Ruhr Valley Archives

At the Battle of Metz, Third Army’s eastward dash ran into well-entrenched Germans and miserable weather at Europe’s strongest fortress.

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Battle of Metz: Patton’s Bloody Fortress Battle

By William E. Welsh

Lieutenant General George Patton’s Third Army had come a long way since it was activated on August 1 in Normandy. Read more

Commanded by General William “Texas Bill” Simpson, the U.S. Ninth Army fought its way across Europe.

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The U.S. Ninth Army’s Breakout: Crossing the Roer and the Rhine

By Michael D. Hull

After the Battle of the Bulge delayed their advance by six critical weeks, the British, U.S., and Canadian armies went on the offensive in mid-January 1945 and pushed toward the German frontier. Read more

Nijmegen bridge, and another over Holland’s Waal River, were the scene of two important battles in Montgomery's Market-Garden Campaign.

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Battle of Nijmegen Bridge: Taking the Crossings Over the Waal

By Jan Bos

The city of Nijmegen, in the southeastern part of Holland and about six miles from the Dutch-German border, is believed to be Holland’s oldest city, going back some 2,000 years. Read more

The Royal Air Force deployed the Avro Lancaster bomber during its strategic campaign to bomb the Third Reich.

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WWII Aircraft: The Lancaster Heavy Bomber

By Michael D. Hull

Wing Commander Guy P. Gibson of Royal Air Force Bomber Command was handed the most challenging assignment of his six-year career in the spring of 1943. Read more

During the Allied plan for crossing the Rhine, codenamed Operation Plunder, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery's meticulous planning paid off.

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Operation Plunder: Crossing the Rhine

By David Lippman

“I am busy getting ready for the next battle,” Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery wrote his son David in early March 1945. Read more

The Battle of Aachen, if won, would open Europe up to the Allies. But they'd have to pay for it in relentless urban combat.

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The Battle of Aachen: Breaking Down the Door to Europe in WWII

By Flint Whitlock

By the autumn of 1944, German resistance in the West was quickly crumbling as the British and Americans approached the German border 233 days ahead of schedule. Read more

The final days of the war in Europe showed both the brilliance and the vain glory of legendary General George S. Patton.

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George S. Patton’s End Run: The Story of His Final Days

By Major General Michael Reynolds

By early 1945, less than a year before General George S. Patton’s mysterious death, Adolf Hitler’s armies were almost exhausted. Read more

The Third Reich’s treatment of black soldiers was harsh, in keeping with its doctrine of racial superiority.

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Black POWs Under the Nazis

By G. Paul Garson

On May 13, 1940, the German army invaded France, crossing the River Meuse at Sedan. Upon France’s capitulation, the Franco-German armistice was signed on June 22, and a portion of France was placed under German occupation, with the remaining area ostensibly left to its own, with the Vichy collaborationist government in control. Read more

From Around the Network

How Franklin D. Roosevelt Prepared the U.S. for World War II

A Dangerous Mission for General Maxwell Taylor of 82nd Airborne

WWII German Cavalry: Horses of the Blitz

The Florida Annexation