Operation Nordwind 1945

The last great assault by the German Army in the West. Operation Nordwind is one of the lesser known campaigns of World War II yet one of the more intriguing. Largely overshadowed by the Battle of the Bulge further north, Nordwind was the last great operation by the Waffen-SS Panzer divisions in the west, and the last time the Wehrmacht was on the offensive in the West. The campaign also highlights the difficulties of inter-Allied cooperation between the Americans and the French. Though extensively treated in German and French accounts, the campaign has not been well covered in English until now. Alongside detailed illustrations and maps, Steven J. Zaloga unpacks the story of one of Hitler's final battles.

The last great assault by the German Army in the West. Operation Nordwind is one of the lesser known campaigns of World War II yet one of the more intriguing. Largely overshadowed by the Battle of the Bulge further north, Nordwind was the last great operation by the Waffen-SS Panzer divisions in the west, and the last time the Wehrmacht was on the offensive in the West. The campaign also highlights the difficulties of inter-Allied cooperation between the Americans and the French. Though extensively treated in German and French accounts, the campaign has not been well covered in English until now. Alongside detailed illustrations and maps, Steven J. Zaloga unpacks the story of one of Hitler's final battles.

History of the 6th SS Mountain Division "Nord" (6. SS-Gebirgs-Division "Nord") in the battle for Wingen-sur-Moder from 1-7 Jan. 1945 against the U.S. Army.

Wingen-sur-Moder was an important village in France leading to the Alsatian Plain. If German forces had captured it during Operation Nordwind in January 1945, and had been able to release their reserve Panzer divisions into the plain, the war might have been lengthened. Cheves commanded the U.S. forces involved: 2nd Battalion, 274th Regiment, along with troops from the 276th and supporting elements, defeated two battalions of the 6th SS Mountain Division (Nord). 15 photos, 5 illustrations, 6 maps, 2 tables, footnotes.

Conceived in desperation after the Battle of the Bulge in January 1945, Germany's Operation Nordwind culminated in the frozen Alsatian fields surrounding the Zorn River. In what was expected to be an easy offensive, the German 10th Waffen SS Panzer Division attacked the American 12th Armored Division near the villages of Herrlisheim and Weyersheim. Neither army foresaw the savage violence that ensued. Combining the vivid eyewitness accounts of veterans from both sides of the conflict with information gleaned from a variety of long-unavailable print sources, this richly detailed history casts a fascinating light on a little-known but crucial battle in the Second World War. Common stalwart German and American soldiers carried out near-impossible orders.