Of the 2 million presumed dead, Overmans believes 700,000 died in Soviet custody without being reported as POWs. Source of figures-Rdiger Overmans, Soldaten hinter Stacheldraht. Overmans maintains that many individual reports of casualties were not processed by the end of the war and are not reflected in the German High Command (OKW) statistics.[20]. This was countered by Montgomery, commanding the 21st Army Group in the north, who wished to attack over the Lower Rhine into the industrial Ruhr Valley. Paul Winter, in Defeating Hitler, states "these figures are undoubtedly too low"[15]. 7. This page was last edited on 2 June 2023, at 15:18. British forces captured Bremen on 26 April after a week of combat. European theatre of World War II The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat [nb 22] during World War II. Source of figures: Gregory Frumkin. [115], The West German government in November 1949, based on an analysis of the population balance for Germany within its 1937 borders, put German military losses at 3,250,000: 1,650,000 killed and 1,600,000 missing. ", Grigori F. Krivosheev concludes: "Losses during strategic operations accounted for 61.48% of small-arms losses, 65.52% of tank and SP gun losses, 56.89% of gun and mortar losses and 58.6% of combat aircraft losses during the war. After the crucial U.S. naval victory at the Battle of Midway (1942), U.S. forces began to advance up the chains of islands toward Japan. [58][59], The Western Allies also took 134,000 German soldiers prisoner in North Africa[60] Another myth is that the Soviet Union's role in the Second World War began on 22 June 1941, when the Wehrmacht attacked the USSR. On March 27 Eisenhower declared at a press conference that the enemy were a whipped army .
Lasting six brutal weeks, from December 16, 1944, to January 25, 1945, the assault took . In six weeks of fighting, the combined allied armies suffered more than 375,000 killed or wounded, as well as 1,800,000 soldiers becoming prisoners of war. U.S. air strengths listed in Table 7 inlcude the air forces both in the United Kingdom and on the Continent. Australia's losses on the Western Front were staggering, with more casualties in the first six weeks of our involvement than the entire eight-month Gallipoli campaign. This figure was to remain unchallenged until the 1990s when some German historians put the actual death toll in the expulsions at 500,000 confirmed deaths listed in a 1965 German Red Cross study. Bacque presents his arguments with a description of the horrific conditions at the Rheinwiesenlager POW camps and eyewitness accounts of retired US military officers. The Hahn's point out that the figure of 473,013 confirmed deaths includes 80,522 in the post war period; they maintain that most of the deaths occurred during the Nazi organized flight and evacuation during the war, and the, In 2006 the German government reaffirmed its belief that 2.0 to 2.5 million civilians perished in the flight and expulsion from Eastern Europe. XIX Corps of the Ninth Army captured Magdeburg on 18 April and the US XIII Corps to the north occupied Stendal. [14][4][15] According to the German government Suchdienste (Search Service) there were 300,000 German victims (including Jews) of Nazi racial, political and religious persecution. (figures of Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare), The breakdown of Japanese military deaths, based on the Relief Bureau's figures, is available on the. Washington, DC: Center of Military History, 1996. The results of the Overmans research project were published with the endorsement of the German Armed Forces Military History Research Office of the Federal Ministry of Defense (Germany).[25]. The U.S. 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions were dropped to the west with the goal of capturing inland towns, opening routes from the beaches, and destroying artillery that could fire on the landings. (2023, April 5). After stopping the German assault, Allied forces fought their way into Germany and, in conjunction with the Soviets, compelled the Nazis to surrender, ending World War II in Europe. However, Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine, had suffered serious losses in Norway, and in order to even consider an amphibious landing, Germany's Air Force (the Luftwaffe) had to first gain air superiority or air supremacy. According to the report of General George Marshall issued in 1945 the "breakdown of German and Italian losses against American, British, and French forces" in the war in Europe was as follows: Source of figures: Biennial report of the Chief of Staff of the United States Army to the Secretary of War: July 1, 1943, to June 30, 1945[103], (A) 252,415 Germans and Italians were captured in Tunisia[104] According to the Imperial War Museum Following the Italian surrender in 1943, 100,000 Italians volunteered to work as 'co-operators'. 4-The figures for Army wounded add up to 4,219,211. The gap in vital statistics between the middle of 1944 and the end of 1945 was estimated. Western Front, major theatre of World War I. The raid was a disaster, almost two-thirds of the attacking force became casualties. (, Rdiger Overmans Soldaten hinter Stacheldraht. Using nearly 6,000 trucks, the Red Ball Express operated until the opening of the port of Antwerp in November 1944. Overmans estimates the actual death toll of German POWs is about 1.1 million men (including 1.0 million in the USSR); he maintains that among those reported as missing were men who actually died as prisoners. The Statistisches Jahrbuch fr die Bundesrepublik Deutschland 1960, Page 78.
Marshall's figure for the Aleutian Islands is 8,000. Bischoff, Gunter; Ambrose, Stephen (1992), "Introduction", in Bischoff, Gunter; Ambrose, Stephen, Eisenhower and the German POWs, New York: Louisiana State University Press, forced labor of Germans in the Soviet Union, German Armed Forces Military History Research Office, German prisoners of war in northwest Europe, German prisoners of war in the Soviet Union, German prisoners of war in the United States, Flight and expulsion of Germans (194450), Erich Hampe "Der Zivile Luftschutz im Zweiten Weltkrieg" pp.138-142, The German Reich and the Second World War, Forced labor of Germans in the Soviet Union, the wartime policy of the Nazis in Eastern Europe, West German government statistical office, Die Flucht der deutschen Bevlkerung 1944/45, "Quellen zur Geschichte der "Euthanasie"-Verbrechen 1939-1945 in deutschen und sterreichischen Archiven", Heeresarzt 10-Day Casualty Reports per Theater of War, 1945 [BA/MA RH 2/1355, 2/2623, RW 6/557, 6/559], Wehrmacht Monthly Casualty Reports, 1945 [BA/MA RM 7/810]. 3-Included in these statistics are 322,807 POWs held by the US and UK. The Russian military historian G. I. Krivosheev has published figures for the casualties on all fronts compiled by the German High Command up until April30 1945 based on captured German records in the Soviet Archives. The crossing of the Moselle River and the capture of the fortress of Metz proved difficult for the American troops in the face of German reinforcements, supply shortages, and unfavorable weather. Washington, DC: Center of Military History, 1996. The liberation of Northern France and the Benelux countries was of special significance for the inhabitants of London and the southeast of England because it denied the Germans launch sites for their mobile V-1 and V-2 Vergeltungswaffen (reprisal weapons). Having assessed the situation, the Germans believed that the Allied invasion would come at the Pas de Calais, the closest point between Britain and France. [15][128]:17 The German historian Rdiger Overmans maintains that there are more arguments for a lower figure of 500,000 rather than the higher figures of over 2.0 million. As Aachen was the first German city to be threatened by the Allies, Hitler ordered that it be held at all costs. In 1950 the West German government made a preliminary estimate of 3,000,000 German civilians missing in Eastern Europe (1.5 million from pre war Germany and 1.5 million ethnic Germans from East Europe) whose fate needed to be clarified. To the east, the British and Canadians came ashore on Gold, Juno, and Sword Beaches. On average 11,000 small arms, 68 tanks, and 30 aircraft were lost each day. The Western Front was a military theatre of World War II encompassing Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Mittler, Frankfurt am Main 1969 Pages 258-266, Great patriotic war of the Soviet Union, 1941-1945: a general outline - Moscow: Progress Publishers, [1974] Page 392, Die deutschen Vertreibungsverluste. The British Royal Air Force dropped propaganda leaflets on Germany and the first Canadian troops stepped ashore in Britain, while Western Europe was in a strange calm for seven months. This belief was encouraged and reinforced by an elaborate Allied deception scheme (Operation Fortitude) that used dummy armies, radio chatter, and double agents to suggest that Calais was the target. For almost two years, there was no land-fighting on the Western Front with the exception of commando raids and the guerrilla actions of the resistance aided by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and Office of Strategic Services (OSS). (German Federal Statistical Office), The Statistisches Jahrbuch fr die Bundesrepublik Deutschland 1960, Page 78, Hans Sperling, Die Luftkriegsverluste whrend des zweiten Weltkriegs in Deutschland, Wirtschaft und Statistik October 1956, journal published by Statistisches Bundesamt Deutschland. The Black Forest and Baden were overrun by the French First Army.[when?] Losses were also high during the Battle of Kursk and Berlin offensive, with 70-90 tanks, 90-210 guns and mortars and 25-40 aircraft lost each day."[20]. Original emissaries had no authority to surrender to any of the Allies. by Konrad Adenauer. A study by German historian Rdiger Overmans found that the German military casualties were 5.3 million, including 900,000 men conscripted from outside of Germany's 1937 borders, in Austria and in east-central Europe, higher than those originally reported by the German high command. Deutsche Kriegsgefangene des Zweiten Weltkriege. This was due to the combined factors of poor weather, Germans mishaps, and the incredible number of British civilian ships assembled for the undertaking. The Breskens pocket on the southern bank of the Scheldt was cleared with heavy casualties by allied forces in Operation Switchback, during the Battle of the Scheldt. The US Ninth Army, which had remained under British command since the battle of the Bulge, went south as the northern pincer of the Ruhr encirclement as well as pushing elements east. [40], General Eisenhower's Armies were facing resistance that varied from almost non-existent to fanatical[41] as they advanced toward Berlin, which was located 200km (120mi) from their positions in early April 1945. OKW Casualty Figures Sept 1, 1939 to Jan 31, 1945, Source of Figures: Percy Schramm Kriegstagebuch des Oberkommandos der Wehrmacht: 19401945: 8 Bde. Below is the article summary. Figures do not include Austria. This figure is included in the schedule above. If all went well XXX Corps would advance into Germany without any remaining major obstacles. With the fighting ended, the Germans began to consider ways of resolving the question of how to deal with Britain. He believes that personnel captured on the battlefield may have died of wounds or in transit before being recorded as POW. [158] Ingo Haar points out that of the 886,000 estimated civilian dead from east Europe only about 170,000 deaths have been confirmed; the balance are considered unsolved cases.[141]. As it was the first major German city to face capture, Hitler ordered that the city be held at all costs. Universe, Inc. (July 13, 2005). By mid-September, the 6th Army Group, advancing from the south, came into contact with Bradley's formations advancing from the west and overall control of Devers' force passed from AFHQ in the Mediterranean so that all three army groups came under Eisenhower's central command at SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Forces). [16] This statistic does not include 200,000 German people with disabilities who were murdered in the Action T4 and Action 14f13 euthanasia programs.[17][18]. He signed alliances with Italy and Japan to oppose the Soviet Union and intervened in the Spanish Civil War in the name of anticommunism. Seven days later, the German government formally surrendered, ending World War II in Europe. Initial successes in bad weather, which gave them cover from the Allied air forces, resulted in a German penetration of over 80km (50mi) to within less than 16km (10mi) of the Meuse. Fighting began with Operation Weserbung, the German invasion of Denmark and Norway, in April, 1940. With the Rhine breached in multiple places, German resistance began to crumble. During the meeting, Eisenhower asked Patton how long it would take to turn the Third Army north toward the Germans. Retrieved 4 March 2016. MacDonald, C (1993), The Last Offensive: The European Theater of Operations.CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY UNITED STATES ARMY WASHINGTON, D. C., 1993. In addition, 247,000 Austrians lost their lives serving in the army of the Third Reich or were reported missing, and 24,000 civilians were killed during bombing raids. [57] One reason for this huge difference, possibly the most important, was that German forces facing the Red Army tended to fight to the end for fear of Soviet captivity whereas German forces facing the Western Allies tended to surrender without putting up much if any resistance. Later on, it commenced to track German casualties again starting from 1946 after the World War II. A 2005 report by the German Red Cross put the death toll due to strategic bombing at 500,000. Two early British raids for which battle honours were awarded were Operation Collar in Boulogne (24 June 1940) and Operation Ambassador in Guernsey (1415 July 1940). Figure includes deaths actually recorded from May 1939 until June 1944 and from January to October 1946. Field Marshal Montgomery took the German military surrender of all German forces in The Netherlands, northwest Germany and Denmark on Lneburg Heath, an area between the cities of Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen, on 4 May 1945. 83,500 tanks lost: 5,200 heavy tanks, 44,900 medium tanks, 33,400 light tanks (including 11,900 Lend-Lease tanks and self-propelled guns lost, 13,000 SPGs lost: 2,300 heavy SPGs, 2,100 medium SPGs, 8,600 light SPGs, This page was last edited on 20 March 2023, at 05:01. - Stuttgart: Verlag W. Kohlhammer, 1958 See pages 102, 143,174,323 381, Rdiger Overmans- Personelle Verluste der deutschen Bevlkerung durch Flucht und Vertreibung. Page72. Retrieved 4 March 2016. A. OKW figures from 9/1/1939 to 12/31/1944, Source: Statistisches Jahrbuch fr die Bundesrepublik Deutschland 1960, Page78, B. In January 1945 the German bridgehead over the river Roer between Heinsberg and Roermond was cleared during Operation Blackcock. Having been taken by surprise, the Allies regrouped and the Germans were stopped by a combined air and land counter-attack which eventually pushed them back to their starting points by 25 January 1945. [126], The West German government in made a rough estimate in 1956 of 20,000 civilians killed during the 1945 military campaign in current post war German borders, not including the former German territories in Poland. Coming ashore in Normandy, Allied forces broke out of their beachhead and swept across France. With an introd. The system was not uniform because various military branches such as the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen SS and the military hospitals each had different systems of reporting. The city finally fell on November 23, and Patton pressed east towardthe Saar. World War II World War II By: History.com Editors Updated: May 10, 2023 | Original: October 29, 2009 copy page link World War II, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history,. 2,055,575 German soldiers surrendered between D-Day and 16 April 1945, The Times, 19 April p 4; 755,573 German soldiers surrendered between 1 and 16 April, The Times, 18 April p 4, which means that 1,300,002 German soldiers surrendered to the Western Allies between D-Day and the end of March 1945. [43] Germans played for time in Reims. German treatment of people in occupied areas reached astounding levels of brutality. 9/1, German Federal Archive, Siegel, Silke Vertreibung und Vertreibungsverbrechen 1945-1948. Stretching from Norway in the north to Spain in the south, the Atlantic Wall was a vast array of heavy coastal fortifications designed to repel any invasion. (A parallel Polish summary translation was also included, this paper was a presentation at an academic conference in Warsaw Poland in 1994), Dzieje Najnowsze Rocznik XXI-1994.
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