History of the Fifteenth United States Army. 21 August 1944 to 11 July 1945
Abstract
The Fifteenth United States Army was the last Allied army to enter the conflict against Germany, arriving on the Continent during the latter part of December 1944. Yet during the few short months of operations, it met with and solved a host of varied problems in a singularly efficient manner. Its personnel can well be proud of the contribution it made to both the war effort and the preliminary stages of German occupation. The Fifteenth Army shared in the preparation of detailed plans for the occupation of the Bremen-Bremerhaven Enclave; it conducted the Meuse River survey, with the view of assuming responsibility for the defense of that line in the event of an enemy breakthrough; it prepared the Berlin District Plan. It received, trained~ and equipped organizations newly arrived from the United Kingdom and the United States, and it rehabilitated, re-equipped, and reinforced various units that had suffered heavy losses during the Ardennes Campaign. During the month of April 1945, the Fifteenth Army conducted operations on two fronts: the 66th Infantry Division containing German forces within the Lorient-St. Nazaire Pockets, while the XXII Corps aided in the greatest double-envelopment in the history of military tactics that of the Ruhr Pocket. On 7 and 8 May, the army received the surrender of the German forces in Lorient, St. Nazaire, and the surrounding territory. As the advance of the American armies proceeded eastward from the Rhine, the Fifteenth Army occupied, organized, and governed the Rhein-province, Saarland, Pfalz, and that portion of Hessen west of the Rhine river: Toward the end of May, it organized the Rheinprovince Military District Provincial Government. and established an effective civil administration within the entire area.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 13, 1946
- Accession Number
- ADA635358
Entities
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College