The Battle of Reichswald - Rhineland - February 1945

The Battle of the Reichswald Rhineland - February 1945 written by Tim Saunders and published by Pen & Sword Books - £22 - Hardback - Pages 211

During winter 1944/45 few German officers believed that the Allies would attack the wooded

Reichswald Plug on the narrow neck of land between the rivers Rhine and Maas.

Consequently, relying on the natural defences of the forest, the vaunted Siegfried Line had

been allowed to peter out. The 84th Infantry Division held field defences that had been worked

on all autumn, but the defenders were thinly spread, and most German soldiers now faced

the certainty of defeat.

Originally hoping to use the frozen winter ground for a speedy assault, days before Operation

VERITABLE began a thaw set in and the Allies faced attacking in the worst possible ground

conditions. On the morning of 8 February, after protracted bombardment, delays multiplied as

vehicles became bogged in saturated fields and shell holes, and roads broke up under heavy

armour. However, just enough assault engineer equipment reached the outer German

defences, where they found the enemy infantry largely stunned by the bombardment.

It took all of the first day to break through the mud and defences into the Reichswald,

while to the north, Canadians and Scots struggled across equally sodden open country

with the Rhine floods rising fast. Despite the conditions, overnight the Canadians took to

the flood waters to seize what were now island villages and the Scots dashed to capture

the vital Materborn, which overlooked Kleve.

With heavy rain compounding difficulties, mud and flood waters made movement of men

and supplies increasingly difficult. Despite this and the arrival of German reinforcements,

the Allies fought their way forward, forcing the Reichswald Plug and opening the way into

the Rhineland and the final phases of the war.

The Battle of the Reichswald was a major battle fought between the Allies and the

Germans in February 1945, during the final stages of World War II. The battle took

place in the Reichswald forest, a large wooded area in the Rhineland region of

Germany. The Allies were attempting to break through the German Siegfried Line,

a series of defensive fortifications that ran along the German border. The author Tim

Saunders' book is a comprehensive and well-researched account of the battle.

Saunders draws on a wide range of sources, including official records and personal

accounts. He provides a detailed and balanced account of the battle, and he does not

shy away from the huge human cost of the war.

Overall, I thought that The Battle of the Reichswald was a well-written and

informative book. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the detailed

history of World War II.