:: PHOTOGRAPH GALLERY ::

~ THE FALL OF THE REICH ~

II

Town of Bitche
An American motorized column passes next to the town and fortress of Bitche, not far from Strasbourg, a place harassed during centuries by the Franco-German conflicts. The territory of the Third Reich is already at the reach of hand for the Allied armies.

German soldiers in the Ardennes
German soldiers breaking into the Allied lines during the counteroffensive of the Ardennes. The operation "Wacht am Rhein" was the last important offensive in the Western Front. It was the last chance for the Germans to repel the enemy before it invaded the homeland. The Americans, albeit taken by surprise, managed to desperately resist.

Ruins of Saint Vith
The ruins of Saint Vith under the snow, during the Christmas of 1944. This small Belgian town had the misfortune of being located in the center of the German counteroffensive across the Ardennes, and so this place witnessed hard combats.

American aviators receiving instructions
American aviators photographed in a base in England. In the last months of the war, the "carpet bombings" devastated every night the German cities.

German fighter Messerschmitt Me Bf 109
A fighter Messerschmitt Me Bf 109 operating during the night in Germany. As the Luftwaffe was still strong during the last year of the war it caused serious losses to the enemy bomber groups. After the Allies decided to shift the bombings to nighttime the Luftwaffe deployed night fighters equipped with radar devices and cannons installed in dorsal position and in oblique mountings, which would allow to destroy the much slower bombers without having to aim the aircraft nose towards them (since the radar devices were installed on the nose there was reduced or not space at all for the armament in that part of the aircraft).

British fighter Supermarine Spitfire
The increasing activity of the Allied fighter aviation on German territory and the progressive annihilation of the German counterpart rendered less dangerous the bombing missions over Germany. On the photograph, a British fighter Supermarine Spitfire.

Destroyed bridge at Remagen
The remainings of the Ludendorff railway bridge at Remagen, which collapsed some days after being conquered by the Allies. Crossing over the Rhine, this bridge was the key that opened the door of Germany.

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