The elimination of the Colmar Pocket in early 1945 removed the last major German bridgehead west of the Rhine in Alsace, securing the Allied southern flank.
Key Facts
- Duration
- November 1944 – February 9, 1945
- German force
- German Nineteenth Army
- Allied command
- U.S. 6th Army Group
- Key Allied unit
- French First Army + U.S. XXI Corps
- Location
- Central Alsace, France
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
After the U.S. 6th Army Group liberated southern and northern Alsace and adjacent eastern Lorraine in late 1944, it could not clear central Alsace. The German Nineteenth Army retained a salient there, forming the Colmar Pocket. During Operation Nordwind in December 1944, German forces used the Pocket as a base to attack northward in coordination with assaults from the Saar.
From late January into early February 1945, the French First Army, reinforced by the U.S. XXI Corps, conducted a major offensive to eliminate the Colmar Pocket. Fighting through difficult winter conditions in central Alsace, Allied forces systematically compressed and destroyed the German Nineteenth Army's bridgehead west of the Rhine, concluding the operation on February 9, 1945.
The fall of the Colmar Pocket cleared the last significant German-held territory west of the Rhine in Alsace, securing the Allied southern flank in Western Europe. This allowed Allied forces to concentrate on crossing the Rhine and advancing into Germany, while Alsace was fully returned to French control after years of German occupation.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
2 belligerents
Side B
1 belligerent