Western Allied invasion of Germany

The 1944–1945 campaign in which Western Allied forces crossed into Nazi Germany from the west and advanced toward its defeat and surrender.

Operation Overlord: The Allied operation that established a major foothold in Normandy in June 1944. Its success created the western front from which the advance into Germany began.
Casablanca Conference: A January 1943 meeting of Allied leaders Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill in Morocco. Its strategy discussions shaped the sequence of operations leading to the invasion of western Europe.
Dwight D. Eisenhower: The American general who served as supreme commander of Allied forces in Europe during the invasion of Germany. He coordinated the coalition’s strategy and command across the western front.
Liberation of the Netherlands: The Allied campaign that freed most of the Netherlands from German occupation in 1944–1945. It shows how the German campaign also ended occupation across western Europe.
Eastern Front of World War II: The theater of war between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1945. Soviet forces invaded Germany from the east while Western Allied armies advanced from the west.
Operation Market Garden: A September 1944 Allied airborne and ground operation to seize bridges in the Netherlands. Its failure delayed the advance toward Germany and left the lower Rhine uncrossed.
Tehran Conference: A 1943 meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill in Tehran. The leaders agreed on launching a major western invasion to coordinate pressure on Germany.
Bernard Montgomery: The British field marshal who commanded Allied ground forces in northwest Europe during key phases of the campaign. His planning and disputes over the pace of advance shaped Allied operational choices.
Rhine crossing: The Allied crossing of the Rhine River in March 1945, including the capture of the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen. Crossing Germany’s principal western river barrier enabled rapid advances into its interior.
Italian campaign: The Allied campaign in Italy from 1943 until the end of the Second World War in Europe. It was a separate southern front that tied down German forces during the western advance.

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Ruhr PocketNarrower topic: The pocket formed during this campaign’s rapid push beyond the Rhine.