Siegfried Line Campaign Events

1944 Sep 1 Canadian Forces Retake Dieppe Unopposed in Operation Fusilade
The World War II Operation Fusilade, was the planned set piece assault on the French port of Dieppe, by the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. In the event, the German occupiers, not having ...
1944 Sep 10 Allied Forces Launch Assault on Le Havre to begin Operation Astonia
Operation Astonia was a battle fought during the Siegfried Line Campaign of World War II from 10 September 1944 to 12 September 1944. The Allied objective of the operation was the capture...
1944 Sep 17 Battle of Arnhem, Day 1
The first lift was preceded by intense bombing and strafing raids made by the British 2nd Tactical Air Force and the American 8th and 9th Air Forces. These targeted the known flak guns an...
1944 Sep 17 Canadian Forces Initiate Operation Wellhit to Capture the Port of Boulogne
Operation Wellhit was the World War II operation by the 3rd Canadian Division (Canadian 1st Army) to take the fortified port of Boulogne in northern France. At first, the 9th Canadian Inf...
1944 Sep 18 Battle of Arnhem, Day 2
As the second day dawned the 9th SS Panzer Division continued to reinforce the German blocking line. Krafft's unit withdrew overnight and joined Spindler's line, coming under his command....
1944 Sep 19 Battle of Arnhem, Day 3
With the arrival of the South Staffords and 11th Parachute battalion at the 1st and 3rd Parachute Battalion's positions west of Arnhem, the British hoped to have sufficient troops to brea...
1944 Sep 19 First Phase of the Battle of Hürtgen Forest Begins
This phase concentrated on the town of Schmidt, astride an important German supply route, within the southern part of the forest. The engagement began on September 19, 1944, with a pro...
1944 Sep 20 Battle of Arnhem, Day 4
By now the division was too weak to attempt to reach Frost at the bridge. Of the nine infantry battalions, only one (1st Battalion, The Border Regiment) still existed as a unit, the rest ...
1944 Sep 21 Battle of Arnhem, Day 5
Throughout the morning the Germans mopped up British survivors and stragglers in hiding around Arnhem bridge. It took several hours to clear the bridge of debris allowing German armour to...
1944 Sep 22 Battle of Arnhem, Day 6
Overnight the Germans south of the river formed a blocking line along the railway, linking up with 10th SS to the south and screening the road bridge from the Poles. The Polish were well ...
1944 Sep 22 Canadian Infantry Begins Attack on Calais through Operation Undergo
The 7th and 8th Canadian Infantry Brigades opened their attack on Calais and its western coastal defences at 10:15am on 25 September after a day's delay, following preparatory air and art...
1944 Sep 23 Battle of Arnhem, Day 7
Spindler was ordered to switch his attacks further south and try to force the British away from the river, thus isolating the British from any hope of reinforcement and allowing them to b...
1944 Sep 24 Battle of Arnhem, Day 8
In the morning Horrocks visited the Polish positions at Driel to see the front for himself. Later he hosted a conference attended by Browning, Major-General Ivor Thomas of the 43rd (Wesse...
1944 Sep 25 Battle of Arnhem, Day 9 (Operation Berlin or Arnhem Rescue)
Overnight a copy of the withdrawal plan was sent across the river for Urquhart's consideration. Despite the obviously frustrating content, Urquhart knew there was little other choice and ...
1944 Oct 2 First Canadian Army Begins Advance North from Antwerp
On October 2, the 2nd Canadian Division began its advance north from Antwerp. Stiff fighting at Woensdrecht ensued on October 6, the objective of the first phase. The Germans, reinforced ...
1944 Oct 6 Canadian Forces Initiate Operation Switchback
The second main operation of the Battle of the Scheldt opened with fierce fighting to reduce the Breskens pocket. Here, the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division encountered tenacious German res...
1944 Oct 18 Allied Forces Liberate the Town of Venray (Battle of Overloon)
The Battle of Overloon was a Second World War battle between Allied forces and the German army which took place in and around the village of Overloon in the south-east of the Netherlands ...
1944 Oct 21 American Forces Capture German City of Aachen
Aachen was a battle in Aachen, Germany, which occurred between 2–21 October 1944. By September 1944, the Wehrmacht had been pushed into Germany proper, after being defeated in France by t...
1944 Oct 24 Operation Vitality Begins as Canadian Infantry Advances Down the South Beveland Penninsula
The third major operation of the Battle of the Scheldt opened on October 24 when the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division began its advance down the South Beveland peninsula. The Canadians hope...
1944 Oct 31 Canadian Infantry Begins Attack on Walcheren Causeway
"C" Company of the The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada took heavy casualties on the afternoon and evening of 31 October 1944 in an attempt to "bounce" the Causeway. During...
1944 Nov 8 Allied Forces Capture Middelburg
On 6 November, the island's capital Middelburg fell after a calculated gamble on the Allies' part when the German commander was invited to consider surrendering only to an armored force. ...
1944 Nov 10 Second Phase of the Battle of Hürtgen Forest
In this phase, the U.S. 4th Division was to clear the northern half of the forest between Schevenhütte and Hürtgen, capture Hürtgen and advance to the Rur River south of Düren. From Novem...
1944 Nov 22 American Forces Capture French City of Metz
The Battle of Metz was a land battle fought between the allied forces and the German forces during World War II. It took place at the city of Metz following the Normandy landings. The att...
1944 Nov 28 Allied Forces Begin Supply Convoys Through the Port of Antwerp
At the end of the five-week offensive, the First Canadian Army had taken 41,043 German prisoners. After the first ship arrived on November 28, convoys started bringing a steady stream of ...
1944 Dec 16
5:30AM
 Germany Begins its Assault in the Ardennes
The German assault began on 16 December 1944, at 05:30, with a massive artillery barrage on the Allied troops facing the Sixth SS Panzer Army. By 08:00 all three German armies attacked th...
1944 Dec 17 Malmédy Massacre
The Malmedy massacre refers to a war crime in which about 90 American prisoners of war were murdered by their German captors. The massacre was committed on December 17, 1944 by Kampfgrupp...
1944 Dec 17 Operation Stösser
Originally planned for the early hours of 16 December, Operation Stösser was delayed for a day because of bad weather and fuel shortages. The new drop time was set for 03:00 on 17 Decembe...
1944 Dec 20
to 1944 Dec 27
 Siege of Bastogne
The Siege of Bastogne was an engagement between American and German forces at the Belgian town of Bastogne, as part of the larger Battle of the Bulge. The goal of the German offensive was...
1944 Dec 23 Allies Stage Counter-Offensive Against Nazi Forces in the Ardennes
On 23 December the weather conditions started improving, allowing the Allied air forces to attack. They launched devastating bombing raids on the German supply points in their rear, and P...
1945 Jan 1
to 1945 Jan 25
 Operation Nordwind
Operation North Wind (Unternehmen Nordwind) was the last major German offensive of the Second World War on the Western Front. It began on 1 January 1945 in Alsace and Lorraine in north-ea...
1945 Jan 1 Unternehmen Bodenplatte
Unternehmen Bodenplatte (English: Operation Baseplate or Operation Ground Plate), launched on January 1, 1945, was an attempt by the Luftwaffe to cripple Allied air forces in the Low Coun...
1945 Jan 7 Hitler Agrees to Withdraw Forces from the Ardennes
While the German offensive had ground to a halt, they still controlled a dangerous salient in the Allied line. Patton’s Third Army in the south, centered around Bastogne, would attack nor...
1945 Feb 8 Anglo-Canadian Forces Begin Operation Veritable (Battle of the Reichswald)
Operation Veritable was a Second World War pincer movement conducted by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery's 21st Army Group to clear and occupy the land between the Rhine and Maas rivers. ...
1945 Feb 23 Allied Forces Cross the Roer River through Operation Grenade
The U. S. Breakthrough Begins with the Crossing of the Roer: The Ninth Army's crossing of the Roer was a short, violent struggle against the Germans and the river. Forty-five minutes afte...
1945 Mar 7 American Forces Capture the Ludendorff Bridge and Cross the Rhine into Germany through Operation Lumberjack
The Ludendorff Bridge (in World War II, frequently called the Bridge at Remagen) was a railway bridge across the Rhine in Germany, connecting the villages of Remagen and Erpel between two...
1945 Mar 17 Collapse of the Ludendorff Bridge
Later on March 17, ten days after its capture, the bridge suddenly collapsed into the Rhine. Twenty-eight U.S. Army engineers were killed while working to strengthen the bridge, and 93 ot...