The British 21st Army Group was an important Allied force in the European Theatre of World War II. Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini // Preceding events Main articles: Events preceding World War II in Europe, Causes of World War II After Germany lost World War I, the Treaty of Versailles placed punitive conditions on the country, including significant financial reparations, the loss of territory (some only temporarily), and war... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb. ...

Normandy

Commanded by General (later Field Marshal) Sir Bernard Montgomery, it initially controlled all ground forces in Operation Overlord. However, when sufficient American forces had landed, their own 12th Army Group was activated, under General Omar Bradley, and 21st Army Group was left with British Second Army and Canadian First Army. Combatants Allied Powers Nazi Germany Commanders Dwight D. Eisenhower (Supreme Allied Commander) Bernard Montgomery (land) Bertram Ramsay (sea) Trafford Leigh-Mallory (air) Gerd von Rundstedt (OB WEST) Erwin Rommel (Heeresgruppe B) Strength 326,000 (by June 11)  ? Casualties 53,700 dead, 18,000 missing, 155,000 wounded about 200,000... Bernard Law Montgomery Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (November 17, 1887 - March 24, 1976) was a British military officer during World War II often referred to as Monty. ... The Battle of Normandy was fought in 1944 between the German forces occupying Western Europe and the invading Allies. ... The 12th Army Group was the largest and most powerful American formation ever to take to the field. ... General of the Army Omar N. Bradley Omar Nelson Bradley (February 12, 1893 – April 8, 1981) was one of the main U.S. Army field commanders in North Africa and Europe during the World War II and a General of the Army of the United States Army. ... The British Second Army was extant in both World Wars. ... The Canadian First Army was the overall command for the Canadian military forces in Europe during World War II. It was formed in early 1942 to command two corps composed of the three infantry divisions, two armoured divisions, and two armoured brigades that had assembled in England. ...

Normandy had become a battle of attrition for the British and Canadian armies, sucking in the available German reinforcements, around Caen. In the end, however, the Germans lacked the reserves and air protection to prevent the US breakout in early August, 1944 and they were forced into headlong retreat. Location within France Caen is a city and a commune of northwestern France. ...

Advance into Holland

After the successful landings in the south of France by the U.S. 6th Army Group, the 21st Army Group formed the left flank of the three Allied army groups arrayed against German forces in the west. It was therefore responsible for securing the ports upon which Allied supply depended. Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France, on 15 August 1944, as part of World War 2. ... The 6th Army Group was an Army Group of the Allies (namely the United States Army) during World War II. It was created in Corsica, Italy (specifically activated on August 1, 1944) to consolidate the combined French and American forces that were planning to invade southern France in Operation Dragoon. ...

By 29th August, the Germans had largely crossed the Seine, but without their heavy equipment. The campaign through Northern France and Belgium was largely a pursuit, with the ports - formally designated "Fortress Towns" - offering only limited opposition to the British 2nd Army. Their port facilities were effectively destroyed, however. The advance was so rapid, 250 miles in 4 days, that Antwerp was captured on 4th September, undefended and with its port facilities intact. The Cathedral of our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, Antwerp) in the Handschoenmarkt, in the old quarter of Antwerp is the largest cathedral in the Low Countries and home to a number of triptychs by Renaissance Belgian painter Rubens. ...

By mid September, elements of the 21st Army Group had reached Holland and halted. Supplies were short. The long haul from Normandy had to be by truck. Ports and railways were unusable. Eisenhower had to choose which line of advance to supply - the Allies could not do it all.

Operation Market Garden

The 21st Army Group then took part in one of the most famous operations in WWII. Waves of paratroops land in Holland during Operation Market Garden in September 1944. ...

After the break-out from Normandy, there were high hopes that the war could be ended in 1944. In order to do so, the last great natural defensive barrier of Germany in the west, the River Rhine, had to be crossed. Operation Market Garden was the first attempt to do this. It was staged in the Netherlands, with American, Polish and British parachute divisions being dropped to capture bridges over the lower Rhine before they were blown by the Germans. The parachute formations would then be relieved by armoured forces advancing rapidly northwards through Eindhoven and Nijmegen to Arnhem. The north German plain would then be open to the Allies. 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Rhine canyon (Ruinaulta) in Graubünden in Switzerland Length 1. ... Waves of paratroops land in Holland during Operation Market Garden in September 1944. ... Eindhoven is a municipality and a city located in the province of Noord-Brabant in the south of the Netherlands, originally at the confluence of the Dommel and Gender brooks. ... Nijmegen (obsolete spellings: Nijmwegen, Nymegen, Nieumeghen — known in German as Nimwegen, French as Nimègue, and Spanish as Nimega) is a municipality and a city in the east of the Netherlands, near the German border. ... Arnhem is a municipality and a city in the east of the Netherlands, located on the Lower Rhine, and the capital of the Gelderland province. ...

However, the armoured formations would have only one road to use - referred to as a "battlefront two tanks wide". Crucial information about the German formations in the area was either missing or ignored and additional German armour was diverted from the Eastern Front. The scratch forces remaining after the retreat from France were much stronger than expected, thus giving the armoured units of British XXX Corps a much tougher fight than had been anticipated, slowing the advance. The American and Polish parachute divisions that had fought south of the Rhine were relieved in the end, but the British 1st Airborne Division in Arnhem was essentially destroyed. The XXX Corps was an infantry corps in the British Army. ... The British 1st Airborne Division was a military unit that fought in World War II. It suffered terrible casualties, especially in Operation Market Garden. ...

Walcheren

Another high profile operation was needed to clear the approaches to the great Belgian port of Antwerp, and thereby ease the continuing supply problem. The island of Walcheren was strongly held by German forces, and commanded the estuary of the Meuse which flows through Antwerp. It was captured in late 1944 by the last major amphibious assault in Europe in WWII. A combination of Canadian forces and Royal Marines undertook the operation. For other uses, see Antwerp (disambiguation). ... Satellite image of the Scheldt estuary Walcheren is a former island in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands at the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. ... Meuse is a département in northeast France, named after the Meuse River. ... The Corps of Royal Marines, usually just known as the Royal Marines (RM), are the United Kingdoms amphibious forces and a core component of the countrys Rapid Deployment Force. ...

Battle of the Bulge

After the capture of Walcheren came the last great German offensive of the entire war. In a repeat of their 1940 attack, German formations smashed through weak Allied lines in the Ardennes in Belgium. However, unlike 1940, the Allies were able to blunt the attack and then destroy the forces that had mounted it. The Ardennes Offensive, which was actually known to the Germans as Operation Wacht Am Rhein, was also known as Second Battle of the Ardennes and popularly known as the Battle of the Bulge, started in late December 1944 and was the last major German offensive on the Western Front during... The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests and rolling hill country, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France (lending its name to the Ardennes département and the Champagne-Ardenne région). ...

The Battle of the Bulge presented a command problem to General Eisenhower. It had sliced through US lines, leaving some American formations both north and south of the new German salient. However, the headquarters of US 12th Army Group lay to the south, so US forces north of the salient were placed under 21st Army Group. They, together with US Third Army under General George Patton, reduced the salient. The Ardennes Offensive, which was actually known to the Germans as Operation Wacht Am Rhein, was also known as Second Battle of the Ardennes and popularly known as the Battle of the Bulge, started in late December 1944 and was the last major German offensive on the Western Front during... Dwight David Ike Eisenhower (October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American soldier and politician. ... The 12th Army Group was the largest and most powerful American formation ever to take to the field. ... The US Third Army was first activated as a formation during the First World War. ... General George Smith Patton Jr. ...

After the battle, control of U.S. First Army which had been placed under Montgomery's temporary command was returned to Bradley's 12th Army Group. However, U.S. Ninth Army remained under Montgomery for the final attack into Germany. Shoulder Sleeve Insignia of the U.S. First Army. ... Shoulder sleeve insignia of the U.S. Ninth Army. ...

Rhineland Campaign

Allied forces closed up to the Rhine completely by March 1945. At this stage, 21st Army Group comprised the British Second Army, under General Miles C Dempsey, the Canadian 1st Army, under General Crerar, and the US Ninth Army, under General William Simpson. Miles Dempsey (15th December 1896 - 5th June 1969) was commander of the 2nd British Army during the D-Day landings in World War II. After graduating from Sandhurst Military Academy in 1915 Dempsey joined the Royal Berkshire Regiment. ...

The Canadian 1st Army had executed Operation Veritable in difficult conditions from Nijmegen, eastwards through the Reichswald Forest, then southwards. This was to have been the northern part of a pincer movement, with the US Ninth Army moving northwards towards Dusseldorf and Krefeld (Operation Grenade), to clear the west bank of the Rhine, north of Cologne. In the event, however, the Americans were delayed by two weeks when the Germans destroyed the Roer dams and flooded the American route of advance. As a result, the Canadians engaged, and mauled, the German reserves intended to defend the Cologne Plain. Operation Veritable was the northern part of the Second World War pincer movement by General Bernard Montgomerys 21st Army Group to clear the land between the Rhine and Roer rivers. ... Nijmegen (obsolete spellings: Nijmwegen, Nymegen, Nieumeghen — known in German as Nimwegen, French as Nimègue, and Spanish as Nimega) is a municipality and a city in the east of the Netherlands, near the German border. ... Düsseldorf in Germany The Düsseldorf Coat of Arms Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. ... Krefeld is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... Operation Grenade was the plan for The US Ninth Army to cross the Roer (Rur) river in February 1945. ... Cologne (German: â–¶(?) [kÅ“ln]; Kölsch: Kölle) is with its one million residents Germanys fourth largest city after Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. ...

In Operation Plunder, starting on the 13rd March, 1945, the British Second Army and the US Ninth Army crossed the Rhine at various places north of the Ruhr and German resistance in the west quickly crumbled. Canadian First Army wheeled left and liberated northern Holland, British Second Army occupied much of north-west Germany and liberated Denmark, and US Ninth Army formed the northern arm of the encirclement of German forces in the Ruhr pocket and, on 4 April, reverted to Bradley's 12th Army Group. During World War II, Operation Plunder was the crossing of the Rhine river at Rees and Wesel by the British Twenty-fifth Army Group. ... April 4 is the 94th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (95th in leap years). ... General of the Army Omar N. Bradley Omar Nelson Bradley (February 12, 1893 – April 8, 1981) was one of the main U.S. Army field commanders in North Africa and Europe during the World War II and a General of the Army of the United States Army. ...

British Army of the Rhine

After the German surrender, 21st Army Group was converted into the headquarters for the British zone of occupation in Germany. It was redesignated the British Army of the Rhine on 25 August 1945, and would eventually form the nucleus of the British forces stationed in Germany throughout the Cold War. There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). ... There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). ... August 25 is the 237th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (238th in leap years), with 128 days remaining. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Der Warschauer Pakt Nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg hatte die Sowjetunion begonnen, mit den Staaten in ihrer Interessensphäre zweiseitige Beistandsverträge1 abzuschliessen. ...

References

• Defeat in the West; Milton Shulman, first published 1947
• The Struggle for Europe; Chester Wilmot