Supreme HQ Allied Expeditionary Force (April 24, 1945)
FROM
(A) SHAEF MAIN
ORIGINATOR
PRD, Communique Section
DATE-TIME OF ORIGIN
241100B April
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(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
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(10) CANADIAN C/S, OTTAWA
(11) WAR OFFICE
(12) ADMIRALTY
(13) AIR MINISTRY
(14) UNITED KINGDOM BASE
(15) SACSEA
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(REF NO.)
NONE
(CLASSIFICATION)
IN THE CLEAR
Communiqué No. 381
UNCLASSIFIED: Allied forces in north Holland beat off an enemy counterattack near Wagenborgen and are fighting in Appingedam.
Our forces in Germany, advancing down the right bank of the Weser, captured Uphusen, five miles from the outskirts of Bremen.
Enemy defense positions around Bremen were attacked by medium bombers. West of Oldenburg, fighter-bombers hit a concentration of field guns.
West of Hamburg we have occupied Harsefeld and Oostenbrugge.
Enemy forces which penetrated the Klotz area 19 April, and subsequently were pocketed, have been mopped up except for a few stragglers.
Dessau has been cleared and our forces are fighting in the western part of Eilenburg. Our patrols crossed the Mulde River in the vicinity of Eilenburg.
In Czechoslovakia, our troops liberated Thonbrunn and Dolreuth. To the south, in Germany, our infantry cleared Tirschenreuth after meeting strong resistance from 1,500 Hungarian troops who ultimately surrendered.
Our armor cleared Weiden and advanced south to enter Nabburg and Schwarzenfeld. Our infantry, advancing with the armor, reached the vicinity of Mantel and entered Aschach.
Southwest of Amberg, we reached the vicinity of Kastl and cleared Neumarkt after repelling a small counterattack.
South of Nuremberg, our armor and infantry made gains up to ten miles and reached Weissenburg.
Our forces crossed the Donau River at Dillingen, 15 miles northwest of Augsburg, and we advanced five miles south of the river.
Upstream along the Donau we reached Ehingen, 12 miles southwest of Ulm. Other units driving east from Sigmaringen advanced to within six miles of Ehingen, virtually sealing off an area of 500 square miles southeast of Stuttgart.
From Ludwigshafen we drove 25 miles eastward to a point 18 miles north of Friedrichshafen on Constance Lake. A 40-mile stretch of the German-Swiss border is now in our hands.
West of the Black Forest we gained eight miles southward along the Rhine to reach Müllheim.
Allied forces in the west captured 32,642 prisoners 22 April.
Enemy shipping off the Frisian Islands and in the Ems Estuary; rail lines and traffic between the Ems and Weser Estuaries and in the Elbe Estuary area, and airfields in both northern and southern Germany were attacked by fighter-bombers. Many aircraft were destroyed or damaged on the ground.
Four enemy aircraft were shot down during the day. According to incomplete reports, eight of our fighters are missing.
COORDINATED WITH: G-2, G-3 to C/S
THIS MESSAGE MAY BE SENT IN CLEAR BY ANY MEANS
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Precedence
“OP” - AGWAR
“P” - Others
ORIGINATING DIVISION
PRD, Communique Section
NAME AND RANK TYPED. TEL. NO.
D. R. JORDAN, Lt Col FA4655
AUTHENTICATING SIGNATURE
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