Colmar Pocket

Colmar
The Colmar Pocket
	Part of World War II
	; U.S. and French Moroccan troops link up at Rouffach, February 1945. The junction of the two forces split the Colmar Pocket.
Date	20 January – 9 February 1945
Location	Around Colmar, Alsace48°4′50″N 7°21′36″E / 48.08056°N 7.36000°E
Result	Allied victory
Belligerents
France; United States;	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Jacob L. Devers; Jean d.L. de Tassigny; Antoine Béthouart; J d.G. de Monsabert;	Paul Hausser; Siegfried Rasp; Max Grimmeiss; Erich Abraham;
Units involved
1st Army I Corps; II Corps; XXI Corps; ;	19th Army LXIII Corps; LXIV Corps; ;
Strength
420,000 troops	c. 50,000 troops ; c. 130 AFVs
Casualties and losses
France: 13,390; United States: 8,000;	22,000—38,500 men; 70 AFVs

The Colmar Pocket (French: Poche de Colmar; German: Brückenkopf Elsass) was the area held in central Alsace, France, by the German Nineteenth Army from November 1944 to February 1945, against the U.S. 6th Army Group (6th AG) during World War II. It was formed when 6th AG liberated southern and northern Alsace and adjacent eastern Lorraine, but could not clear central Alsace. During Operation Nordwind in December 1944, the 19th Army attacked north out of the Pocket in support of other German forces attacking south from the Saar into northern Alsace. In late January and early February 1945, the French First Army (reinforced by the U.S. XXI Corps) cleared the Pocket of German forces.

^ Clarke & Smith 1993, p. 553.
^ Whiting, Charles (2002) [1986]. The Other Battle of the Bulge: Operation Nordwind. Spellmount Ltd. p. 165. ISBN 1-86227-122-4.
^ Atkinson, Rick (2013). The Guns At Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945. Henry Holt & Company. p. 376. ISBN 978-1-250-03781-7.
^ Mitcham Jr., Samuel W. (2021). The Death of Hitler's War Machine: The Final Destruction of the Wehrmacht. Regnery History. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-68451-138-9.
^ De Lattre, p. 398
^ Clarke and Smith, p. 556
^ Clarke and Smith, p. 556–557.
^ Mitcham Jr., Samuel W. (2021). The Death of Hitler's War Machine: The Final Destruction of the Wehrmacht. Regnery History. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-68451-138-9.

[FOOTNOTEClarkeSmith1993553-1] Clarke & Smith 1993, p. 553.

[2] Whiting, Charles (2002) [1986]. The Other Battle of the Bulge: Operation Nordwind. Spellmount Ltd. p. 165. ISBN 1-86227-122-4.

[3] Atkinson, Rick (2013). The Guns At Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945. Henry Holt & Company. p. 376. ISBN 978-1-250-03781-7.

[4] Mitcham Jr., Samuel W. (2021). The Death of Hitler's War Machine: The Final Destruction of the Wehrmacht. Regnery History. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-68451-138-9.

[5] De Lattre, p. 398

[6] Clarke and Smith, p. 556

[7] Clarke and Smith, p. 556–557.

[8] Mitcham Jr., Samuel W. (2021). The Death of Hitler's War Machine: The Final Destruction of the Wehrmacht. Regnery History. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-68451-138-9.

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