Chapter Seven
By the Spring of 1945 the Allies are pushing well into Germany. Large scale tank to tank confrontations had become highly unlikely as much of the larger German armour, vulnerable when operating in the field without its logistical support networks, had already been destroyed in Normandy, and in Belgium. Massive armoured, air and manpower were pitted against the millions of remaining German troops and civilians still motivated to defend the homeland. Anti-tank guns and the hand held rocket launcher became the most feared weapon at the opposition’s disposal. Although soon to become homeless, with infrastructure smashed, equipment destroyed and their capital city occupied in ruins but there was fight left in the German soldier yet. In March, Hitler had ordered all bridges on the Rhine be destroyed after additional assaults threatened the Ruhr after the failure of MARKET GARDEN. His plan was to leave not one left standing of the road and rail crossings that existed along the banks of the river. However, one did remain when demolition charges failed to bring it down on a single attempt. This crossing was the Ludendorff Railway Bridge at Remagen in Southern Germany. In the last days of the Reich, Hitler had the officers responsible executed. Goerring called for Air Force volunteers to crash their jet aircraft into it, but Hodges had already pushed nearly 8,000 troops over from 9th US Armoured Division, and the 78th Infantry Division. They fanned out on the other side after crossing and secured a bridgehead six miles in, framed between the bridge and the Cologne-Frankfurt Autobahn.
The forging of the bridgehead lead to some controversy between British and US Commanders. One plan had Montgomery and 21st Army Group crossing the Dutch border in the North and taking a north-westerly route fighting across the open plains of Germany. Eisenhower was not as easily swayed as he found himself to be pre-MARKET GARDEN and decided on delivering his main assault elsewhere. Hodges had made the crossing and secured the bridgehead and so it was felt it was his duty to push on inland. The main thrust would continue over the Remagen bridge and the US First Army would drive on Marburg at rapid pace. Patton’s 3rd Army crossed the Rhine lower down the river at Oppenheim and drove up the country in a north-easterly direction so as to link up with Hodges just a few days later.
Opposition in the East of Germany was weak, and crumbling every day with the threat of the Red Army’s advances. Kesselring supposedly had sixty divisions at his disposal on paper but the reality on the battlefield numbered a fraction of that force. Many townsfolk were quick to assist the Allied advance, once a few shells had been sent into the outskirts of their villages and towns. Prisoners were also being taken in large numbers, revealing the desperation of the Whermacht in trawls which showed the retired, and the children were now being called into the ranks. Eisenhower’s plan was for US forces to push on eastwards slicing Germany in two while the British skirted the northern slice passing through the ports and industrial centres along the coast. The US forces would head for the remaining central industrialised areas around Leipzig and Dresden. Patch’s 7th US Army and the French would head on a southerly route. By 18 April 1945 the last German forces inside the eighty mile Ruhr Pocket had surrendered. Surrounded on all sides, 317,000 soldiers were taken prisoner and vast swathes of equipment lay destroyed or in Allied hands. This was a higher prisoner count than at either Stalingrad, or at the close of fighting in Tunisia. The fight within the German population had been all but extinguished.
Near Duisberg, after the Ruhr Pocket surrender, German General Walter Model walked into the woods and shot himself. The last days of the Reich had arrived. Hodges army was motoring at speed across Central Germany and linked up with 3rd Army. All along the route they were now being met only with white bed sheets and flags hung in every town square. Resistance became extremely sporadic, as it did for the British in the north, who were mainly confronting small groups of Volksturm or Hitler Jugend units mixed with die-hard Kampfgruppe’s here and there on the roads to Berlin. The speed and numbers involved in the allied advance though rendered it impossible to stop. The River Elbe had been crossed by DD Shermans in April, but troops were halted there. Roosevelt had preordained that it would be the Russians who entered Berlin first. Magdeburg, where US forces were halted was just a short drive from the city limits but they were held at this position. The US First Army fought on past Leipzig and reached the Elbe lower down at Dessau, managing to liberate the POW’s of Colditz en route. The Red Army was racing westward and pushing a desperate number of Germans ahead of it as they ran hoping to be captured by the British or Americans in preference.
On 25 April, days before Hitler was to end his life in the Berlin bunker HQ he had retreated to, the Americans and Russians met up – twice. Once initially and secondly in a staged version for the motion picture and stills cameramen in a reconstruction at Torgau. Two and a quarter million German prisoners had been captured since D-Day. During May, Montgomery at 21st Army HQ sited in a tented encampment on Luneberg Heath, took the formal surrender and the task of repairing and rebuilding Germany into a habitable state began. Days later an overall surrender document was signed at Eisenhower’s HQ at Rheims. The former Reich heartland was searched for war criminals while minor politicians and town administrators were put through de-Nazification training courses.
Many of the tanks in later shots in this chapter were beginning to display their mileage, but also the experience gained by their crews. Often heavily camouflaged and protected by additional armour, Churchill tank track sections or welded on armour plate roughly cut. Here are a selection of Sherman tanks as they looked at the close of the campaign achieving the Victory in Europe:
On the 8 February 1945 a new offensive began on the Western Front involving British and Canadian troops of the First Canadian Army south-east of Nijmegan. Here a Crab flail supports infantry in the Rhine Crossing, as an upturned Waco glider provides testament to the Airborne assault that took place in the previous year. Infantry from 15th Scottish Division use the Flail tank as cover during the start of the advance. IWM BU 1693
The firing, and then sorting through ammunition casings, of a heavy barage in support of Rhine crossing by men of 15th Scottish Division, 227 Brigade, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in SE Nijmegan. (8 February 1945) Note the remanufactured commander’s turret in IWM BU 1732 below. IWM BU 1731 IWM BU 1732
‘Operation PLUNDER’ – DD tanks used in Rhine crossings are directed forward by an MP and cross into Germany on 24 March, 1945. IWM BU 2148
Canvas skirt fully erected, DD’s emerge from the Rhine to cross the flood banks built up on either side of the river. (24 March, 1945.) IWM BU 2171
A collapsed raft drowns two Shermans mid crossing, when enemy shellfire smashed the raft pontoons. Here the recovery operation continues. Note logs and evergreen foliage on the tank in BU 2462. Luckily the tanks were close to the bank when the raft was hit and recovery operations were quick. IWM BU 2460 & BU 2462
29 March 1945 amidst the rubble of Bocholt. Heavy opposition was encountered from fanatical troops armed with MG42’s and snipers had been spread around the town hidden in the detritus from collapsing buildings. This Sherman of 4th Armoured Brigade lets fly with a round straight down the road toward an enemy strongpoint, infantry would soon follow in a charge for the position. IWM BU 2774
Battle police direct a Sherman through a cross roads in the wrecked German towns of Borken and Gemen. Units of the 7th Armoured Division (Desert Rats) took the town and passed on through with rapidity. (30 March, 1945.) IWM BU 2829
7th Armoured Div Hybrid 1C Firefly advances at speed down a dusty road in Stadtlohn. IWM BU 2890
Command Tank of the Coldstream Guards on 1 April 1945. Note front hull mounted additional aerial which has been hoop painted in black/white, and chicken wire used to contain grassy camo. Track extenders are fitted for extra grip. In the tank are Lieutenant Colonel RFS Gooch, MC and his crew who were (l to r) L/Sgt C. Haigh of Huddersfield, L/Cpl Timbrell, MM of Melksham, Wiltshire and Sgt. Barlow of Stalybridge, Cheshire. IWM BU 3128
Typhoon Rockets fitted to the turret of this M4A4 Coldstream Guards’ Sherman snapped on 1 April 1945 passing the remains of a jute spinning mill in Ahaus, Germany. IWM BU 3136
Discarded pots of white paint have been used to mark out the edges of the Bailey bridge and the stone ramp onto it as tanks and infantry cross the Dortmund-Ems Canal. The infantryman of 6th Cameronians wears windproof smock and distinctive late war Turtle style helmet. The bridge had been built after a night of heavy mortar and shellfire and was a Class 40 triple single bridge, 110 ft long. This is one of the first Shermans to go over, and belongs to The Royal Scots Greys. (4 April 1945) IWM BU 3141
A IC Hybrid burns at the roadside as a Bren Carrier accelerates passed the danger. Note the cast front of the hull, along with early style bogies and VVSS suspension. W/O Camo scheme has been applied to the barrel and despite additional track sections being added to the hull and turret this tank has probably been disabled from enemy action originating in the field to the right of the road. The fire has not yet ignited the fuel tanks, oil and stowed ammunition. The photo was taken on the road to Ruurlo in Northern Holland near the German border on 2 April 1945 by Sgt Ames, AFPU. IWM BU 3151
Crab flail tanks regroup in a town square in Arnhem, this time in April 1945. Note unit markings chalked onto the side of the rollers, and the ferocious fire in the building to the right. IWM BU 3514 & 3515
BU 3169 Smoke dischargers fitted on turret, tank crosses bridge, and BU3168 an M4A4, note telephone cable reel welded to turret side of these Guards Armoured Shermans advancing into Germany on 6 April 1945. IWM BU 3169 & IWM BU 3168
M4A1 with track extenders rumbles through Hopsten on 8 April 1945, with crew wearing great coats to protect against the Spring chill. IWM BU 3324
An infantry team beckon on this 4th Armoured Brigade tank after clearing houses up this small track in the village of Voltlage. The village was taken in house to house action by the Royal Scots Fusiliers, 156 Brigade, 52nd Division assisted by armour. IWM BU 3329
12 April 1945. German women watch the Shermans of 1st Armoured (Coldstreams) drive on in the village of Lusche. IWM BU 3577
Lost in foliage. Somewhere in Germany the expertise and experience of the crew is revealed by this heavily camouflaged Firefly. IWM BU 5255
A IC Hybrid Firefly pulled up alongside a 75mm Hybrid in the town square of Wismar on the Baltic Coast. Both tanks of the Scots Greys were part of the farthest reaches of the British advance in the north and are heavily camouflaged with wilting bracken and pine foliage. Track extenders are visible on both tanks, and the Firefly’s barrel retains its W/O camo paint scheme. The road wheels are a mix of solid plain disc and pressed ribbed type. Abandoned German vehicle, generator trailer and mobile offices litter the square. IWM BU 5308
A Guards’ Firefly fitted with track extenders and an additional single 60lb Typhoon Rocket mounted on the left of the turret. Rockets of this type were uniquely fitted to tanks of the Coldstream Guards, usually in pairs or fours, just before the Rhine Crossing. They were reported to have dealt a devastating effect on German morale. This is either a Hybrid or IC as the camouflage is obscuring the front hull shape as intended. Photographed on 12 April 1945, these vehicles were from the Coldstream Guards and were firing on the woods in Lusche on the outskirts of Bremen. A Firefly spitting out 17-pounder rounds and 60lb rockets must have delivered a definitive message! IWM BU 3584
Victory parade of 51st Highland Division in Bremerhaven, 12 May 1945. Here Lieutenant General B G Horrocks, GB, DSO, MC XXX Corps Commander took the salute during a parade which included the Massed Pipes and Drums of the Division. (Note co-drivers sat cross legged for drive past.) IWM BU 6113
More Shermans participate in the Bremerhaven Victory roll past, note crew member stood to attention on rear engine decking. Hybrid IC on the left and M4A2 with paint stripped and muzzle steel polished on the right. IWM BU 6114
Sherman crossing the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal near Steenfeld on 9 May 1945. It is a 1C Hybrid model belonging to 7th Armoured Division. The turret has been reversed for travelling, and barrel locked in its gun crutch. This does reveal typical front glacis plate stowage, and the sharp nosed one piece transmission cover of the 1C Hybrid. Driver sits in raised seat position to seat out and loader and commander enjoy the sunshine. Remains of the factory fitted sand shields along one side of the tank are visible. Closer inspection again reveals the armoured plug welded into the hull MG position. IWM BU 6131
Chrysler Multibank engine is lifted from the hull of an M4A4. Note fire extinguishers mounted on rear plate and bracket mounts for the long stowage box revealed. WM BU 6508
M4A4 centre and other models of Shermans in a base repair shop awaiting work. M5 High Speed Tractor in British livery is also used in the yard IWM BU 6519
An excellent example of the War Office Counter-Shading camo scheme for the end of the barrel of the 17-pounder mounted in the Firefly. Monty casually strolls by these weapons for Victory at an exhibition held in Paris during May 1945. The tanks have received a shiny new gloss coating and the counter-shaded camo scheme has once again been applied to demonstrate to a curious public how the longer barrel was disguised from enemy identification. IWM BU 6780
M4A6 and M4A4 models among others await maintenance work in this giant repair facility in Germany. The far wall is sign-written warning Smoking Forbidden! IWM BU 6946