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The downfall of Germany in World War II in 30 pictures

 
Ruins of the Berlin Cathedral City Palace Lustgarten Willys MB Jeep 1945

After France was recaptured by the Allies, the Germans mustered their own forces for a comprehensive counterattack in the Battle of the Bulge. They inflicted heavy losses on the Allies but ultimately failed to turn the tide.

Needless to say, this massive depletion of German resources marked the beginning of the end of the Third Reich.

On the other hand, Soviet forces had just conquered Poland and the territory of East Prussia. In March 1945, Allied forces crossed the Rhine from the west and attacked the Germans, inflicting enormous damage and mustering hundreds of thousands of German soldiers.

The Battle of Nuremberg began on April 16. That same day, American troops captured the border towns of Erlenstegen and Buch. The next day, at nightfall, they captured the airport, disabled German aircraft, and launched an air raid.

Soldiers of the 3rd US Infantry Division in Nuremberg

On April 18, Army Group B formed the last German defense line in the West. However, it was surrounded and captured by American troops. Italy became the last German stronghold, but this would soon change when Allied forces broke through the defense line and dealt the Nazis a severe blow.

On April 25, the forces of the Eastern and Western Allies met near Torgau.

US Army 2nd Infantry Division guard with German prisoners near Schöneiffen, Germany, 1945.

Further air raids and bombing raids were carried out by the Allied forces on German territory. Initially, the Germans defended their country resolutely. But as the Allies encircled Germany, supplies deteriorated rapidly, and the people soon became exhausted.

On April 25, the Red Army reached Berlin. In the days of fighting that followed, the Third Reich collapsed.

35th Infantry Division, 137th Infantry Regiment, patrol near Unterbach, Germany 1945

The last German troops from Finland fled to Norway. In Italy, Milan and Turin were liberated by Italian partisans, and the Italian dictator Mussolini was killed.

On April 28, the British launched an attack on Hamburg as the last stop on the way to Berlin, but the Germans seemed more determined than ever to defend their territories, and heavy fighting ensued.

Ruins of the Hamburg horse market Mönckebergstraße St. Petri 1945

Other Allied troops also gathered on the Elbe River and launched a joint attack on Hamburg. The first British troops reached the city in the late afternoon.

The Americans had just won the Battle of Nuremberg, and Hamburg was soon a lost battle. The Battle of Berlin raged on, and the German defenses were weakening by the minute; the war was already lost.

US Army and Red Army in Torgau Elbbrucke, April 26, 1945

Fearing a similar fate to Mussolini, Hitler took his own life on April 30.

On May 8, 1945, Nazi Germany surrendered on all fronts, ending the war.

Keitel signs surrender conditions, 8 May 1945 in Berlin
Group of German soldiers captured by the Allies in Germany in 1945
Berghof on the Obersalzberg, Adolf Hitler’s house in ruins
Ruins of the garden of the Reich Chancellery Adolf Hitler’s Fuhrerbunker Berlin 1945
British Infantry of the 3rd Division in Lingen 1945
Cologne 1st US Army GIs with M1 Carbine Germany 1945
Wehrmacht soldiers captured by the American 9th Army in 1945
Ruins of the Berlin Cathedral City Palace Lustgarten Willys MB Jeep 1945
GIs in a heavily bombed freight depot near Cologne, April 1945
Weiße Fahnengasse, Cologne 1945
The ruins of Cologne
9th Army, 30th Infantry Division and 2nd Panzer Division, tracked vehicles, Magdeburg, Germany 1945
Ruins of Nuremberg – Gugelstrasse Steinbuhl Galgenhof 1945
Civilians watch the march of the 3rd US Army through Frankfurt in 1945
Ruins of Berlin – Friedrichshain Frankfurter Allee Lasdehner Straße 26 2 1945
Berlin 1945
Bombed Hohenzollern Bridge Cologne (Cologne)
German youth soldiers captured by the 6th Panzer Division in 1945

Page 2

 
Ruins of the Berlin Cathedral City Palace Lustgarten Willys MB Jeep 1945

After France was recaptured by the Allies, the Germans mustered their own forces for a comprehensive counterattack in the Battle of the Bulge. They inflicted heavy losses on the Allies but ultimately failed to turn the tide.

Needless to say, this massive depletion of German resources marked the beginning of the end of the Third Reich.

On the other hand, Soviet forces had just conquered Poland and the territory of East Prussia. In March 1945, Allied forces crossed the Rhine from the west and attacked the Germans, inflicting enormous damage and mustering hundreds of thousands of German soldiers.

The Battle of Nuremberg began on April 16. That same day, American troops captured the border towns of Erlenstegen and Buch. The next day, at nightfall, they captured the airport, disabled German aircraft, and launched an air raid.

Soldiers of the 3rd US Infantry Division in Nuremberg

On April 18, Army Group B formed the last German defense line in the West. However, it was surrounded and captured by American troops. Italy became the last German stronghold, but this would soon change when Allied forces broke through the defense line and dealt the Nazis a severe blow.

On April 25, the forces of the Eastern and Western Allies met near Torgau.

US Army 2nd Infantry Division guard with German prisoners near Schöneiffen, Germany, 1945.

Further air raids and bombing raids were carried out by the Allied forces on German territory. Initially, the Germans defended their country resolutely. But as the Allies encircled Germany, supplies deteriorated rapidly, and the people soon became exhausted.

On April 25, the Red Army reached Berlin. In the days of fighting that followed, the Third Reich collapsed.

35th Infantry Division, 137th Infantry Regiment, patrol near Unterbach, Germany 1945

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The last German troops from Finland fled to Norway. In Italy, Milan and Turin were liberated by Italian partisans, and the Italian dictator Mussolini was killed.

On April 28, the British launched an attack on Hamburg as the last stop on the way to Berlin, but the Germans seemed more determined than ever to defend their territories, and heavy fighting ensued.

Ruins of the Hamburg horse market Mönckebergstraße St. Petri 1945

Other Allied troops also gathered on the Elbe River and launched a joint attack on Hamburg. The first British troops reached the city in the late afternoon.

The Americans had just won the Battle of Nuremberg, and Hamburg was soon a lost battle. The Battle of Berlin raged on, and the German defenses were weakening by the minute; the war was already lost.

US Army and Red Army in Torgau Elbbrucke, April 26, 1945

Fearing a similar fate to Mussolini, Hitler took his own life on April 30.

On May 8, 1945, Nazi Germany surrendered on all fronts, ending the war.

Keitel signs surrender conditions, 8 May 1945 in Berlin
Group of German soldiers captured by the Allies in Germany in 1945
Berghof on the Obersalzberg, Adolf Hitler’s house in ruins
Ruins of the garden of the Reich Chancellery Adolf Hitler’s Fuhrerbunker Berlin 1945
British Infantry of the 3rd Division in Lingen 1945
Cologne 1st US Army GIs with M1 Carbine Germany 1945
Wehrmacht soldiers captured by the American 9th Army in 1945
Ruins of the Berlin Cathedral City Palace Lustgarten Willys MB Jeep 1945
GIs in a heavily bombed freight depot near Cologne, April 1945
Weiße Fahnengasse, Cologne 1945
The ruins of Cologne
9th Army, 30th Infantry Division and 2nd Panzer Division, tracked vehicles, Magdeburg, Germany 1945
Ruins of Nuremberg – Gugelstrasse Steinbuhl Galgenhof 1945
Civilians watch the march of the 3rd US Army through Frankfurt in 1945
Ruins of Berlin – Friedrichshain Frankfurter Allee Lasdehner Straße 26 2 1945
Berlin 1945
Bombed Hohenzollern Bridge Cologne (Cologne)
German youth soldiers captured by the 6th Panzer Division in 1945

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