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122-489: Luxembourg The Netherlands Belgium France Britain 1941–1943 1944–1945 Germany Strategic campaigns The Colmar Pocket ( French : Poche de Colmar ; German : Brückenkopf Elsass ) 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 (6th AG) during World War II . It

244-574: A German armored counterattack near Richwiller was repulsed by the French colonial troops, with the Germans losing 15 tanks and tank destroyers. Overall, the gains of the French I Corps were greater in the western part (right flank) of its sector of the front, but the Germans in large part succeeded in stalemating the corps' advance. General Joseph de Goislard de Monsabert 's II Corps d'Armée launched its attack on 22–23 January. The attacking units were

366-536: A bridgehead near Sundhoffen and CCR advanced on the road between Colmar and Rouffach . The following day, CCA captured Hattstatt on the Colmar-Rouffach Road, but CCR found its way blocked by German defenses. On 5 February, CCA entered Rouffach and made contact with the 4th Moroccan Mountain Division of the French I Corps, some 17 days after French I Corps launched its assault. The same day, CCR entered

488-427: A brief stop, her party crossed the border at 07:45. Meanwhile, Hereditary Grand Duke Jean and two of his sisters, accompanied by an aide-de-camp , Guillaume Konsbruck , were to wait at the border for confirmation of occupation. Around 08:00 the prime minister and his entourage passed over the border before making contact with French troops at Longlaville . Last minute telephone calls with Luxembourg City revealed

610-655: A central radio receiver in Captain Stein's official office near the volunteers' Saint-Esprit Barracks in the capital. On 4 January 1940, the Cabinet convened under Grand Duchess Charlotte and outlined steps to be taken in the event of a German invasion. Charlotte decided that if possible she and the government would flee abroad in the event of an attack to advocate for the country's sovereignty. During World War I , her elder sister and then-Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde had elected to stay during Germany's occupation of

732-543: A crossroads manned by German units, and was forced to detour through the countryside to avoid capture. French Ambassador Jean Tripier followed the government party but was stopped by the Germans and forced to return to the capital. Belgian Ambassador Kervyn de Meerendré was also stopped by German soldiers at the border and ordered to turn back, as was the Luxembourgish Minister of Education, Nicolas Margue, who had attempted to escape by taxi. Bodson later fled

854-492: A day spent consolidating its positions, the 3rd Division moved south again on 5 February, taking Vogelgrun the following day. The fortified town of Neuf-Brisach was swiftly entered and taken on 6 February, by the 30th Infantry, with the help of two French children and another civilian, who showed the Americans undefended passages into the town. The Germans, having evacuated what remained of their men and equipment, had destroyed

976-602: A delicate situation. On one hand, the population's sympathies lay with the UK and France; on the other hand, due to the country's policy of neutrality since the Treaty of London in 1867, the government adopted a careful non-belligerent stance towards its neighbours. In accordance with the treaty's restrictions, the only military force Luxembourg maintained was its small Volunteer Corps under Captain Aloyse Jacoby , reinforced by

1098-610: A direct phone call to his superiors at Longwy. Also that day a German national working in Luxembourg as a gardener and a member of the German fifth column warned his Luxembourgish employer, Carlo Tuck, that an invasion was impending. Tuck passed the warning on to government officials. Late that evening, the Grand Ducal government came into possession of a document from a German divisional command. Dated 23 April 1940, it detailed

1220-423: A flight of Fairey Battle bombers from the 226 Squadron to attack German tank columns. They went unescorted and encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire. Most were damaged by flak but managed to escape. One received a direct hit and crashed near Bettendorf . German soldiers pulled the three injured crew from the burning wreckage, one of whom later died in a local hospital. The Grand Ducal Gendarmerie resisted

1342-749: A path for the tanks of the French 5th Armored Division to drive on the railway bridge supplying the Germans in the Colmar Pocket at Neuf-Brisach . The division's 7th Infantry Regiment pushed to the south, clearing the region between the Fecht and Ill Rivers. During the clearing operations of the 7th Infantry, Private First Class Jose F. Valdez sacrificed himself at a small railway station near Rosenkranz ( 48°07′49.22″N 07°21′22.32″E  /  48.1303389°N 7.3562000°E  / 48.1303389; 7.3562000  ( Bennwihr Gare ) ) to cover

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1464-782: A remote farm near the Moselle . At 11:45 on 9 May he radioed Longwy: "Reports of important German troop movements on the German-Luxembourg frontier." Throughout the night his messages became more and more frantic. Two Luxembourgish customs officials at Wormeldange heard horses and soldiers across the Moselle, but were unable to make out the Germans' activities due to heavy fog. At around midnight, Captain Stein, Minister of Justice Victor Bodson , and Police Commissioner Joseph Michel Weis held an emergency meeting. Bodson requested that

1586-511: A supporting arms structure (artillery, engineers, etc.) that was weaker than that of other Allied field armies, the sag in French First Army troop proficiency allowed the Germans to hold the Colmar Pocket against an unsuccessful French offensive from 15–22 December 1944. On New Year's Day 1945, the Germans launched Unternehmen Nordwind (Operation "North Wind"), one objective of which was the recapture of Strasbourg. German troops of

1708-483: The 198th Infantry Division and the 106th Panzer Brigade attacked north out of the Colmar Pocket from 7–13 January. Although the defending French II Corps suffered some minor losses during this attack, the French held the front south of Strasbourg and frustrated German attempts to recapture the city. Following the failure of Nordwind , 6th Army Group was ordered to collapse the Colmar Pocket as part of General Dwight D. Eisenhower 's plan for all Allied forces to close on

1830-406: The 708th (a Volksgrenadier division) and the 189th Infantry. Additionally, a U.S. armored division, the 10th, was scheduled to support the offensive, but as events developed, it was the U.S. 12th Armored Division that was eventually committed to the battle. The winter of 1944-45 was uncommonly cold for northwestern Europe. In his History of the French First Army , General de Lattre described

1952-616: The Grand Ducal Gendarmerie under Captain Maurice Stein . Together they formed the Corps des Gendarmes et Volontaires under Major-Commandant Émile Speller . At noon on 1 September Radio Luxembourg announced that in order for the country to remain unambiguously neutral it would cease broadcasting. Exceptions were a daily 20 minute-long message at midday and in the evening reserved for government announcements. For

2074-667: 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)

2196-661: The United Kingdom ) and captured German tanks (44, of which 12 were Panthers ). The 12th Regiment of Dragoons received 12 Cavalier tanks among other British equipment in April 1945. In other cases, FFI units used vehicles no longer favored by Allied forces, such as the U.S. M6 Fargo , a light truck with a portee 37 mm antitank gun . Finally, civilian vehicles and practically anything else in running condition were pressed into service and used until they could no longer be maintained. As regions of France were liberated ,

2318-400: The 112th Infantry entered Turckheim ( 48°05′06″N 07°16′30″E  /  48.08500°N 7.27500°E  / 48.08500; 7.27500  ( Turckheim ) ) and cleared Ingersheim ( 48°05′53″N 07°18′18″E  /  48.09806°N 7.30500°E  / 48.09806; 7.30500  ( Ingersheim ) ) to the west of Colmar. Other units of the 28th Division joined

2440-470: The 15th Infantry and CC5 took Urschenheim in a brisk action, while the 7th Infantry was held up in front of Horbourg . The same day, the 254th Infantry attacked east toward Artzenheim with support of the French armored combat command CC6, but the Germans employed artillery support and dug-in Jagdpanther tank destroyers to parry the thrust, destroying six French tanks and four halftracks . Artzenheim

2562-469: The 15th Infantry on 26 January, and Holtzwihr was taken by the 30th Infantry on 27 January. The 30th Infantry continued south, reaching the Colmar Canal on 29 January. The capture of Jebsheim ( 48°07′33″N 07°28′40″E  /  48.12583°N 7.47778°E  / 48.12583; 7.47778  ( Jebsheim ) ) was necessary to protect the north flank of the 3rd Division's advance. With

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2684-409: The 1st Division's 1st Brigade fought in conditions similar to that experienced by the Americans to the south. The Germans mounted a defense in depth, using positions in the villages and forests to command the open ground to their front and liberally planting land mines to slow and channelize the French advance. Two battalions of the 708th Volksgrenadier Division counterattacked the French bridgeheads over

2806-619: The 3rd Battalion of the Marching Regiment of the French Foreign Legion ( R.M.L.E. ) on 27 January. At heavy cost, the village of Grussenheim was taken on 28 January by supporting tanks of the French 2nd Armored Division. Against crumbling German resistance, the French surged forward, taking Elsenheim and Marckolsheim on 31 January and reaching the Rhine River the following day. In the course of its operations in

2928-552: The 3rd Division advancing ahead of the French 1st Infantry Marching Division on the 3rd Division's north flank, O'Daniel committed the U.S. 254th Infantry Regiment (part of the 63rd Infantry Division but attached to the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division for the duration of operations in the Colmar Pocket) to capture Jebsheim. On 26–27 January, troops of the German 136th Mountain Infantry Regiment defended Jebsheim against

3050-399: The 4th Division's right flank and to the southeast, the 2nd Moroccan Infantry Division enjoyed greater success, pushing almost four miles (6 km) to the northeast in the direction of Wittelsheim ( 47°48′00″N 07°14′06″E  /  47.80000°N 7.23500°E  / 47.80000; 7.23500  ( Wittelsheim ) ). On the right flank and starting from the city of Mulhouse,

3172-480: The 4th Moroccan Mountain Division was able to push to the southern outskirts of Rouffach. Cernay, abandoned by the Germans, was occupied the same day. The following day, the 4th Moroccan Division linked up with the U.S. 12th Armored Division in Rouffach, and the 9th Colonial Infantry Division attacked Ensisheim, the original corps objective. Hirtzfelden was taken by the 2nd Moroccan Infantry Division on 6 February and

3294-478: The 75th Division reached the Rhône-Rhine Canal south of Neuf-Brisach. This action brought a close to U.S. 75th Infantry Division operations in the Colmar Pocket. Having been on the defense to this point in the battle, General Norman Cota 's 28th Division was teamed with the French armored combat command CC4 and told to take the city of Colmar. Leading with the U.S. 109th Infantry Regiment on 2 February,

3416-516: The 9th Colonial Division also pushed 3–4 miles (5–6 km) through the suburbs of Mulhouse and the woods north of the city, with CC1 taking Richwiller ( 47°46′48″N 07°16′55.2″E  /  47.78000°N 7.282000°E  / 47.78000; 7.282000  ( Richwiller ) ) and the 6th Colonial Infantry Regiment liberating Wittenheim ( 47°48′18″N 07°20′16.8″E  /  47.80500°N 7.338000°E  / 47.80500; 7.338000  ( Wittenheim ) ). On 24 January,

3538-510: The 9th Colonial Division completed the capture of Ensisheim and drove east into the Harth Woods. On 7 February, both the 9th Colonial Division and 1st Armored Division reached the Rhône-Rhine Canal east of Ensisheim. The Spahis cavalry brigade and the 151st Infantry Regiment cleared the Harth Woods on 8 February while the 1st Armored Division advanced south toward the German bridgehead at Chalampé in addition to linking up with elements of

3660-776: The Allied advance through France in August 1944. According to a volume of the U.S. official history of the war, In Brittany, southern France, and the area of the Loire and Paris , French Resistance forces greatly aided the pursuit to the Seine in August. Specifically, they supported the Third Army in Brittany and the Seventh U.S. and First French Armies in the southern beachhead and

3782-536: The Allied war-effort. Subsequently, de Gaulle declared the FFI would be either disbanded or integrated into the French Army , and a series of tense meetings between de Gaulle and FFI leaders in major cities ensued. Despite FFI disenchantment with de Gaulle's methods, in large part they accepted his decision that FFI members would either be amalgamated into the French regular army or return to civilian life. Subsequent to

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3904-456: The Allies reached the easternmost extent of France, but the primary reason for the stout German defenses of these regions is that Alsace and Lorraine were claimed as part of Germany and would be defended as strongly as any other German soil. This perception informed Hitler's decisions of 24 November and 27 November 1944, that committed General Siegfried Rasp 's 19th Army to a do-or-die defense of

4026-433: The Colmar Canal. The infantry crossed between 21:00 and midnight. After the crossings were secured, engineers began the construction of three Bailey bridges over the canal to enable armored vehicles to cross. The following day, the French armored combat commands CC4 and CC5 (both of the 5th Armored Division) crossed the canal, with CC4 supporting the U.S. 7th Infantry and CC5 supporting the U.S. 15th Infantry. Soon thereafter,

4148-405: The Colmar Pocket were again subordinated to Heeresgruppe G (Army Group G), under the command of SS - Obergruppenführer Paul Hausser . The 3rd Division continued its south and east sidestepping maneuver. On the evening of 29 January, divisional artillery fired 16,000 105 mm and 155 mm rounds during a three-hour preparation for the assault of the 7th and 15th Infantry Regiments south across

4270-513: The Colmar Pocket, the French 1st Division suffered casualties of 220 killed, 1,240 wounded, 96 missing and 550 cases of trench foot . Noting the difficult progress of all Allied units against German resistance in the Colmar Pocket, de Lattre requested reinforcements from the U.S. 6th Army Group. Concurring, Devers subordinated the Headquarters of the U.S. XXI Corps to the French First Army. General Milburn's XXI Corps took up position between

4392-591: The FFI provided a ready pool of semi-trained manpower with which France could rebuild the French Army. Estimated to have a strength of 100,000 in June 1944, the strength of the FFI grew rapidly, doubling by July 1944, and reaching 400,000 by October 1944. According to the Defence Historical Service (SHD) , 252,000 individuals have been approved as FFI. Although the amalgamation of the FFI

4514-441: The FFI troops were capable of defensive operations, they had to undergo a steep learning curve in order to become effective at offensive operations, particularly where complex activities such as combined-arms operations were concerned. At the close of November 1944, the French First Army deployed two kinds of units—highly experienced colonial units and "green" units that had recently received a large influx of FFI troops. Coupled with

4636-465: The French 2nd Armored Division at Fessenheim the same day. During this period, the shrinking German presence on the west side of the Rhine was subjected to heavy artillery fire and airstrikes by U.S. and French aircraft. Finally, on 9 February I Corps eliminated the German rearguard at Chalampé, and with no major German forces left on the west bank of the Rhine in the region of Colmar, the Germans blew up

4758-571: The French 3rd Light Cavalry Division under General Petiet, supported by the 1st Spahi Brigade under Colonel Jouffault and the 2nd company of the 5th Armoured Battalion, crossed the southern border to conduct a probe of German forces; these units later retreated behind the Maginot Line . Five Spahis were killed. British Air Marshal Arthur Barratt , impatient with the reluctance of the French Air Force to conduct air strikes , ordered

4880-546: The French I Corps advance and severely limited its success. The French attack, however, succeeded in drawing German mobile reserves (the 106th Panzer Brigade and the 654th Heavy Antitank Battalion) and the German 2nd Mountain Division south. However, even this limited success was not without significant cost: one brigade of the French 1st Armored Division, Combat Command 1 (CC1), lost 36 of some 50 medium tanks to land mines . Losses in other tank units were similar. Unlike most of

5002-477: The French high command decreed that the mobilization requirements dating from the start of the war remained in effect, that the FFI units would become part of the French Army, and that the FFI was subject to French military law. Assuming control of the French national government after the liberation of Paris in August 1944, Charles de Gaulle almost immediately confronted a challenge to his authority from an FFI flush with triumph as towns and cities were liberated in

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5124-503: The French in blocking German exit routes from the Vosges Mountains. On 6 February, the 28th Division moved eastwards to the Rhône-Rhine Canal on the south flank of the U.S. XXI Corps ending 28th Division participation in the battle. On 3 February, the 12th Armored Division moved south through 28th Division lines with the objective of linking up with the French I Corps and splitting the Colmar Pocket. Combat Command B (CCB) seized

5246-668: The German IV Luftwaffe Field Corps near the town of Burnhaupt in the southern Vosges Mountains. Soon afterwards, French forces reached the Rhine in the region north of the Swiss border between Mulhouse and Basel . Likewise, in the northern Vosges Mountains, the French 2nd Armored Division spearheaded a U.S. Seventh Army advance, forced the Saverne Gap , and drove to the Rhine, liberating Strasbourg on 23 November 1944. The effect of these two advances

5368-491: The German border, 18 roadblocks on the German border, and five roadblocks on the French border. Since the Corps des Gendarmes et Volontaires had no pioneer unit, construction fell to the responsibility of civilian engineers, while technical advice was sought from the French, who took great interest in the line's establishment. A series of nine radio outposts were established along the German border, each manned by gendarmes, with

5490-516: The German troops, but to little avail; the capital city was occupied before noon. The Gendarmerie chain of command in the south was thrown into disarray by the influx of refugees and the arrival of German and French troops. Most gendarmes escorted refugees over the border, while some abandoned their posts and fled to France. Total Luxembourgish casualties amounted to six gendarmes and one soldier wounded, while 22 soldiers (six officers and 16 non-commissioned officers ) and 54 gendarmes were captured. By

5612-487: The Germans with the vehicle's heavy machine gun while calling for artillery fire on his own position. Unable to determine where Murphy was firing from, the German force first became confused and then was bombed by U.S. fighter-bombers that had found a hole in the clouds over the battlefield. Dismayed, the German force retreated back to Holtzwihr, pursued by Murphy. He was subsequently awarded the Medal of Honor. Riedwihr fell to

5734-414: The Germans. General Eisenhower confirmed Koenig's command of the FFI on 23 June 1944. The FFI were mostly composed of resistance fighters who used their own weapons, although many FFI units included former French soldiers. They used civilian clothing and wore an armband with the letters "F.F.I." According to General Patton , the rapid advance of his army through France would have been impossible without

5856-528: The Ill River around 17:00 on 23 January but were repulsed. Wishing to avoid dug-in German infantry and armor in the Elsenheim Woods, Garbay directed the 1st Brigade to concentrate their advance along the road from Illhaeusern to Elsenheim. On 26–27 January, the 1st Brigade concentrated on opening this route and skirting the obstacle posed by the Elsenheim Woods, with a key attack into the woods made by

5978-467: The Luxembourgish government and Grand Ducal court of the invasion. Foreign Minister Joseph Bech , in the presence of Prime Minister Pierre Dupong , attempted to contact the German ambassador at the legation and at his private residence, but they were informed that he was present at neither. At 06:30 the majority of the government, including Dupong and Bech, evacuated the capital by motorcade to

6100-564: The Netherlands —and France during World War II . The battle began on 10 May 1940 and lasted just one day. Facing only light resistance, German troops quickly occupied Luxembourg. The Luxembourgish government, and Grand Duchess Charlotte , managed to escape the country and a government-in-exile was created in London . On 1 September 1939 Germany invaded Poland , initiating World War II . This put Luxembourg's Grand Ducal government in

6222-691: The Pocket of German forces. A German bridgehead on the west bank of the Rhine 65 kilometres (40 mi) long and 50 kilometres (30 mi) deep was isolated in November 1944 when the German defenses in the Vosges Mountains collapsed under the pressure of an offensive by the U.S. 6th Army Group . General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny 's French First Army forced the Belfort Gap and destroyed

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6344-415: The Rhine prior to invading Germany. Since the bulk of Allied troops surrounding the Colmar Pocket were French, this mission was assigned to the French First Army. The U.S. 3rd Infantry Division had moved into the Vosges Mountains during mid-December to replace the worn-out U.S. 36th Infantry Division and so was already in place to support the reduction of the Colmar Pocket. Realizing the French would need

6466-404: The Rhine. German outposts in the Vosges Mountains were pulled back, but the confusion of the withdrawal and the pressures of the battlefield resulted in many units becoming mixed with one another. While this did not affect the numbers available for combat, it did lower the defensive cohesion of the German units. On 29 January, Heeresgruppe Oberrhein was dissolved as a headquarters, and the units in

6588-720: The Rhône valley. In the advance to the Seine, the French Forces of the Interior helped protect the southern flank of the Third Army by interfering with enemy railroad and highway movements and enemy telecommunications, by developing open resistance on as wide a scale as possible, by providing tactical intelligence, by preserving installations of value to the Allied forces, and by mopping up bypassed enemy positions. On 20 June 1944

6710-528: The Riedwihr Woods (French: Bois de Riedwihr ), toward the towns of Riedwihr ( 48°07′26.4″N 07°26′42″E  /  48.124000°N 7.44500°E  / 48.124000; 7.44500  ( Riedwihr ) ) and Holtzwihr ( 48°06′36″N 07°25′30″E  /  48.11000°N 7.42500°E  / 48.11000; 7.42500  ( Holtzwihr ) ). The bridge at Maison Rouge proved unable to support U.S. tanks (the bridge collapsed under

6832-566: The Schuster Line's tank traps. Fire was exchanged, but the Germans did not encounter any significant resistance except for some bridges destroyed and some land mines since the majority of the Luxembourgish Volunteer Corps stayed in their barracks. The border was defended only by soldiers who had volunteered for guard duty and gendarmes . A handful of Germans secured the Moselle bridge at Wormeldange and captured

6954-428: The U.S. 3rd Division, having taken severe losses with only 13 operational tanks in its tank battalion and 30 effectives in its French Foreign Legion rifle company. In its stead arrived a combat command of the French 2nd Armored Division. On 1 February, the 15th and 30th Infantry Regiments moved south along the Rhône-Rhine Canal reaching the area just north of Neuf-Brisach. On 2–3 February, the 7th Infantry drove south along

7076-457: The U.S. 3rd Infantry Division and the French 1st Infantry Marching Division . South of the 3rd Division, the U.S. 28th Infantry Division defended its sector of the front. In reserve was the French 2nd Armored Division. General John W. O'Daniel 's 3rd U.S. Infantry Division attacked to the southeast on 22 January, aiming to cross the Ill River , bypass the city of Colmar to the north, and open

7198-411: The U.S. troops were able to parry them with support from tanks and tank destroyers. On 26 January, on the south edge of the Riedwihr Woods, a German force of infantry and tanks emerged from Holtzwihr to counterattack Company B of the 15th Infantry. Believing the odds hopeless, Lieutenant Audie Murphy ordered his men to withdraw into the woods. Murphy climbed onto a burning M10 tank destroyer and engaged

7320-518: The United States had formally agreed to logistically support, they were not eligible to receive the standard U.S. equipment that was provided to French regular army units. Thus, the FFI units often clothed themselves in nonstandard uniforms or uniforms of 1940 vintage. The same condition existed with weapons, with the use of captured German infantry weapons a common practice. Because of the mix of American, British, French, German, and other weapons,

7442-490: The Vosges Mountains and supported the 28th Division by fire. At the start of February, the French I Corps was still clearing scattered German resistance south of the Thur River between Cernay and Ensisheim, both of which were still under German control. The clearing of this area was not completed until 3 February. On 4 February, I Corps assaulted north across the Thur River and, encountering only limited German resistance,

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7564-467: The advance of the 254th Infantry. On 28–29 January, Jebsheim was taken by the 254th Infantry, French tanks of Combat Command 6 (French 5th Armored Division), and a battalion of the French 1st Parachute Regiment. Subsequently, the 254th Infantry continued to push east in the direction of the Rhône-Rhine Canal. Meanwhile, the 7th Infantry had moved forward, and along with the 15th Infantry Regiment and French 5th Armored Division tanks, were positioned to drive on

7686-679: The agents were to be used to seize key bridges over the Sauer , Moselle and Our rivers. Luxembourg authorities also took notice, and Captain Stein worked to stop the Germans' activities. On 3 March, the French Third Army was ordered to occupy Luxembourg in the event of a German attack. On the evening of 8 May, the Grand Ducal Government ordered for the first time that all doors of the Schuster Line be closed at 11:00 and remain so regardless of circumstance until 06:00

7808-608: The assistance of additional U.S. troops for the coming battle, General Jacob Devers , commander of 6th Army Group, arranged for the transfer of a U.S. division from another part of the front. The U.S. 28th Infantry Division duly arrived from the Ardennes front and took up position along the right flank of the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division. With the 28th Division in the Kaysersberg Valley, the 3rd Division would be able to concentrate for an attack against two German divisions,

7930-476: The border town of Esch . Bodson stayed behind at the Saint-Esprit Barracks to monitor the situation. In Esch a group of 125 German special operations troops had landed by Fieseler Storch , with orders to hold the area until the main invasion force arrived. A gendarme confronted the soldiers and asked that they leave, but he was taken prisoner. The government motorcade encountered a roadblock at

8052-534: The bridge over the Rhine at Breisach. The taking of Neuf-Brisach marked the end of operations in the Colmar Pocket for the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division. The 75th Division entered the front lines on 31 January, between the U.S. 3rd and 28th Infantry Divisions. Attacking on 1 February, the 289th Infantry Regiment cleared Horbourg and the 290th Infantry Regiment advanced on Andolsheim ( 48°03′54″N 07°24′54″E  /  48.06500°N 7.41500°E  / 48.06500; 7.41500  ( Andolsheim ) ) occupying

8174-479: The bridge over the Rhine at Chalampé. This signaled the end of Allied operations in the Colmar Pocket and the end of any significant German military presence in Alsace. 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

8296-504: 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

8418-486: The capital and, having learned many of the secondary roads by memory, was able to avoid German roadblocks and navigate his way to France. Following consultation with her ministers, Grand Duchess Charlotte decided to abandon the palace. Accompanied by her husband, Prince Felix , her mother, Dowager Grand Duchess Marie Anne , and members of the Grand-Ducal suite, she departed for the border village of Redange . After

8540-448: The capital be reinforced by gendarmes from the south, and told Weis to forward this information to the capital's district commissioner to give the necessary orders. Weis later tried to contact the district commissioner by phone, but failed to reach him; reinforcements never came. A short time later the gendarmes at Diekirch were ordered to patrol the local railway bridge and be wary of unfamiliar persons. Luxembourgish authorities received

8662-460: The capital to be completely surrounded. Charlotte's party was able to link up with the government motorcade at Longwy. Meanwhile, Jean's party's car was strafed by a German aircraft while stopped at a cafe. Near Esch, the group was delayed by a German roadblock, and they escaped when their chauffeur drove straight through the soldiers. The party ultimately joined Charlotte and the Grand Ducal government at Sainte-Menehould . At 08:00, elements of

8784-558: The close of 1945. The weapons and equipment of the FFI were highly varied. For example, the Royal Air Force (working alongside the Special Operations Executive ) parachute-dropped British-made weapons such as Sten guns, revolvers, grenades and explosives to the FFI in order to harass German forces. This enabled the FFI to capture German weaponry which was also used. Because they were not units that

8906-496: The country , bringing the monarchy into disrepute; Charlotte wanted to avoid such problems. The government moved some of the country's gold reserves to Belgium, and began stockpiling funds in its Brussels and Paris legations in the event it was forced to flee due to German attack. The Paris legation was also given a sealed envelope detailing a formal request of military assistance from the French government in case communications were cut-off in an invasion. After several false alarms in

9028-525: The country. Since an invasion had not yet occurred they still enjoyed diplomatic privilege and the police were forced to release them. One group of fifth columnists was arrested while attempting to reach the legation. Meanwhile, Captain Archen had received his subordinate's report, but by that point, he had been told by informants in the Gendarmerie that shots had been exchanged with German operatives at

9150-517: The differing quality of their groups, the poverty of their equipment, the crying inadequacy of their armament and supplies, the heterogeneity of their officering, the facility with which their superior ranks had been assigned, and in certain cases the ostensibly political nature of their aims, ran counter to the classical military outlook of many officers, some of whom, in reaction, exaggerated their regulation strictness. . . . The part [the FFI] had taken in

9272-522: The division's chief of staff's orders to various units to occupy strategic points within Luxembourg. The Grand Ducal government put all border posts and Grand Ducal Gendarmerie stations on full alert. In Luxembourg City , gendarmes mobilised to defend public buildings and dispatched vehicle patrols to arrest fifth columnists. The economic councillor and the chancellor of the German legation were detained for questioning regarding allegations that they had used legation cars to organise subversive activities within

9394-450: The evening of 10 May 1940, most of the country, with the exception of the south, was occupied by German forces. More than 90,000 civilians fled from the canton of Esch-sur-Alzette as a consequence of the advance. 47,000 evacuated to France, 45,000 poured into the central and northern part of Luxembourg. On 11 May the Grand Ducal government reached Paris and installed itself in the Luxembourg legation. Fearing German aerial attack and finding

9516-682: The fight for liberation not only encouraged them rightly in the wish to retain their individuality; their successes, valued often from a local angle, established in their view the excellence of the military system which circumstances had led them to create and which they intended to substitute for the traditional system, which they considered out-of-date. A total of 68 infantry regiments and half-brigades, two special forces battalions, 20 light infantry or reconnaissance battalions, one tank battalion, sixteen artillery regiments, two anti-aircraft artillery regiments, five engineer regiments, and three construction regiments were ultimately formed from FFI manpower by

9638-482: The fighting aid of the FFI. General Patch estimated that from the time of the Mediterranean landings to the arrival of U.S. troops at Dijon , the help given to the operations by the FFI was equivalent to four full divisions. FFI units seized bridges, began the liberation of villages and towns as Allied units neared, and collected intelligence on German units in the areas entered by the Allied forces, easing

9760-414: The fighting edge of Allied forces throughout northwestern Europe. Restricted logistical support imposed limits on the usage of artillery ammunition and the number of divisions the Allies could effectively employ in the front lines. Faulty forecasts for the numbers of infantry replacements needed prevented U.S. rifle companies from maintaining full strength. On the part of the French, their replacement system

9882-538: The first reports of exchanged fire at around 02:00 on 10 May when two gendarmes were ambushed near the German border by plainclothes agents. The Germans retreated to the Fels mill near Grevenmacher and around 20 soldiers who volunteered were dispatched to arrest them. The government then ordered all steel doors along the border locked. At 02:15 soldiers stationed in Bous were attacked by Germans in civilian clothes. One soldier

10004-547: The following day. Moving again on 5 February, the division overran Appenwihr ( 48°01′37.2″N 07°26′24″E  /  48.027000°N 7.44000°E  / 48.027000; 7.44000  ( Appenwihr ) ), Hettenschlag ( 48°00′18″N 07°27′18″E  /  48.00500°N 7.45500°E  / 48.00500; 7.45500  ( Hettenschlag ) ), and Wolfgantzen ( 48°01′30″N 07°30′00″E  /  48.02500°N 7.50000°E  / 48.02500; 7.50000  ( Wolfgantzen ) ). On 6 February,

10126-456: The following morning. Throughout the day Luxembourgish authorities witnessed much less activity on the far side of the border and made no reports of tank or machine gun movements. On the afternoon of 9 May, a French intelligence officer stationed in Clervaux witnessed German troops preparing pontoon bridges in the Sauer . He attempted in vain to contact Captain Archen, and resorted to making

10248-451: The fortified town of Neuf-Brisach, about 5 miles (8.0 km) distant from the 3rd Division spearheads. On the left flank and north of the U.S. 3rd Division, General Garbay's French 1st Infantry Marching Division attacked to the east on 23 January with the Rhine River as their objective. Facing four battalions of the 708th Volksgrenadier Division (part of General Max Grimmeiss' LXIV Army Corps) supported by heavy tank destroyers and artillery,

10370-590: The infantry crossed an anti-tank ditch north of the city, while the French armor located a crossing point over the obstacle. This accomplished, the French armor plunged into Colmar reaching the Place Rapp (Rapp Square) at 11:30. On 2–3 February, the 109th Infantry, the French CC4, 1st Parachute Regiment and commandos cleared the city of Germans. In a symbolic act, the French 152nd Infantry Regiment re-entered Colmar, its pre-war garrison. Pushing south on 3 February

10492-402: The invasion, but his reports never reached the 3rd Army at Metz . General Charles Condé, the army's commander, was unclear about the situation and at 05:30 dispatched aerial reconnaissance units to investigate. At 06:00 the French 3rd Light Cavalry Division was ordered to intervene. Telephone and radio messages from the border posts to the Gendarmerie and Volunteer Corps headquarters informed

10614-466: The last post to fall, in Wasserbillig , transmitted until the Germans breached the operating room. The steel doors of the Schuster Line were ordered closed on 10 May 1940 at 03:15, following reports of movement of German troops on the east side of the border rivers Our , Sauer, and Moselle. At 03:30 Luxembourgish authorities released interned French pilots and German deserters. The Royal Family

10736-400: The law by the enemy and by the enemy's accomplices, they had above all developed the revolutionary military virtues, those of partisans. By force of circumstances the personalities of the leaders had played a determining role and had stamped each maquis with a different brand. . . . To the regiments we had landed the extreme variety of the F.F.I. organizations, their at least peculiar discipline,

10858-629: The liberation of areas where FFI units operated, they often formed battalions and brigades named for their commanders or region of origin (Battalion Oziol, etc.) These FFI units were predominantly of the light infantry class, although some formed light reconnaissance units like the 12th Regiment of Dragoons. Some of these units were used to besiege German troops in still-occupied French ports or to secure France's alpine frontier with Italy, others were used to secure Allied lines of communications in France, and still others were assigned as army reserve units for

10980-475: The mission of capturing the city of Colmar and driving on the bridge at Breisach. For their part, the German high command misread the Allied objectives, believing the Allied assault to be a general pressure along the front designed to induce collapse at any given point. Hitler had agreed to a partial withdrawal in the north (the Erstein salient) during the night of 28 January, but forbade a general withdrawal over

11102-542: The plain are small villages made up of sturdy masonry houses whose multi-storey construction offered defending troops a commanding view of the surrounding fields. General Émile Béthouart 's French I Corps (French: I Corps d'Armée ) attacked on 20 January 1945. The 2nd and 4th Moroccan Divisions had as their initial objective Ensisheim ( 47°51′59″N 07°21′11″E  /  47.86639°N 7.35306°E  / 47.86639; 7.35306  ( Ensisheim ) ). The 9th Colonial Division conducted secondary attacks on

11224-403: The portfolios for Interior, Transportation, and Public Works; Joseph Carmes managed Finance, Labour, and Public Health; Louis Simmer oversaw Education, and Mathias Pütz directed Agriculture, Viticulture, Commerce, and Industry. In the days after the invasion Luxembourgish officers walked about the capital freely, though the regular soldiers were mostly confined to their barracks. Colonel Speller

11346-522: The region around Colmar. On 26 November, the Germans formed Army Group Oberrhein under the command of Heinrich Himmler and tasked his command with the defense of the front between the Bienwald and the Swiss border. Of prime importance to the German defense around Colmar were the bridges over the Rhine at Breisach and Chalampé, since it was over these bridges that supplies were delivered. The logistical crisis and heavy combat of autumn 1944 had dulled

11468-453: The resolution of the war. On 14 September the volunteer corps was bolstered by the addition of a 125-strong auxiliary unit. German military manoeuvres and river traffic made the population increasingly nervous, so in the spring of 1940 fortifications were erected along the borders with Germany and France. The so-called Schuster Line , named after its chief constructor, consisted of 41 sets of concrete blocks and iron gates; 18 bridgeblocks on

11590-448: The rest of the month, the government supplied full transcripts of its broadcasts to the foreign legations in the country. Later that day several German stations posed as Radio Luxembourg by broadcasting in the Luxembourgish wavelength, making, in the opinion of United States Chargé d'Affaires George Platt Waller , "grossly unneutral announcements". On the evening of 21 September, the Grand Ducal government suspended all broadcasts pending

11712-430: The right flank of the corps, north of Mulhouse. In support were tanks of the French 1st Armored Division. Attacking in a snowstorm, the French I Corps initially achieved tactical surprise against its opponent, General Erich Abraham 's LXIII. Armeekorps . The attack of the French I Corps slowed through the night as German counterattacks began. The difficult weather and terrain coupled with a German defense in depth stymied

11834-420: The same canal passing through Artzenheim and taking Biesheim after a bitter day-long battle. Near Biesheim, Technician 5 Forrest E. Peden of 3rd Division artillery dashed through intense German fire on 3 February to summon help for an ambushed infantry unit. Returning on a light tank, Peden was killed when the tank was hit and destroyed. For his heroism, Peden was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. After

11956-592: The small facilities unsuitable, the government moved further south, first to Fontainebleau , and then Poitiers . It later moved to Portugal and the United Kingdom, before finally settling in Canada for the duration of the war. In exile, Charlotte became an important symbol of national unity. Her eldest son and heir, Jean, volunteered for the British Army in 1942. The only official representative left behind

12078-668: The spring of 1940, the probability of a military conflict between Germany and France grew. Germany stopped the export of coke for the Luxembourgish steel industry . Abwehr agents under Oskar Reile infiltrated the country, posing as tourists. This was observed by Captain Fernand Archen, an undercover senior French intelligence officer in Luxembourg City , posing as a wine merchant. He reported his findings to his superiors at Longwy on 7 May, understanding that

12200-651: The supply of ammunition and spare parts was complicated and often difficult to accomplish. By no means unique in the diversity of its armament, the 34th Infantry Regiment (formed on 1 January 1945) possessed the following weapons in August 1945: 1,760 (German) Mauser rifles, 470 (British) Sten sub-machine guns, 108 German sub-machine guns, 27 (French) Hotchkiss machine guns , 33 50-mm mortars and 12 81-mm mortars , two 20-mm cannon, and three 25-mm cannon. The soldiers' uniforms were described as second-hand and of diverse origins. Some heavy armored fighting vehicles were obtained, notably British Cromwell tanks (150 provided by

12322-589: The terrain on the Alsatian Plain, the terrain the French I Corps fought in was hemmed in by woodlands and urban areas, and so ground was won only slowly in January after the first day of the attack. The 4th Moroccan Mountain Division was able to push only some two miles (3 km) to the northeast in the direction of Cernay ( 47°48′36″N 07°10′37.2″E  /  47.81000°N 7.177000°E  / 47.81000; 7.177000  ( Cernay ) ). On

12444-479: The town at 14:00 on 2 February. The same day, the 75th Division made diversionary attacks to cover the Allied drive on the city of Colmar, adjacent to the division's western sector. On 3 February, the 75th Division cleared the Forêt Domaniale ( 48°03′18″N 07°27′36″E  /  48.05500°N 7.46000°E  / 48.05500; 7.46000  ( Forêt Domaniale ) ) and consolidated its gains

12566-458: The two French corps on 28 January and assumed command of the U.S. 3rd and 28th Infantry Divisions. Two additional U.S. divisions were also assigned to the XXI Corps - the U.S. 75th Infantry Division and the U.S. 12th Armored Division. Finally, the French 5th Armored Division, 1st Parachute Regiment, and 1st Choc (commando) Battalion were placed under XXI Corps' command. The XXI Corps was given

12688-566: The two customs officers there, who had demanded that they halt but refrained from opening fire. The partly demolished bridge over the Sauer at Echternach was quickly repaired by engineers of the Großdeutschland regiment , allowing the passage of the 10th Panzer Division. Planes flew overhead, heading for Belgium and France, though some stopped and landed troops within the country. Captain Archen repeatedly alerted his superiors at Longwy of

12810-576: The use of General de Lattre de Tassigny 's French First Army . From October 1944 until March 1945, the FFI units were amalgamated into the French Army in order to regularize the units. Units such as the 49th Infantry Regiment (formerly the FFI Corps Franc Pommiés ) and the 3rd Demi-Brigade of Chasseurs (formerly the FFI Alsace-Lorraine Brigade ) were constituted in this manner using FFI manpower. Amalgamation

12932-480: The village of Herrlisheim-près-Colmar , and so the 12th Armored Division attacked, for a second time, a town named Herrlisheim in Alsace (the battles of the 12th Armored Division in mid-January 1945, at Herrlisheim north of Strasbourg saw several battalions of the division manhandled by German troops in the Gambsheim bridgehead.) Thereafter, during the battle, the 12th Armored Division screened German exit routes from

13054-425: The wake of the German retreat from France. In late August 1944 incidents of FFI misbehavior occurred in the region of Paris, highlighting the risks of having an armed and organized citizenry that suddenly found itself without a mission. De Gaulle believed France required a single decisive leader to restore effective government. The FFI believed they should have a share in national power because of their contribution to

13176-428: The weather in Alsace as "Siberian" with temperatures of -20 °C (-4 °F), strong winds, and over three feet (1 m) of snow. The Alsatian Plain is flat and offers an attacker practically no cover other than occasional woods. The plain is also a drainage basin for the Rhine and is consequently cut by many streams and drainage canals with alluvium -coated bottoms, making them treacherous for vehicles to ford. Dotting

13298-450: The weight of a tank), and so the 30th Infantry had only minimal antitank capability ( bazookas and three 57 mm anti-tank guns ) when they were counter-attacked late in the afternoon by German infantry and heavy tank destroyers of the 708th Volksgrenadier Division and 280th Assault Gun Battalion. Without cover and unable to dig foxholes because of the frozen terrain, the 30th Infantry was forced to withdraw, taking heavy casualties when

13420-482: The withdrawal assumed the character of a rout. The 30th Infantry reformed on the west bank of the Ill but was out of action for three days while it reorganized. On 25 January, the U.S. 15th Infantry Regiment followed the course of the 30th Infantry and recaptured the bridge at Maison Rouge. A German counterattack, again supported by heavy tank destroyers, overran an exposed rifle company of the 15th Infantry around 08:00 but

13542-598: The withdrawal of other members of his squad and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor . The 30th Infantry Regiment moved southeast, crossed the Ill River north of the timber bridge at the Maison Rouge farm, and moved south early on 23 January, capturing the Maison Rouge bridge ( 48°09′03.6″N 07°25′22.8″E  /  48.151000°N 7.423000°E  / 48.151000; 7.423000  ( Maison Rouge bridge ) ). The 30th Infantry then moved south into

13664-492: Was Albert Wehrer  [ de ] , head of the Ministry of State Affairs, as well as the 41 deputies. By the end of May Wehrer and several high ranking functionaries established a provisional "Administrative Commission" to govern Luxembourg in lieu of the Grand Ducal family and the other ministers. Wehrer retained the Ministry of State Affairs and assumed responsibility for Foreign Relations and Justice; Jean Metzdorf held

13786-544: 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. German invasion of Luxembourg The German invasion of Luxembourg was part of Case Yellow ( German : Fall Gelb ), the German invasion of the Low Countries — Belgium , Luxembourg and

13908-406: Was badly injured, as was one German who was detained. Shortly thereafter a gendarmerie lieutenant and his chauffeur were ambushed and exchanged fire with German-speaking cyclists; no one was hurt. Fifth columnists successfully severed the telephone wires between the capital and the border posts, forcing the gendarmes to communicate via shortwave radio. German agents gradually seized the radio stations;

14030-583: Was briefly incarcerated by the Gestapo , though he was later released under close supervision. French Forces of the Interior After the invasion of Normandy in June 1944, at the request of the French Committee of National Liberation , SHAEF placed about 200,000 resistance fighters under command of General Marie Pierre Kœnig , who attempted to unify resistance efforts against

14152-597: Was evacuated from its residence in Colmar-Berg to the Grand Ducal palace in Luxembourg City. Around 30 minutes later, at dawn, German planes were spotted flying over Luxembourg City towards Belgium. The German invasion began at 04:35 when the 1st , 2nd , and 10th Panzer Divisions crossed the border at Wallendorf-Pont , Vianden , and Echternach respectively. Wooden ramps were used to cross over

14274-594: 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 (reinforced by the U.S. XXI Corps ) cleared

14396-493: Was limited by the amount of training infrastructure they had been able to re-establish since reentering France in August 1944 and was further strained by a controversial French decision to "whiten" the French forces in Alsace by sending experienced Senegalese and other colonial troops—exhausted from fighting in Italy—to the south and replacing them with French Forces of the Interior (FFI) troops of varying quality and experience. While

14518-405: Was successful in varying degree; the training, tactics and attitudes of the former French Resistance fighters often differed from those of the regular soldiers with whom they served. General De Lattre's comments on this situation are enlightening: [Traditional military values] were not and could not be the characteristics of the F.F.I. units. Condemned to be born and live in secret, placed outside

14640-478: Was taken by the French II Corps on 1 February. Fighting in the zone of the 3rd Division, the French 1st Parachute Regiment attacked and seized Widensolen early on 31 January. By 17:00, patrols of the U.S. 3rd Division had reached the Rhône-Rhine Canal, some 5 miles (8.0 km) southeast from the division's crossing points over the Colmar Canal. On the same day, French CC6 was relieved from attachment to

14762-403: Was to collapse the German presence in southern Alsace west of the Rhine to a semi-circular bridgehead centered on the town of Colmar that came to be known as the "Colmar Pocket". Apart from Normandy, the areas of France most bitterly defended by the Germans were Alsace and Lorraine. This occurred in part because the Allied surge across France in 1944 was slowed down by logistical difficulties as

14884-432: Was unable to drive on the bridge because of U.S. defensive fire. Later in the day, U.S. engineers erected a bridge over the Ill north of Maison Rouge, and a battalion of the 15th Infantry supported by tanks attacked to the south, finally securing the bridgehead. Over the next two days, the 15th Infantry pushed south toward the towns of Riedwihr and Holtzwihr, entering the Riedwihr Woods. German counterattacks were common, but

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