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Battle of Kassel (1945)
The Battle of Kassel was a four-day struggle between the U.S. Army and the German Army in April 1945 for Kassel, a medium-sized city northeast of Frankfurt am Main. The battle resulted as the U.S. Third Army pushed northeast from the region of Frankfurt and Mainz. The battle opened on April 1, 1945 and ended with an American victory three days later. Opposing the Third Army's 80th Infantry Division were an infantry replacement battalion, some heavy tanks, and anti-aircraft guns.〔The complete German order of battle at Kassel is unclear from available documentation. The Faribault Monograph mentions the presence of the 166th and 365th Infantry Divisions around the city, and the number of German POW's taken was far larger than a single infantry battalion supported by tanks and AA-guns. In 1945, Kassel was also headquarters for the German 409th Division, an element of the army that specialized in training replacements. The 409th Division was mobilized as a ''Kampfgruppe'' in late March 1945, but it is not clear if it took part in the Battle of Kassel.〕 Although the Germans gave battle at Kassel, their army was on the brink of collapse as the Western Allies and the Red Army made deep inroads into Germany. The defense of Kassel did not materially impede the Allied advance, and, one month after the battle ended, Germany was forced to capitulate.
== Background ==
(詳細はArdennes Offensive, the U.S. Third Army had pushed east and southeast into Germany, capturing Pruem and Trier. This advance brought General Patton's troops to the Rhine River, which they crossed at Oppenheim, near Mainz, on March 22, 1945. While the U.S. First Army was marching on Paderborn, the Third Army moved on a roughly parallel course further to the east to cover the First Army's right flank〔Weigley, p. 696.〕 and prevent any German attempt to relieve their troops trapped in the Ruhr Pocket. Moving east from its bridgehead across the Rhine, the Third Army's XII Corps fought through scattered German opposition and reached Frankfurt on March 26. After Frankfurt, Kassel was the largest city in Hessen, having had a population of 200,000 in 1939.〔(Faribault Monograph, p. 1. )〕 Another corps of the Third Army, the XX, was directed to capture it. By March 30, elements of the Third Army were nearing Kassel, having moved some in eight days.
Much of Kassel's center lay in ruins as the city had been bombed 40 times by the Allied air forces. Among the bombing targets in the city was the Henschel factory complex, which produced Tiger II tanks. As the Americans approached, the Henschel Works finished work on thirteen Tiger II tanks, which were taken over by two companies of the German 510th and 511th Heavy Tank Battalions.〔(ドイツ語:s. Panzer Abteilung 510 etc.)〕 Deployed on a military training ground south of the city was a battery of 88 mm anti-aircraft guns manned by Reichsarbeitdienst (RAD) members, a paramilitary labor service of the Nazi Party. Besides the tanks and AA-guns, the Germans had several hundred men of the 15th Armored Infantry Replacement and Training Battalion〔(ドイツ語:Panzergrenadier-Ersatz-und-Ausbildungs-Bataillon 15)〕 with which to defend the city. The German high command had designated Kassel a ''Festung'' (fortress) with dire orders to "resist to the last round". In the event, however, the designation of the city as ''Festung'' had little impact on the outcome of the battle. In command of the city's defense was ''Generalmajor'' Johannes Erxleben,〔Johannes Erxleben (1893-1972), German communications officer in both World Wars before being appointed the Wehrmacht commander of Kassel on August 1, 1944. Information on Erxleben's career can be found in printed form (Wolf Keilig's ''Das Deutsche Heer'', Part 211 p. 77, Bad Nauheim, Podzun Verlag, 1957) and online at (Erxleben's biography ).〕 a communications officer with little battle experience.〔Saft, p. 122.〕
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
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