The Battle of Nuremberg was a five-day battle between the forces of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

7th Army on one side, and

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

on the other during the last days of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The battle saw some of the fiercest urban combat during the war and it took four days for the United States to capture the city. The battle was a blow to Nazi Germany as Nuremberg was a center of the Nazi regime. The Nuremberg Rallies took place in the city and to lose the city to the Americans took a heavy toll on already low German morale. Even though American forces heavily outnumbered the German forces, it was not until 20 April, that the 7th Army took the city center. The battle devastated the city.

Background

The Western Allies invaded Germany from the west on 8 February 1945. The German Army took heavy losses as the Allied armies crossed the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

and surrounded the

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr Area, sometimes Ruhr District, Ruhr Region, or Ruhr Valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 1,160/km2 and a populati ...

area as the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

armies pushed from the east. By April the US and Soviet armies were closing in on each other, constricting an already narrow gap of German-controlled territory running from

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and including Nuremberg. As the 12th Army Group continued to push east towards Berlin, the 6th Army Group received orders to push into southern Germany and into

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. Despite the heavier resistance from the German Army in the south as compared to the north, the US 7th Army broke out of its bridgehead on the Rhine south of

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

on 28 March. After fierce fighting, the 7th Army captured

Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; Hessian: ''Aschebersch'', ) is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg, despite being its administrative seat, is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg. Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...

in Bavaria on 3 April and

Heilbronn Heilbronn () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn District. From the late Middle Ages on, it developed into an important trading centre. At the begi ...

in Württemberg on 12 April, which left Nuremberg wide open to American attack. On 12 April the German High Command ordered the unconditional defense of all cities and

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

placed Reich Defense Commissioner and

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a ''Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany, Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party, rank in ...

Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...

Karl Holz in charge of the German forces around Nuremberg. On 15 April the 7th Army advanced towards Nuremberg, rapidly capturing

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main (river), Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in ...

in the process. As the 7th Army neared Nuremberg, Holz ordered setting up anti-tank barriers as well as anti-aircraft guns around the old city. Holz's forces were heavily outnumbered, but he still believed that "the Americans would break sooner or later".

The battle

By 16 April, the 7th Army had begun its assault on Nuremberg, not from the west as Holz expected, but from the east and northeast. By the end of the day, the Americans had captured the outskirts of Erlenstegen and Buch. Arthur Schoeddert, a constable of anti-aircraft artillery, failed to execute Hitler's orders to blow up electricity, gas and water plants in the city. By 17 April, the 7th Army captured the marshaling yard and the surrounding area as well as the Veilhofstrasse and Woehrd neighborhoods. By evening, the airport to the north was captured and US artillery began to shell the old city. American troops met fierce resistance around the old city on 18 April, which destroyed and damaged many buildings around the old city, including the historic

Nuremberg Castle Nuremberg Castle () is a group of medieval fortified buildings on a sandstone ridge dominating the historical center of Nuremberg in Bavaria, Germany. The castle, together with the City walls of Nuremberg, city walls, is considered to be one ...

. On 18 April, as American artillery continued to shell the old city, U.S. troops were able to reach the old city via the Burgschmietstrasse. On 20 April, the 3rd Infantry Division under the command of Major General John W. O'Daniel and the 45th Infantry Division under Major General Robert T. Frederick laid siege to the old city. German resistance was so great that American heavy artillery and air support was deployed. The Nuremberg mayor, Willy Liebel, committed suicide in his bunker. Holz ordered his men to continue to fight. Holz himself was trapped in the police station in the old city, but continued to resist. After American troops gave him four chances for a peaceful surrender, he was killed while American troops overran the building. After Holz's death, second-in-command Colonel Wolf realised that the city could no longer be held. At 11:00 he ordered all German troops in the area to surrender. On the evening of 20 April – coincidentally on Hitler's 56th birthday, the American flag was hoisted at Adolf Hitler Platz, formally ending the battle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nuremberg 1945 Battles of World War II involving the United States Battles of World War II involving Germany Western Allied invasion of Germany Nuremberg in World War II April 1945 in Europe 1945 in Germany Conflicts in 1945