Battle of Nuremberg (1945)

Battle of Nuremberg
Part of the Western Allied invasion of Germany in the Western Front

American soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division walk through a devastated Nuremberg.
Date16–20 April 1945
Location
Result American victory
Belligerents
United States United States  Germany
Commanders and leaders
United States Dwight D. Eisenhower
United States George S. Patton
United States Wade H. Haislip
United States John W. O'Daniel
United States Robert T. Frederick
Nazi Germany Karl Holz [1]
Nazi Germany Richard Wolf [de]
Nazi Germany Willy Liebel 
Units involved

United States XV Corps

Remnants and militia from:
Nazi Germany 17th SS Tank-Grenadier Div.
Nazi Germany 21st Luftwaffe Div. [de]
Volkssturm
RAD
Hitlerjugend
Strength
45,000 troops[2] 2 divisions (est. 20,000–50,000)
2 regiments (est. 2,000–11,000)
ROA troops (est. 18,000)
Several ad hoc units of Luftwaffe (est. 2,000)[2] and Volkssturm[3]

The Battle of Nuremberg was a five-day battle between the forces of the United States 7th Army on one side, and Nazi Germany on the other during the last days of World War II. The battle saw some of the fiercest urban combat during the war and it took four days for the United States to capture the city. The battle was a blow to Nazi Germany as Nuremberg was a center of the Nazi regime. The Nuremberg Rallies took place in the city and to lose the city to the Americans took a heavy toll on already low German morale.[1] Even though American forces heavily outnumbered the German forces,[2] it wasn't until 20 April, that the 7th Army took the city center. The battle devastated the city.

  1. ^ a b "End of the War in Nuremberg - Nuremberg - Battle for a Symbol". kriegsende.nuernberg.de. Archived from the original on 20 May 2007. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  2. ^ a b c "End of the War in Nuremberg - Unequal Forces Line Up for Battle". kriegsende.nuernberg.de. Archived from the original on 6 January 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  3. ^ MacDonald, Charles B. (1993). The Last Offensive. Washington D.C.: GPO. p. 423.