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March – April 1945 Closing of the Ruhr Pocket |
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In March 1945, as Allied forces swarmed across the
Rhine at Remagen in the south and Wesel in the north, most of the German forces in the region fell
back upon the Ruhr Valley. Rather than attempt an immediate head-on assault, the U.S. Ninth and
First Armies moved around behind the enemy, so that by 1 April an entire army group was encircled.
This meant, in effect, that a sizeable portion of the German army in the west was trapped, and
as a result the Allies were able to sweep rapidly across northern Germany in the first half of
April. Realizing the hopelessness of his position, the German commander committed suicide, and
those remaining within the “Ruhr Pocket” surrendered—some 325,000 soldiers in all. While the Allies
would continue to encounter pockets of resistance in their conquest of western Germany, the closing
of the Ruhr Pocket effectively destroyed the German Army as an effective force in the West.
History: Campaign Maps: Personal Accounts: Photographs: |
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