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Operation Northwind (German: Unternehmen Nordwind) was the last major German offensive of World War II on the Western Front. Northwind was launched to support the German Ardennes offensive campaign in the Battle of the Bulge , which by late December 1944 had decisively turned against the German forces.
On 31 December, the Germans launched a major offensive in north-eastern France, called Operation Nordwind, and managed to gain ground against the Seventh United States Army, and the First French Army. In order to cut off the American held town of Haguenau, the Wehrmacht needed to encircle the position in a pincer move.
See: Clarke and Smith, From The Riviera To The Rhine Archived 27 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine and The Seventh Army Report of Operations in France and Germany, 1944–1945 for a definitive description of Operation Nordwind and the 14th Armored Division's actions. Cirillo, Roger. The Ardennes-Alsace. The U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II.
The 289th's principal combat assignments in the Alsace and Rhineland included serving as infantry to protect an important road junction near Saint-Avold, France, deployment under the command of the French First Army in clearing German troops from the Colmar Pocket during the Nazi Operation Nordwind offensive; ferrying assault troops across the ...
This offensive, known as Unternehmen Nordwind (Operation North Wind), and separate from the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive of the war on the Western Front. The weakened Seventh Army had, at Eisenhower's orders, sent troops, equipment, and supplies north to reinforce the American armies in the Ardennes, and the offensive ...
After being rebuilt, in January 1945 it participated in Operation Nordwind, the southern counterpart of the German offensive that became known as the Battle of the Bulge. It captured a bridgehead on the Rhine and elements of the 553rd took part in destroying two American battalions from the U.S. 12th Armored Division at the village of ...
The German Army called the 12th Armored Division the "Suicide Division" [1] for its fierce defensive actions during Operation Nordwind in France, and they were nicknamed the "Mystery Division" [2] when they were temporarily transferred to the command of the Third Army under General George S. Patton Jr., to cross the Rhine River.
This was the last offensive action by the Nord Division before the end of Operation Nordwind, and it failed despite making initial advances. By the end of the operation, the infantry regiments had taken 50% losses, although the other divisional units were intact. The losses were replaced by poorly trained conscripts and volunteers in February 1945.