Supreme HQ Allied Expeditionary Force (April 9, 1945)
FROM
(A) SHAEF MAIN
ORIGINATOR
PRD, Communique Section
DATE-TIME OF ORIGIN
091100B April
TO FOR ACTION
(1) AGWAR
(2) NAVY DEPARTMENT
TO (W) FOR INFORMATION (INFO)
(3) TAC HQ 12 ARMY GP
(4) MAIN 12 ARMY GP
(5) AIR STAFF MAIN
(6) ANCXF
(7) EXFOR MAIN
(8) EXFOR REAR
(9) DEFENSOR, OTTAWA
(10) CANADIAN C/S, OTTAWA
(11) WAR OFFICE
(12) ADMIRALTY
(13) AIR MINISTRY
(14) UNITED KINGDOM BASE
(15) SACSEA
(16) CMHQ (Pass to RCAF & RCN)
(17) COM ZONE
(18) SHAEF REAR
(19) SHAEF MAIN
(20) HQ SIXTH ARMY GP
(REF NO.)
NONE
(CLASSIFICATION)
IN THE CLEAR
Communiqué No. 366
UNCLASSIFIED: Allied airborne forces have been dropped over a wide area in Northwest Holland. Zutphen, on the Ijssel River, has been captured.
Enemy resistance continues to be strong in the Meppen area. East of Lingen we occupied Lengerich and Freren and are continuing to advance eastward. To the south, we captured Halverde.
Gun positions and strong points at Deventer, in the areas of Lingen, Haselünne and Quakenbrück, and road and rail transport over wide areas in Holland and Northwest Germany were struck at by fighter-bombers and rocket-firing fighters.
Our armored forces advancing northeast from the Dümmer See, continued to make good progress. Syke has been captured and we are less than 12 miles from Bremen.
East of the Weser River, we occupied Loccum and Bad Rehburg and are on the outskirts of Neustadt after passing through Sachsenhagen.
We reached the northern outskirts of Stadthagen. Our armor captured Sarstedt and Himmelsthür, north of Hildesheim, and Marienburg, two miles south of the town.
To the southwest we are fighting in Capellenhagen, and we captured Eschershausen. Fighting continues in Höxter.
Northeast of Kassel our infantry reached a point three miles west of Hardegsen. We took Göttingen and Varlosen, while other units cleared Hann-Münden and pushed beyond the town.
Our armor reached Dingelstädt, ten miles northwest of Mühlhausen. In the vicinity of Struth, west of Mülhausen, we repulsed a counterattack, knocked out nine of the 16 enemy tanks employed and killed or captured approximately half of the estimated 1,000-man infantry force. Another counterattack was repelled southwest of Mühlhausen.
Our infantry reached a point four miles northeast of Gotha, and other units mopping up behind the armor cut the Ohrdruf-Suhl road eight miles north of Suhl. Our forces reached a point three miles southeast of Suhl.
South of Meiningen our infantry and armor advanced eastward about 15 miles to reach Königshofen.
In mopping up the area between salients farther south, we occupied many towns and villages south and southeast of Bad Kissingen.
East of Würzburg, our troops have cleared the west bank of the Main River for a distance of some 12 miles.
Armor, driving westward from Crailsheim, reached Geislingen.
House-to-house fighting continues in Heilbronn.
The town of Pforzheim, southeast of Karlsruhe, has been captured and our forces have made good gains to the east.
On the northern sector of the Ruhr Pocket, our infantry extended its bridgehead over the Rhine-Herne Canal and entered Katernberg and Gelsenkirchen. We are meeting strong resistance in Castrop-Rauxel. To the west a number of towns were cleared including Merklingen and Rahm, and we entered the northwest outskirts of Dortmund. Farther west, our armor entered Werl, captured Gunningen and entered Warstein.
On the eastern edge of the pocket, we are within two miles of Meschede.
West of Siegen, our forces captured several towns including Freudenberg, Morsbach and Merten.
Allied forces in the west captured 39,662 prisoners 7 April.
Railyards at Stendal, Plauen, and Cheb, southeast of Plauen; ordnance depots at Bayreuth and Grafenwoehr, southeast of Bayreuth; an aircraft repair factory at Furth and airfields at Schafstädt, southwest of Halle, and at Roth, south of Nürnberg were attacked by escorted heavy bombers in great strength.
Rail and road transport, railyards and other communications targets at Celle, northeast of Hanover, Magdeburg, Sondershausen, Leipzig, Schleiz, northwest of Plauen, Bamberg and in the area of Nuremberg were attacked by strong forces of medium, light and fighter-bombers.
Sixteen enemy airfields including those at Nordhausen, Dessau, Halle, Merseburg, Erfurt and Hof, and others in the Nuremberg area, also were targets for medium, light and fighter-bombers.
An oil refinery at Nienhagen, northeast of Hanover; an oil storage depot at Münchenbernsdorf, southwest of Gera; and an ammunition dump at Kleinengstingen, south of Stuttgart, were hit by medium and light bombers.
During the day’s operations, 35 enemy aircraft were shot down, 66 were destroyed on the ground and many others were damaged. According to reports so far received, ten of our heavy bombers, one medium bomber and six fighters are missing.
Last night, heavy bombers in great strength attacked submarine building yards at Hamburg, and a synthetic oil plant at Lützen west of Leipzig. Targets in Berlin were also bombed.
COORDINATED WITH: G-2, G-3 to C/S
THIS MESSAGE MAY BE SENT IN CLEAR BY ANY MEANS
/s/
Precedence
“OP” - AGWAR
“P” - Others
ORIGINATING DIVISION
PRD, Communique Section
NAME AND RANK TYPED. TEL. NO.
D. R. JORDAN, Lt Col FA4655
AUTHENTICATING SIGNATURE
/s/
