Bill MacKenty

Western Theater Timeline (June 1944 – November 1945)

I've been especially interested in the Western Theater during WW2, specifically the timeline after June 6 1944. With the help of chatGPT, I generated this timeline. I still need to validate this list of major events (and I might parallel other interesting events). But for now, this list is satisfying to understand the sequence of events from the invasion of Normandy to the fall of the Germany.

June 1944

• 5–6 June 1944 – Airborne Phase of Overlord:

  British 6th Airborne (Operation Tonga) secures bridges east of Caen; U.S. 82nd/101st Airborne drops (Operations Albany, Boston, Chicago, Detroit) secure causeways behind Utah/Omaha. Coordinated French Resistance actions in Brittany (Operations Dingson and Samwest) disrupt German lines.

• 6 June 1944 – Operation Overlord (D-Day, Normandy Invasion):

  Allied forces (U.S., U.K., Canada, Free France) land on Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, Sword. German defenses under Field Marshal Rommel resist heavily, particularly at Omaha. Over 156,000 troops land on the first day.

• 7–12 June 1944 – Battle for the Beachhead:

  Allies consolidate, link up beachheads, capture Carentan and Bayeux. German counterattacks by 21st Panzer and 12th SS Panzer Hitlerjugend fail to dislodge the Allies.

• 13 June – 9 July 1944 – Battle of Caen (Phase 1):

  British and Canadian forces push toward Caen in Operations Perch and Epsom (late June) leading into Charnwood (7–9 July), meeting fierce resistance from Panzer Lehr and SS units. U.S. forces push west toward the Cotentin Peninsula.

• 18–30 June 1944 – Capture of Cherbourg:

  U.S. VII Corps seizes Cherbourg after intense fighting, opening a vital port.

July 1944

• 1–20 July 1944 – Operations Windsor, Charnwood, and Goodwood (Caen area):

  British/Canadian offensives culminate in the capture of northern Caen (9 July) after heavy aerial bombardment; Operation Goodwood (18–20 July) expends German armored reserves around Caen.

• 25–28 July 1944 – Operation Cobra:

  U.S. First Army launches a concentrated offensive south of Saint-Lô after massive carpet-bombing by the U.S. Eighth Air Force; breakthrough achieved and rapidly exploited by American armor.

• 25–28 July 1944 – Operation Spring (Canada):

  Canadian attacks south of Caen (Verrières Ridge) to fix German forces; high casualties.

• 30 July – 4 August 1944 – Operation Bluecoat:

  British and Canadian forces attack south from Caumont to support Cobra and pin German units.

August 1944

• 1 August 1944 – U.S. Third Army Activated (Patton):

  Exploits Cobra breakout, drives into Brittany and east toward the Loire.

• 7–13 August 1944 – Battle of Mortain (Operation Lüttich):

  German counterattack aims to cut off Patton’s spearheads; U.S. First Army halts the offensive.

• 14–21 August 1944 – Operation Tractable and the Falaise Pocket:

  Canadian/Polish-led Operation Tractable closes the Falaise Gap; encirclement of German 7th Army and Panzer Group Eberbach. Over 40,000 prisoners; Normandy campaign effectively ends.

• 15 August 1944 – Operation Dragoon (Southern France):

  Allied invasion of Provence; forces push north up the Rhône valley.

• 19–25 August 1944 – Liberation of Paris:

  French Resistance rises; U.S. 4th Infantry and French 2nd Armored enter Paris on 25 August.

September 1944

• 1–11 September 1944 – Allied Advance to the German Frontier:

  Rapid liberation of northern France and Belgium. Brussels liberated (3 Sept). Antwerp captured (4 Sept) by British forces, but its approaches remain in German hands. Supply shortages begin to stall the advance.

• 7–19 September 1944 – Siege of Brest (Atlantic Ports Campaign):

  U.S. forces reduce the German garrison; other Channel ports (Boulogne and Calais) captured later in September; Dunkirk isolated and besieged.

• 17–25 September 1944 – Operation Market Garden:

  Airborne landings at Eindhoven, Nijmegen, Arnhem (largest airborne operation to date). U.S. 101st and 82nd Airborne secure southern bridges; British 1st Airborne isolated at Arnhem. Objective—crossing the Rhine—fails.

• Late September 1944 – Battle of the Scheldt Begins:

  Canadian First Army begins operations to open the Scheldt Estuary and unlock Antwerp’s port.

October 1944

• 20–28 October 1944 – Operation Pheasant (Liberation of Southern Netherlands):

  British Second Army and Polish units clear ’s-Hertogenbosch–Tilburg area, stabilizing the front north of the Scheldt.

• 2 October – 8 November 1944 – Battle of the Scheldt (continued):

  Canadian operations capture Walcheren Island; estuary cleared and Antwerp’s port finally opened to Allied shipping.

• October 1944 – Battle of Aachen (fell 21 October):

  First major German city taken by the Allies (U.S. First Army). Intense urban combat; heavy German losses and prisoners.

November 1944

• 2–21 November 1944 – Battle of the Hürtgen Forest (phase intensifies):

  U.S. forces fight attrition battles in dense terrain near the German border; heavy losses, limited gains.

• 8–24 November 1944 – Operation Queen:

  Allied push toward the Rhine between Aachen and the Hürtgen; Germans delay Allies ahead of winter.

• 18–22 November 1944 – Battle of Geilenkirchen (Operation Clipper):

  British 12th Corps with U.S. forces reduces the Geilenkirchen salient, tied to Operation Queen objectives.

• 19 November 1944 – Metz Captured (Lorraine Campaign):

  Patton’s Third Army secures Metz after prolonged siege; drives toward the Saar.

December 1944

• 16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 – Battle of the Bulge (Ardennes Offensive):

  Last major German counteroffensive achieves initial surprise; Bastogne besieged but held by the U.S. 101st Airborne. Patton’s relief and restored air superiority reverse gains by late January.

• 31 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 – Operation Nordwind (Alsace):

  German offensive in the Vosges/Alsace sector against U.S. Seventh Army and French First Army; ultimately contained.

January 1945

• 8–25 January 1945 – Allied Counteroffensive in the Ardennes:

  German salient eliminated; approximately 100,000 German casualties. Hitler’s last offensive capability exhausted.

• 29 January 1945 – Colmar Pocket Cleared (Alsace):

  U.S. and French forces eliminate the remaining German bridgehead in southern Alsace.

February 1945

• 8 February – 11 March 1945 – Operations Veritable & Grenade (Rhineland Campaign):

  British/Canadian forces (Veritable) and U.S. Ninth Army (Grenade) clear the west bank of the Rhine in difficult, flooded terrain.

• Late February 1945 – Preparations for Operation Lumberjack:

  U.S. First and Third Armies posture for a drive to the Rhine (formal execution in March).

March 1945

• 1–21 March 1945 – Operation Lumberjack:

  U.S. First and Third Armies drive to the Rhine, seizing key cities west of the river and setting conditions for crossings.

• 7 March 1945 – Capture of the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen:

  U.S. forces seize an intact Rhine bridge, establishing the first Allied bridgehead east of the Rhine.

• 15–24 March 1945 – Operation Undertone:

  U.S. Seventh Army and French First Army advance through the Saar–Palatinate, breaking German defenses south of the Moselle.

• 22–28 March 1945 – Crossing of the Rhine (Multiple Sectors):

  Operation Plunder/Varsity (23–24 Mar): 21st Army Group crosses near Wesel; largest single-day airborne drop of the war. U.S. Third Army crosses at Oppenheim/Mainz; additional bridgeheads established along the river.

• 29 March – 1 April 1945 – Breakout into Germany:

  Allied forces advance rapidly into central Germany; German Army cohesion collapses.

April 1945

• 1–21 April 1945 – Ruhr Pocket:

  U.S. First and Ninth Armies encircle ~320,000 German troops; Germany’s primary industrial region lost.

• 4 April 1945 – Ohrdruf Concentration Camp Liberated:

  First Nazi concentration camp liberated by U.S. forces; atrocities documented.

• 11 April 1945 – Buchenwald Concentration Camp Liberated:

  Further evidence of systematic atrocities discovered.

• 12 April 1945 – Death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

• 16–30 April 1945 – Advance into Bavaria and Saxony:

  Allies capture Nuremberg (20 Apr), Bremen (26 Apr), and link up operations toward Hamburg; Munich captured (30 Apr). French First Army reaches the Alps.

• 25 April 1945 – Elbe River Link-Up:

  U.S. and Soviet troops meet near Torgau, cutting Germany in two.

• 30 April 1945 – Hitler’s Suicide in Berlin.

May 1945

• 2 May 1945 – Surrender of Berlin (to Soviets):

  Western Allies halt on agreed demarcation lines.

• 4–7 May 1945 – Unconditional Surrender of German Forces:

  German forces in northwest Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands surrender (4 May). General Alfred Jodl signs unconditional surrender at Reims (7 May). Effective 8 May – V-E Day.