Operation Zahnarzt
Encyclopedia
Operation Zahnarzt was a plan by the Germans
to eliminate the Third Army. The plan of Operation Zahnarzt was to immediately come after Operation Nordwind
. The plan was to initiate a pincer movement
to encircle and destroy the 3rd US Army.
which began on January 1, 1945. In the days that followed the Germans saw their small advances continually eroded by repeated counterstrikes from the 44th Infantry Division, 100th Infantry Division, and 63rd Infantry Division. They were supported by the French
2nd Armored Division. Allied artillery and air attacks (when the weather broke), together with the harshness of the weather, also diminished the momentum of the Germans by cutting off its already thin supply lines. Thus the Germans were forced to call off the operation on January 4. Zahnarzt was one of the last planned major offensives by the Germans during the remainder of the war
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to eliminate the Third Army. The plan of Operation Zahnarzt was to immediately come after Operation Nordwind
Operation Nordwind
Operation North Wind was the last major German offensive of World War II on the Western Front. It began on 1 January 1945 in Alsace and Lorraine in northeastern France, and it ended on 25 January.-Objectives:...
. The plan was to initiate a pincer movement
Pincer movement
The pincer movement or double envelopment is a military maneuver. The flanks of the opponent are attacked simultaneously in a pinching motion after the opponent has advanced towards the center of an army which is responding by moving its outside forces to the enemy's flanks, in order to surround it...
to encircle and destroy the 3rd US Army.
Overview
Preliminary and small-scale attacks began shortly before and during Operation NordwindOperation Nordwind
Operation North Wind was the last major German offensive of World War II on the Western Front. It began on 1 January 1945 in Alsace and Lorraine in northeastern France, and it ended on 25 January.-Objectives:...
which began on January 1, 1945. In the days that followed the Germans saw their small advances continually eroded by repeated counterstrikes from the 44th Infantry Division, 100th Infantry Division, and 63rd Infantry Division. They were supported by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
2nd Armored Division. Allied artillery and air attacks (when the weather broke), together with the harshness of the weather, also diminished the momentum of the Germans by cutting off its already thin supply lines. Thus the Germans were forced to call off the operation on January 4. Zahnarzt was one of the last planned major offensives by the Germans during the remainder of the war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.