US V Corps, January 1945

Discussion in 'US Units' started by Earthican, Jan 27, 2014.

  1. Earthican

    Earthican Senior Member

    In the past I have found some minor errors on the sketch maps that accompany the US Army official history. The latest error, while still relatively minor, threw me into such confusion that I had to double check the narrative against other sources. This led me to making a "working" sketch map, and while I usually don't share these, this one turned-out decent and filled a gap in the published sketch maps.

    The situation is the winter of 1945 and the US 12th Army Group had just completed closing the Ardennes bulge. Since the US First and Third Armies were now concentrated there, Bradely had proposed to Eisenhower an attempt at the German Westwall just south of the Roer River Dams. Eisenhower gave Bradley several days to test the defenses and if he broke through to the Köln plain then the direct attack on the Roer Dams and the US Ninth Army assault crossing further north would be altered.
    http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-E-Last/USA-E-Last-3.html

    The attack was spearheaded by the 1st Infantry and 82d Airborne Divisions. As in the past, the Westwall defenses and miserable weather combined to bring operations to a crawl. While they managed to advance through the first band of Westwall pillboxes progress was such that the second band was not attempted. However in the northern sector of the offense the progress of the 9th and 2d Infantry Divisions presaged the direct and final attack on the Roer Dams by the 78th Infantry Division.

    The error is in the northern quarter of the sketch map which illustrates the 'Eifel offensive'. First the illustrator seemed unaware that, in the wake of the German Ardennes offensive, the 78th ID and 99th ID continued to hold the breeches in the Westwall at Simmerath and Monschau, respectively. These were the starting points for the later attacks by the 78th ID and 9th ID. The sketch map then continues to poorly track the progress of those attacks.

    roerEifelMapMarked.png


    My sketch uses the US Army Chronology and tracks the progress of the 78th ID, 9th ID and 2d ID from 30 January 1945 to 5 February 1945.

    roerDamsMapMarked1945.png


    Detail map of area(large file)
    http://milmaps.elvamie.nl/WWII/ETO%201944-1945/Hurtgenwald/Hurtgenwald%201944%20HQ.jpg

    http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-SS-Chronology/USA-SS-Chronology-5.html
    The final attack on the Roer Dams by the 78th ID is well illustrated in the last map.
    http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-E-Last/maps/USA-E-Last-2.jpg


    EDIT - 29.1.2014 - Added detail map link.
     
    Heimbrent and stolpi like this.
  2. Earthican

    Earthican Senior Member

    I found the following from the German point of view. At this point in the war, many accounts rate German regiments at the strength of a single battalion.
    link
    http://www.62vgd.de/
    click:
    Divisionsgeschichte > Rückzug


    Note
    62.VGD - 1945

    Grenadierregiment 164
    Grenadierregiment 183
    Grenadierregiment 190
    Artillerieregiment 162
    Panzerjägerabteilung 162
    Divisionseinheiten 162


    Likely a poor use of Heimbrent's skills, but I am in debt for the translation. Underlined towns are found on the detail map (large file).
    http://milmaps.elvamie.nl/WWII/ETO%201944-1945/Hurtgenwald/Hurtgenwald%201944%20HQ.jpg


     
  3. Heimbrent

    Heimbrent Well-Known Member

    I assume that Jüttner is Oberst Arthur Jüttner (Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords), who was CO of Gren.Rgt. 164 of the 62. VGD.

    "Gmünd" is likely to be a typo, it should be "Gemünd" also in German, I think.
     
    Earthican likes this.

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