined and with experienced leaders proved hard to finish off. Their US opponents were roaming relentlessly through the Reich expecting to overrun as much of it as possible in the ‘last days’ of the war. On 10th April, the 80th Infantry Division launched its attack into the center of Erfurt, while the 4th Armored Division drove around the southern part of the city on their way further east. Here they encountered resistance from remnants of the 11th Army, armed with panzerfausts and a few AT guns. The Germans were still capable of inflicting casualties, but by the night of the 11th, the mobile elements of 4th Armored Division had forced their way past the defenders and were 13 km beyond Erfurt, on the autobahn east of the city.

Erfurt, Germany

The Ruhr Pocket was a battle of encirclement that took place in April 1945, on the Western Front near the end of World War II, in the Ruhr Area of Germany. Some 317,000 German troops were taken prisoner along with 24 generals. The Americans suffered 10,000 casualties including 2,000 killed or missing.

Wikipedia: Ruhr Pocket

American

German