Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Following the Rhine crossing at Oppenheim by the American Third Army, confused fighting developed between Dannstadt and the Main River as retreating and defending German units mixed with the American armored spearheads. Most opposition was quickly swept aside, but the …

1945-03-25

W14

Following the Rhine crossing at Oppenheim by the American Third Army, confused fighting developed between Dannstadt and the Main River as retreating and defending German units mixed with the American armored spearheads. Most opposition was quickly swept aside, but the few remaining elite German formations in the area stood their ground as Allied columns fanned deeper into the German heartland.

Oppenheim, Germany

The Western Allied invasion of Germany was coordinated by the Western Allies during the final months of hostilities in the European theatre of World War II. In preparation for the Allied invasion of Germany, a series of offensive operations were designed to seize and capture the east and west bank of the Rhine River: Operation Veritable and Operation Grenade in February 1945, and Operation Lumberjack and Operation Undertone in March 1945. The Allied invasion of Germany started with the Western Allies crossing the Rhine on 22 March 1945 before fanning out and overrunning all of western Germany from the Baltic in the north to the Alpine passes in the south, where they linked up with troops of the U.S. Fifth Army in Italy. Combined with the capture of Berchtesgaden, any hope of Nazi leadership continuing to wage war from a so-called "National redoubt" or escape through the Alps was crushed, shortly followed by unconditional German surrender on 8 May 1945. This is known as the "Central Europe campaign" in United States military histories.

Wikipedia: Western Allied invasion of Germany

German

American