Gau Cologne-Aachen
Gau Cologne-Aachen | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gau of Nazi Germany | |||||||||
1931–1945 | |||||||||
Capital | Cologne | ||||||||
Area | |||||||||
• | 7,100 km2 (2,700 sq mi) | ||||||||
Population | |||||||||
• | 2,300,000 | ||||||||
Government | |||||||||
Gauleiter | |||||||||
• 1931–1945 | Josef Grohé | ||||||||
History | |||||||||
• Established | 1 June 1931 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 8 April 1945 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Today part of | Germany Belgium |
The Gau Cologne-Aachen (German: Gau Köln-Aachen) was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945 in the north-central part of the Prussian Rhine Province. Before that, from 1931 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party in that area.
History
Establishment and government
The Nazi Gau (plural Gaue) system was originally established in a
At the head of each Gau stood a
Territorial expansion
In
Allied bombardment
The Gau's capital, Cologne, was bombed in 262 separate air raids[5] by the Allies during World War II, all by the Royal Air Force (RAF). A total of 34,711 long tons of bombs were dropped on the city by the RAF.[6] 20,000 civilians died during the war in Cologne due to aerial bombardments.[7]
While air raid alarms had gone off in the winter/spring of 1940 as British bombers passed overhead, the first bombing took place on 12 May 1940.[8] The 30/31 May 1942 attack on Cologne was the first 1,000 bomber raid. Although Grohé was charged with responsibility for civil defense measures, there was little he could do to protect his jurisdiction from Allied air attacks, though he was awarded the War Merit Cross first class with Swords for his efforts in assisting the residents of his Gau.[1]
Allied invasion and occupation
Initial allied incursions
Allied forces crossed into the Gau in September 1944.
Aachen
Allied forces crossed into the border near Aachen on 12 September 1944.[9] On 13 September, von Schwerin was ordered to launch a counterattack against American forces penetrating southwest of Aachen, which he did, using elements of his panzergrenadier forces. The United States' VII Corps continued to probe German defenses, despite the resistance encountered on 12–13 September.[10] Between 14 and 16 September the US 1st Infantry Division continued its advance in the face of strong defenses and repeated counterattacks, ultimately creating a half-moon arc around the city.[11] This slow advance came to a halt in late September, due to the supply problem, and the diversion of existing stocks of fuel and ammunition for Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands.[12]
In October 1944 ensues the Battle of Aachen. The city had been incorporated into the Siegfried Line, the main defensive network on Germany's western border; the Allies had hoped to capture it quickly and advance into the industrialized Ruhr Basin. Although most of Aachen's civilian population was evacuated before the battle began, much of the city was destroyed and both sides suffered heavy losses. It was one of the largest urban battles fought by U.S. forces in World War II. The battle ended with a German surrender, but their tenacious defense significantly disrupted Allied plans for the advance into Germany.[13]
Eupen
Eupen, near the German-Belgian border, had been annexed into the Gau in 1940. The German-Belgian frontier was crossed by the allies in September 1944, with Eupen being captured on the 11th.[14]
Geilenkirchen
In November 1944, Operation Clipper led to the allies advancing in the area surrounding Geilenkirchen, in the western part of the Gau.
Allied advance stalls, German counterattacks
In the Battle of Hürtgen Forest from 19 September to 16 December 1944, the Germans successfully held back and stalled allied advance into the Gau.
In December 1944, Germany launched the
Renewed allied advance
On 25 January 1945, the allies captured Brachelen and reached the Ruhr, though advance beyond the Ruhr did not commence until a month later with Operation Grenade.[15]
Gau capital falls to the allies
The Battle of Cologne was part of Operation Lumberjack and refers to the Allied advance that took place from 5 to 7 March 1945, which led to the capture of the Gau's capital.[16] The allies captured Bonn shortly after.[17]
Timeline of allied advance
The timeline of the allied advance is detailed in the table below.
Date of capture | Location | Reference |
---|---|---|
11 September 1944 | Eupen | [14] |
14 September 1944 | Kornelimünster | [18] |
16 September 1944 | Schevenhütte
|
[19] |
17 September 1944 | Malmedy | |
2 October 1944 | Palenberg ]
|
[20] |
3 October 1944 | Übach | [21] |
4 October 1944 | Hoverdor | [22] |
4 October 1944 | Beggendorf | [22] |
5 October 1944 | Merkstein -Herbach | [23] |
8 October 1944 | Verlautenheide | [24] |
8 October 1944 | Hill 231 | [24] |
12 October 1944 | Birk | [25] |
13–21 October 1944 | Aachen | [26] |
18 November 1944 | Rischden | [27] |
18 November 1944 | Tripsrath | [27] |
19 November 1944 | Geilenkirchen | [28] |
Night of 19–20 November | Süggerath | [29] |
20 November 1944 | Prummern | [29] |
20 November 1944 | Bauchem | [30] |
21-22 November 1944 | Mahogany Hill | [29] |
22 November 1944 | Eschweiler | [31] |
29 November 1944 | Hürtgen
|
|
3 December 1944 | Linnich | |
6 December 1944 | Bergstein | [32] |
12 December 1944 | Strass | [32] |
12 December 1944 | Gey | [32] |
24 January 1945 | Heinsberg | |
25 January 1945 | Brachelen | [15] |
11 February 1945 | Niederzier | [33] |
23 February 1945 | Jülich | |
25 February 1945 | Düren | [34] |
25 February 1945 | Binsfeld (Nörvenich) ]
|
|
26 February 1945 | Erkelenz | [15] |
27 February 1945 | Elsdorf | [35] |
27 February 1945 | Vettweiß | [36] |
27 February 1945 | Sindorf (Kerpen) ]
|
[37] |
28 February 1945 | Glesch
|
[38] |
1 March 1945 | Bergheim | [38] |
2 March 1945 | Niederaußem | [39] |
3-4 March 1945 | Weilerswist | [40] |
5 March 1945 | Rösberg | [41] |
5–7 March 1945 | Cologne | [16] |
8–9 March 1945 | Bonn | [17] |
26 March 1945 | Eitorf | |
8 April 1945 | Gau dissolved, some territories remain under German control | [1] |
9-11 April 1945 | Siegburg | [42] |
12 April 1945 | Refrath | [43] |
12 April 1945 | Hoffnungsthal Camp | |
13 April 1945 | Wipperfürth | [44] |
13 April 1945 | Lindlar | [44] |
13 April 1945 | Bensberg
|
[43] |
13 April 1945 | Overath | [45] |
Fall of the Gau
With the allies having made significant inroads into the Gau, Grohé dissolved the Gau on 8 April 1945 and fled toward the Ore Mountains where he stayed until the end of the war before returning to western Germany.[1] In his diary entry of 3 April 1945, Joseph Goebbels harshly criticized Grohé's actions:
Our Gauleiters both in the West and the East have acquired a bad habit: having lost their Gau, they defend themselves in long memoranda seeking to prove that they were in no way responsible. For instance there is another one of these exposés, this time from Grohé. It is not in the least convincing. Despite a series of pompous declarations, Grohé has not defended his Gau. He deserted it before the civil population had been removed and now wants to present himself as a great hero.[46]
Grohé made a suicide attempt at the end of the war, escaped under a false name, was arrested in 1946 and sentenced to four and a half years in prison but never repented his views and died in 1987.[47]
Geography and demographics
The Gau had a size of 7,100 km2 (2,741 sq mi) and a population of 2,300,000, which placed it in mid-table for size and population in the list of Gaue.[48]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-932970-21-0.
- ^ Deutsches Historisches Museum. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- The Nizkor Project. Archived from the originalon 9 November 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ^ a b O'Connell 2013, p. 41.
- ^ Stadtlandschaften versus Hochstadt at www.koelnarchitektur.de "Internet portal for the architecture of Cologne". (In German).
- ^ "Bomber Command Flight Archive". www.flightglobal.com. Archived from the original on 2015-01-10.
- ^ "Cologne Museum: NS-DOK" (in German). Retrieved 16 June 2023.
- ^ "Kriegserinnerungen 1940". Archived from the original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
- ^ Aachen '44 – die Schlacht um Aachen während des 2. Weltkrieges – lange Fassung -
- ^ Hitler's Army, pp. 313–314
- ^ Hitler's Army, pp. 315–318
- ^ Hitler's Army, pp. 318–319
- ^ Video: Allies Set For Offensive. Universal Newsreel. 1944. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-16-001938-8.
- ^ a b c "Frühjahrsoffensive 1945 in Erkelenz – Das Virtuelle Museum der verlorenen Heimat". www.virtuelles-museum.com (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-24.
- ^ a b Zabecki, David T. (1999). World War II in Europe : an encyclopedia. New York: Garland Publications. p. 1644. ISBN 978-0824070298. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ^ a b Balgaranov, Denis (2023-08-15). "Drought is exposing World War II munitions on the banks of the Rhine". www.themayor.eu. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
- Heeresgruppe B/LXXXI A. K.).
- ^ MacDonald, Charles B. (1963). The Siegfried Line Campaign. Washington D.C.: Center of Military History. United States Army. p. 80.
- ^ Whitlock (2008), p. 39
- ^ Whitlock (2008), p. 40
- ^ a b Whiting (1976), p. 98
- ^ Yeide (2005), p. 68
- ^ a b Whiting (1976), pp. 106–108
- ^ Whiting (1976), pp. 115–116
- ^ Combined Arms in Battle Since 1939, p. 169
- ^ a b "The Battle for Tripsrath". Worcestershire Regiment. Retrieved 22 Jan 2010.
- ^ "The Battle of Geilenkirchen – Battlefield Tours". 2022-07-22. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
- ^ a b c MacDonald, Charles B. (1990) [1963]. "Chapter XXIII: The Geilenkirchen Salient". The Siegfried Line Campaign. US Army in World War II: European Theater of Operations. United States Army Center of Military History. pp. 551–555. CMH Pub 7-7-1. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
- ISBN 0-275-96162-1.
- ^ Laufenberg, Haro von (2017-10-22). "Chronik zur Eschweiler Ortsgeschichte; Neueste und Zeitgeschichte 1930 - 1945". www.eschweilergeschichtsverein.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-24.
- ^ a b c Marino, James (October 3, 2016). "Taking Hill 400: Army Rangers vs Fallschirmjägers". Warfare History. Archived from the original on 27 October 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- ^ "VHS Rur-Eifel: Niederzier". www.vhs-rur-eifel.de. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
- ^ says, Gunter G. Gillot (2023-02-24). "Operation Grenade: Race to the Roer". Warfare History Network. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
- ^ "Bombenangriff auf Elsdorf". www.wisoveg.de. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
- ^ "Zeitzeugenberichte in Bearbeitung". www.hgv-vettweiss.de. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
- ^ Norbert Kurt: Das Ziel war die Erft: Kölner Stadtanzeiger, 22. Februar 2005
- ^ a b "Glesch-Online-Geschichte & Statistiken". www.glesch-online.de. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
- ^ "Zweiter Weltkrieg: "Das waren grauenvolle Tage"". Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger (in German). 2015-03-01. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
- ^ "Hausweiler und Weilerswist: Mehrere US-Kriegsreporter berichten über die "Schlacht bei Metternich"". Hans-Dieter Arntz (in German). 2008-09-20. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
- ^ Träupmann-Tietze, Susanne (2020-03-05). "Historischer Blick zurück: Die weiße Fahne beendet den Krieg in Rösberg". General-Anzeiger Bonn (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-24.
- ^ Manhold, Jörg (2020-04-09). "Kriegsende 1945: So endete am 9. April der Zweite Weltkrieg für Siegburg". General-Anzeiger Bonn (in German). Retrieved 2023-09-01.
- ^ a b Müller, Hans Peter (2020-04-13). "Wie der Krieg zu Ende ging". Bürgerportal Bergisch Gladbach (in German). Retrieved 2023-09-01.
- ^ a b "Christian J. Gabriel | Memorial Book of Wuppertal". www.gedenkbuch-wuppertal.de. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
- ^ "geschichtlicher Überblick – Stadt Overath". www.overath.de. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
- ISBN 0-380-4-2408-8
- ^ "Josef Grohé (1902–1987), Gauleiter der NSDAP" [Josef Grohé (1902–1987), Gauleiter of the Nazi Party]. rheinische-geschichte.lvr.de (in German). Landschaftsverband Rheinland. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ^ "Gau Köln-Aachen" [Gau Cologne-Aachen]. rheinische-geschichte.lvr.de (in German). Landschaftsverband Rheinland. Archived from the original on 22 October 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
Works cited
- O'Connell, Vincent (2013). ""Left to Their Own Devices". Belgium's Ambiguous Assimilation of Eupen-Malmedy (1919–1940)" (PDF). Journal of Belgian History. 43 (4): 10–45.
- Whitlock, Flint (December 2008). "Breaking Down the Door". WWII History. 7 (7). Herndon, Virginia: Sovereign Media. ISSN 1539-5456.
- Whiting, Charles (1976). Bloody Aachen. Briarcliff Manor, New York: Stein and Day.
External links