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Matney Woodard

Christian Stories for Kids, Songs, and Sermons

Jul 20

15

Letter Home – June 1, 1945

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The war in Europe ended on May 8, 1945. Now came the occupation and reconstruction of the continent. Allied soldiers took their place keeping the peace, and overseeing efforts to make sure Germany would rejoin Europe, sans all Nazi influence. Allied leadership was aware of a plan for German citizens to continue fighting as partisans against the occupation. Fortunately, none of that came to fruition, as the vast majority of German folks were done with the conflict.

My Father landed in picturesque Starnberg, Germany. This was a small town in Bavaria, 30 minutes Southwest of Munich, and next to Lake Starnberg. The American Army had liberated the city on April 30, 1945, just days before the official end of the war.

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Jun 20

22

Operation Dragoon – Part 6

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By the Summer of 1944, the war in Europe had evolved and the momentum was definitely on the side of the Allies. The Soviet Union was on the offensive, pushing their way through Eastern Europe towards Germany.

The Allies secured North Africa, and were making slow progress up the boot of Italy. It was now time to open another front in the West.

The much anticipated invasion of Normandy took place on June 6,1944, dropping 150,000 fresh Allied troops on Germany’s doorstep. There had been discussion about invading Southern France on the same date, but due to the logistics involved, there was no way to support both operations on the same date. Instead, my Father would participate in Operation Dragoon on August 15, 1944. This would place Allied forces in the Southern half of France, an area under the authority of the Vichy French regime, and left largely undefended by Germany. – Harrison Woodard

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Jun 20

22

Victory In Europe – Part 7

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In the Winter of 1945, the Germans launched one final assault in the West known as the Battle of the Bulge. Where capable, other fronts saw limited German offensives including in Southern France. These were largely ineffective outside of the main thrust. However, it did reveal that Germany had some fight left.

However, by the end of January 1945, only the truly zealous Nazis remained in the fight. They were retreating back towards Berlin, planning to make one last glorious stand against the Red Army. The Allies had all agreed to allow the Soviet Union to destroy whatever remained of Berlin.  While the Red Army closed the noose around the German capital, the Allies secured the remaining occupied nations in the West, and mopped up what remained of the German Army in the South – most willingly surrendering to US troops, rather than being captured by the very angry Red Army.

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