Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
The Battle of the Reichswald - Rhineland: 2/1/1945

The Battle of the Reichswald - Rhineland: 2/1/1945

Saunders, Tim

Paperback

General European HistoryWorld War II

Currently unavailable to order

ISBN10: 1399016873
ISBN13: 9781399016872
Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
Published: May 30 2026
Pages: 224
Language: English
Operation VERITABLE in winter 1944/45 saw Allied forces overcome mud, floods, and fierce resistance to breach Germany's Reichswald defenses and advance into the Rhineland.

During winter 1944/45 few German officers believed that the Allies would attack the wooded Reichswald Plug on the narrow neck of land between the rivers Rhine and Maas. Consequently, relying on the natural defences of the forest, the vaunted Siegfried Line had been allowed to peter out. The 84th Infantry Division held field defences that had been worked on all autumn, but the defenders were thinly spread, and most German soldiers now faced the certainty of defeat.

Originally hoping to use the frozen winter ground for a speedy assault, days before Operation VERITABLE began a thaw set in and the Allies faced attacking in the worst possible ground conditions. On the morning of 8 February, after protracted bombardment, delays multiplied as vehicles became bogged in saturated fields and shell holes, and roads broke up under heavy armour. However, just enough assault engineer equipment reached the outer German defences, where they found the enemy infantry largely stunned by the bombardment.

It took all of the first day to break through the mud and defences into the Reichswald, while to the north, Canadians and Scots struggled across equally sodden open country with the Rhine floods rising fast. Despite the conditions, overnight the Canadians took to the flood waters to seize what were now island villages and the Scots dashed to capture the vital Materborn, which overlooked Kleve.

With heavy rain compounding difficulties, mud and flood waters made movement of men and supplies increasingly difficult. Despite this and the arrival of German reinforcements, the Allies fought their way forward, forcing the Reichswald Plug and opening the way into the Rhineland and the final phases of the war.

Also from

Saunders, Tim

View All

Also in

World War II

View All