Colmar Pocket

Colmar Pocket
source
Conflict	Colmar Pocket
Partof	World War II on the Western Front
Date	20 January – 9 February 1945
Place	Around Colmar, Alsace, France
Result	Allied victory
Combatant1	Allies:, United States, France, Supported by:, United Kingdom
Combatant2	Nazi Germany
Commander1	Jacob L. Devers, Jean de Lattre de Tassigny
Commander2	Heinrich Himmler, Siegfried Rasp
Units1	French First Army, U.S. XXI Corps
Units2	Army Group Upper Rhine, German 19th Army
Strength1	~ 250,000 men
Strength2	~ 40,000–55,000 men
Casualties1	~ 16,000–18,000
Casualties2	~ 22,000–38,000

Colmar Pocket. The Colmar Pocket was a major German-held salient in the Alsace region of France during the final months of World War II. Formed in late 1944 following the Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine, it represented a stubborn German bridgehead west of the Rhine River. Its reduction in early 1945 by combined French First Army and United States Army forces was a critical, hard-fought operation that secured the Allied southern flank before the final push into Germany.

Background

Following the Allied landings in Southern France in August 1944, forces under U.S. Sixth Army Group, commanded by General Jacob L. Devers, advanced rapidly northward. By November, they had reached the Rhine River near the Swiss border, liberating most of Alsace. However, Adolf Hitler, viewing Alsace as historically German territory, issued a "fight to the last" order. The German 19th Army, despite being weakened after the Ardennes offensive, was ordered to hold a large bridgehead around the city of Colmar. This position threatened the flank of General Dwight D. Eisenhower's broader forces and pinned down significant French First Army resources under General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny.

The pocket forms

The pocket solidified in late November 1944 after the U.S. Seventh Army's drive toward the Rhine was halted by determined Wehrmacht resistance and harsh winter conditions. Centered on Colmar, the salient extended roughly 40 miles north to south and 20 miles deep, encompassing the Vosges foothills and the agriculturally rich Alsatian Plain. Key defensive positions included the cities of Neuf-Brisach, a Vauban fortress, and the critical bridge at Chalampe. Command of German forces was controversially given to Heinrich Himmler's newly formed Army Group Upper Rhine, though operational control fell to General Siegfried Rasp of the 19th Army.

Allied operations

The offensive to eliminate the pocket, Operation Cheerful, began on 20 January 1945. The French First Army, reinforced by the U.S. XXI Corps under General Frank W. Milburn, attacked from the south and west. Initial progress was slow due to fierce resistance, flooded terrain from the Ill River, and extensive Siegfried Line-style fortifications. The French I Corps fought bitterly for towns like Ensisheim and the Belfort Gap approaches. A pivotal moment came when the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division crossed the frozen Rhine–Rhône Canal and, in conjunction with the French 5th Armored Division, launched a northern pincer toward Neuf-Brisach, mirroring tactics from the Falaise Pocket.

German defense and collapse

German forces, including veteran units like the 198th Infantry Division and the 2nd Mountain Division, defended tenaciously from fortified towns and woodlines. Heinrich Himmler's interference and the failure of promised reinforcements from the Battle of the Bulge weakened the defense. The Allied breakthrough came when the U.S. 28th Infantry Division and French 2nd Armored Division secured key road networks, isolating Colmar. With Neuf-Brisach falling on 6 February and Colmar itself liberated on 2 February, organized resistance crumbled. Remnants of the German 19th Army fled across the Rhine at Chalampe under heavy artillery fire from U.S. VI Corps units.

Aftermath

The elimination of the Colmar Pocket cost the Germans an estimated 22,000 casualties and 16,000 prisoners, effectively destroying the 19th Army as a fighting force. Allied casualties numbered between 16,000 and 18,000. The victory freed the entire French First Army for the final advance into Germany, securing the southern flank for the upcoming Rhine crossings. For France, the battle, fought largely by French I Corps and French 2nd Armored Division troops, was a point of immense national pride and a key step in the liberation of Alsace-Lorraine. The operation demonstrated effective Franco-American cooperation under Sixth United States Army Group and set the stage for the invasion of the German Reich itself.

Category:Battles of World War II involving the United States Category:Battles of World War II involving France Category:Battles of World War II involving Germany Category:Conflicts in 1945 Category:History of Alsace