Operation Nordwind was launched by German ground forces on 31 December 1944 against U.S. and French ground forces in the Rhineland-Palatinate and the Alsace and Lorraine regions of southwestern Germany and northeastern France as part of the European Theatre in World War II. It ended on 25 January 1945.
North of Strasbourg
Allied Forces
Sixth Army GroupZaloga 2010, p. 20 Lieutenant General Jacob L. Devers
Forces deployed North to South:
US Seventh ArmyZaloga 2010, p. 37 Lieutenant General Alexander McC. Patch XV Corps Major General Wade H. Haislip 103rd Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Charles Haffner) 44th Infantry Division (Brig. Gen. William F. Dean) 100th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Withers A. Burress) 63rd Infantry Division (Brig. Gen. Frederick Harris) VI Corps Major General Edward H. Brooks 45th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Robert Frederick) 70th Infantry Division (Brig. Gen. Thomas W. Herren) 42nd Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Harry J. Collins) 79th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Ira Wyche) French 2nd Armored Division (Gen. Div. Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque)
Axis Forces
Army Group GZaloga 2010, p. 36 Generaloberst Johannes Blaskowitz
First Army Generalleutnant Hans von Obstfelder 25th Panzergrenadier Division (Oberst Arnold Burmeister) 21st Panzer Division (Generalleutnant Edgar Feuchtinger) 6th SS Mountain Division Nord (SS-Gruppenführer Karl-Heinrich Brenner) XIII SS Corps SS-Obergruppenführer Max Simon 19th Volksgrenadier Division (Generalleutnant Walter Wißmath) 36th Volksgrenadier Division (Generalmajor Helmut Kleikamp) 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen (SS-Standartenführer Hans Lingner) XC Corps General der Flieger Erich Petersen 559th Volksgrenadier Division (Generalleutnant Kurt Freiherr von Mühlen) 257th Volksgrenadier Division (Generalmajor Erich Seidel) LXXXIX Corps General der Infanterie Gustav Höhne 361st Volksgrenadier Division (Generalmajor Alfred Philippi) 245th Infantry Division (Generalleutnant Edwin Sander) 256th Volksgrenadier Division (Generalmajor Gerhard Franz)
South of Strasbourg (Colmar Pocket)
Allied Forces
Sixth Army Group (cont.) Lieutenant General Jacob L. Devers
Forces deployed North to South:
French First ArmyZaloga 2010, p. 43 Lieutenant General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny II Corps Géneral Joseph de Goislard de Monsabert 1st Armored Division (Gén. Aimé Sudré) 9th Colonial Infantry Division (Gén. Joseph Magnan) 2nd Moroccan Infantry Division (Gén. Marcel Carpentier) 4th Moroccan Mountain Division (Gén. Réne de Hesdin) 5th Armored Division (Gén. Henri de Vernejoul) 10th Infantry Division (Gén. Pierre Billotte) US XXI Corps Major General Frank W. Milburn 12th Armored Division (Maj. Gen. Roderick R. Allen) 14th Armored Division (Maj. Gen. Albert Smith) 36th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. John Dahlquist) I Corps Géneral Antoine Béthouart 1st Infantry March Division (Gén. Diego Brosset) 3rd Algerian Infantry Division (Gén. Augustin Guillaume)
Axis Forces
Army Group Upper RhineZaloga 2010, p. 36 Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler
Nineteenth Army General der Infanterie Siegfried Rasp 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg (SS-Brigadeführer Heinz Harmel) LXIV Corps General der Infanterie Helmut Thumm 189th Infantry Division (Generalmajor Eduard Zorn) 198th Infantry Division (Generalmajor Otto Schiel) 708th Volksgrenadier Division (Generalmajor Wilhelm Bleckwenn) 16th Infantry Division LXIII Corps General der Infanterie Erich Abraham 338th Infantry Division (Generalmajor Konrad Barde) 159th Infantry Division (Generalmajor Heinrich Bürky) 716th Infantry Division (Generalmajor Wolf Ewert) 269th Infantry Division (Generalleutnant Hans Wagner) XIV SS Corps SS-Obergruppenführer Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski 553rd Volksgrenadier-Division (Generalmajor Gerhard Hüther) 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg (from 15 January) (SS-Brigadeführer Heinz Harmel)
Notes
References
Sources
14th Armored Division Combat History The NORDWIND Offensive (January 1945) on the website of the 100th Infantry Division Association contains a list of German primary sources on the operation.