Operation Nordwind (North Wind) was an attack conducted by the German Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS during January 1945 in Alsace and Lorraine. Taking part were the 6th SS Division Nord as well as a number of Volksgrenadier units. Wehrmacht   listen? was the name of the armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. ... Waffen-SS recruitment poster; Volunteer to the Waffen-SS The Waffen-SS was the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel. ... 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Capital Strasbourg Area 8,280 km² Regional President Adrien Zeller (UMP) (since 1996) Population  - 2004 estimate  - 1999 census  - Density (Ranked 14th) 1,793,000 1,734,145 217/km² (2004) Arrondissements 13 Cantons 75 Communes 903 Départements Bas-Rhin Haut-Rhin Alsace (French: Alsace; Alsatian/German: Elsass) is one... Lorraine can refer to: the historical independent duchy and later French province of Lorraine: see Lorraine (province). ... The SS Division Nord was a German army unit of the Waffen-SS. The division was composed of SS men used for garrison duties in Norway. ... Volksgrenadier was the name given to a type of German army division formed in the Fall of 1944 after the double loss of Army Group Center to the Soviets in Operation Bagration and the 6th Panzer Army to the Allies in Normandy. ...

In Hitler's speech to his ten division commanders of December 28, 1944, three days prior to their launch of Operation Nordwind, he declared:

"This attack has a very clear objective, namely the destruction of the enemy forces. There is not a matter of prestige involved here. It is a matter of destroying and exterminating the enemy forces wherever we find them. The question of liberating all of Alsace at this time is not involved either. That would be very nice, the impression on the German people would be immeasurable, the impression on the world decisive, terrific psychologically, the impression on the French people would be depressing. But that is not important. It is more important, as I said before, to destroy his manpower."

The objective was to break through the lines of the U.S. Seventh Army in the Vosges mountains, allowing the 21st Panzer Group to advance into the Rhine valley and capture Strasbourg. A number of nations have a Seventh Army: French Seventh Army German Seventh Army Russian Seventh Army Turkish Seventh Army U.S. Seventh Army This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Vosges is a French département, named after the Vosges mountain range. ... The Rhine canyon (Ruinaulta) in Graubünden in Switzerland Length 1,320 km Elevation of the source Vorderrhein: approx. ... City motto: – City proper (commune) Région Alsace Département Bas-Rhin (67) Mayor Fabienne Keller (UMP) (since 2001) Area 78. ...

Fierce fighting ensued. U.S. lines were forced back, and some German units came within sight of Strasbourg itself. However, the German attack petered out for lack of reinforcements and Seventh Army reestablished its positions.

External links

Nordwind & the US 44th Division *Battle History of the 44th I.D.