Maneuver Center of Excellence (MCoE) Libraries MCoE HQ Donovan Research Library Fort Benning, Georgia Report date: 1944-1945 Title: Report by the Supreme Commander to the Combined Chiefs of Staff on the Operations in Europe of the Allied Expeditionary Force, 6 June 1944 to 8 May 1945 Author: Allied Expeditionary Forces Abstract: Operations in Europe of Allied Expeditionary Force on 6 June 1944 to 8 May 1945, Information and Education Division, War Department Special Staff for use in the Troop Information Program, published by Army Times, 1946. Includes information on the Battle of the Falaise-Argentan Pocket, the Advance to the Seine, Buildup of the Allied Navies, Ardennes Counteroffensive, and plans for the 1945 Campaign, Operation to Reach the Rhine, Crossing the Rhine, Envelopment of the Ruhr and the Junction with the Russians, Final Phase and the Surrender. Include maps. Number of pages: 97 p. Notes: From the MCoE HQ Donovan Research Library, Fort Benning, GA. Documents collection. Call #: D767.6 .A12 Classification: Unclassified; Approved for public release D 767.6 Report by Supreme Commander.. it 12 Opns. in Europe of tF *_ 4.; -' J :11F / Report br THE SUPREME COMMANDER TO THE COMBINED CHIEFS OF STAFF ON THE OPERATIONS IN EUROPE- of the ALLIED -EXPEDITIONARY FORCE 6 JUNE 1944 to 8 MAY 1945 Distributed by Information and Education Division, War Department Special Staff, for use in the Troop Iiformation Program. ,f) T7s 6 .4 & lop 4% P tsfihAd by Army Times, 1419 Irving ., ., Washington 10, 1A.C CONTENTS PREFACE: SUMMARY OF OPERATIONS IN 7 NORTHWEST EUROPE...................... PLANNING AND PREPARATION.................. 9 The COSSAC Plan............9.............. 9 Development of Plan OVERLORD."............ 10 Logistical Problems.......... 0................. 16 German Miscalculations..17 Preparatory Operations..... *.... 0.................18 Enemy Capabilities........ ............... 20 THE ASSAULT.......a....................22 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LODGEMENT AREA..28 THE BREAKTHROUGH. 34 = :ij THRAKHOG......."......... ................ 34!:!: THE BATTLE OF THE FALAISE--ARGENTAN POCKET 39 THE ADVANCE TO THE SEINE.0a.........o.......... 42 THE BUILD-UP AND THE ALLIED NAVIES.................46 THE ADVANCE FROM THE SEINE TO THE GERMAN BORDER.. ...... ...... :.....j...a...... ... 52 CONSOLIDATION ON THE FRONTIER............a& o......56 THE ARDENNES COUNTER-OFFENSIVE..... r......... ..... ,e 62 PL4NS FOR THE 1945 CAMPAIGN........a......,. 67 OPERATIONS TO REACH THE RHINE..........,........... 71 CROSSING THE RHINE................... .. 77 THE ENVELOPMENT OF THE RUTIR AND THE JUNCTION WITH THE RUSSIANS ........ ......... 82 T~EFINAL PHASE ... ,..........,....,..... ,. 89 THlE SURRENDER.. i....*:.. .-. ............. ,........... 1. 93 CONCLUSION.... r ...... t..• . '~ ... a-*#ir 95 t p p - 6 t-~ Maps The Assault .. 23 Establishment of the Lodgement Area...32 The Breakthrough........................... 36 Battle of the Falaise.Argentan Pocket........... 40 Advance to the Seine ............. .......a43 ....... Advance from the Seine to the German Border.... ... 54 Consolidation on the Frontier ............*.&........58 Ardennes Counter-offensive............., ........ 65 Operations to Reach the Rbine. ............. 72 Crossing the Rhine.....0 ' . .r...i...,................. ... .79 The Envelopment of the Ruhr. ........... ,... 86 V DIRECTIVE TO SUPREME COMMANDER ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCE (Issee fl Febrnr 794) .. ,i 1. You are hereby designated as Supreme Allied Commander of the forces placed under your orders for operations for liberation of*Europe from Germans. Your title will be Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force. 2. Task. You will enter the continent of Europe and, in conjunction with the other United Nations, undertake operations aimed at the heart of Germany and the destruction of her armed forces. The date for entering the Continent is the month of May, 1944. After adequate Channel ports have been secured, exploitation will be directed towards securing An area that -will facilitate both ground and air operations. agains the enemy. 8. Notwithstanding the target date above you will be prepared at any time to take iinmediate advantage of favorable circumstances, such as withdrawal by the enemy - on your front, to effect a reentry into the Continent with such forces as you have avail-" able at the time; a general plan for this operation when approved, will be furnished for your assistace. ., 4. C . TYe are responsible to the Combined Chefs of Staff and will exercise command generally in accordance with the diagram at Appendix [reproduced on page six]. Direct communication with the United States and British Chiefs of Staff is authorized in the interest of facilitating your operations and for arranging necessary logistic support. 5. Logistics. In the United Kingdom the responsibility for logistics organization, cbncentration, movement, and supply of forces to meet the requirements of your plan will rest with British Service Ministries so far as British Forces are concerned. So far as United States Forces are concerned, this responsibility will rent with the United States War and Navy Departments. You will be responsible for the coordination of * logistical arrangements on the continent. You will also be responsible for coordinating the requirements of British and United States forces under your command. 6. C rdinotion of operations of otkr Porces and Agencies. Is preparation for yw asault on enemy oecupied Europe, Sea and Air Forces, agencies of sbo mge,mb- vFersionadpropaganda, acing under a variet o authorities, are now i asti YU my recommend my v tio ix these activities which may seem e oy desirble 7. Relatioship 1. United Notions Forces in other areas. Responsibility will rest with the Comined Chiefs of Staff for supplying information relating to operationso the Forces of the U. S. S. B. for your guidance i timing your operations. It is under- stood that the Soviet Forces wil launch an offensive at about the sam time as OVEgR- LORD with the object of preventing the German forces from transferring from the Eastern to the Western front. The Allied Commander in Chief, Mediterranean Theatre, will conduct operations de.signed to assist your operation, including the launching of an attack against the south of France at about the same time as OVERLORD. The scope and timing of his "operations will be decided by the Combined Chiefs of Staff. You I .< / 4 1 - .- 'I 6 and recommendations, regarding operations from the Mediterranean in support of your attk from the United Kingdom. The Combined Chiefs of Staff will place under your command the forces operating in Southern France as soon as you are in a position to assume such command. You will submit timely recommendations compatible with this regard. P. Rogationahip with AlliAd Govwmct--the re.esablishmt of Civil Governments &ad Liberated Allied Territories and the administration of enemy territories. Further instructions will be issued to you on these subjects at a later date. CHAN OF COMMND i W....S. CI.NWS OF STAFF .... --L.. -- .. ----.. - mml imwi wLawf (4 PREFACE SUMMARY OF OPERATIONS IN NORTHWEST EUROPE The broad strategy behind our main effort against the German war machine included as a highly desirable preliminary the successful conclusion of operations in North Africa and their extension across Sicily to the Italian mainland. With these accomplished, with the Mediterranean "flank" freed for Allied shipping, and with the necessary special equipment built or in sight, we were at last in a position to prepare for the final crms Channel assault which had been agreed upon since April 1942 as our main operation against Germany. It was correctly believed that only on the historic battlefields of France and the Low Countries could Germany's armies in the west be decisively en. gaged and defeated. America and England-the Western Allies--could not be sufficiently strong to un- dertake the assault against France until June 1944, but the broad tactical plans for the operation were completed and approved by the Combined Chiefs of Staff in August 1943, prior to my assumption of command of the European Theater in February 1944. As part of our basic strategy, and in accordance with the task given to the Strategic Air Force under the Casablanca Directive in January 1943, the bombing of Germany, begun early in the war by the British Bomber Command, was intensified in, May 1943 and continued with mounting strength to the end of the campaign. Neither the contem- plated invasion of Europe nor the direct attack on the German industrial and economic system would be feasible until we had achieved supremacy over the German Air Force. This struggle for air supremacy, which had been going on throughout the war, was given added impetus by a new directive (known as POINTBLANK) in January 1943 which aimed at subjugating the enemy air force by the spring of 1944. In the event, German air might was thoroughly dominated by D-day and we were free to apply the immense strength of the Allied air forces in the manner we wished and to launch the invasion confident that our plans could not be seriously upset by the German air force. In addi- tion, air bombardment had disrupted the German communications system, immeasurably aiding our ground forces by impeding enemy movements. Our main strategy in the conduct of the ground campaign was to land amphibious and airborne forces on the Normandy coast between Le Havre and the Cotentin Peninsula and, with the successful establishment of a beachhead with