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(Kennedy McConnell was an R.A.F. electrical engineer working on the Turing designed "Bombe" decoding machines. In 2003 he produced a professionally filmed lecture series, which has been copied on to videotape and DVD. The full series, comprising approximately seven hours of detailed historical analysis, can be viewed at Dundee Central Library. There are additional copies of the film at the Bletchley Park Trust, the Scottish National Museum, the Imperial War Museum and the National War Museums of America, Australia, and Canada. An abstract of Part 6 follows).

ARDENNES OFFENSIVE
The German panzer offensive in the Ardennes was defeated by 28th January 1945. Hitler’s gamble to recapture Antwerp had squandered 100,000 troops, 800 tanks and 1,000 aircraft. These irreplaceable resources could have been conserved to defend Germany against the inevitable Allied invasion.

SIEGFRIED LINE
This formidable defensive barrier stretched 300 miles from Holland to the Swiss border. As explained previously, Montgomery launched a massive airborne operation on 15th September 1944 to outflank the Siegfried Line by capturing key bridges on the lower Rhine. Ultra warning that two panzer divisions were refitting near Arnhem was ignored and the daring plan failed.

BATTLE FOR THE RHINE
Eisenhower now commanded one British, one Canadian, one French and four American armies. The airborne disaster at Arnhem forced him to attack the Siegfried line. The first offensive was launched on 8th February 1945. Ultra revealed that Hitler had refused Runstedt’s request to withdraw beyond the Rhine. British and Canadian forces suffered heavy losses during the next few weeks. The American 1st army reached Cologne on 6th March. Patton expected that all the Rhine bridges would be destroyed.

REMAGEN RAILWAY BRIDGE
However, one railway bridge at Remagen, about 30 miles south of Cologne, had not been demolished because the explosive charges had failed to detonate. This unexpected bonus enabled the Americans to establish a bridgehead on 7th March. Ultra reported Hitler’s fury and his order to destroy the bridge. Desperate attacks by the Luftwaffe, heavy artillery, naval frogmen and V2 rockets all failed, but the centre span finally collapsed on 17th March. Ultra reported that Hitler had blamed Runstedt for the Remagen disaster and secretly replaced him with Kesselring on 9th March.

CROSSING THE RHINE
Bradley and Patton were determined to cross the Rhine before Montgomery. Patton’s 3rd army made the first crossing at Oppenheim on 22nd March. Montgomery launched the main Allied offensive at Rees and Wesel on 23rd March. The British 2nd and Canadian 1st armies led the assault. They were supported by the American 9th army. Ultra kept Montgomery informed of Kesselring’s defensive strength and strategy. British and American airborne troops were dropped behind enemy lines on 24th March. Further crossings in the southern sector of the front by the American 7th army on 26th March, were followed by the French 1st army a few days later.

CONTROVERSIAL DECISION
Although they had been able to cross the Rhine by the end of March 1945, Eisenhower’s forces were still almost 300 miles from Berlin. However, the Russians were only 50 miles to the east of the city. Consequently, Eisenhower notified Stalin on 28th March 1945 that the Allied armies would halt at the River Elbe. This controversial decision was taken without consulting the joint British and American Chiefs of Staff. Stalin was delighted but Churchill was furious because he was suspicious of Stalin’s post war intentions in eastern Europe. Churchill asked Roosevelt to intervene but he was gravely ill and refused to do so.

INVADING GERMANY
Montgomery was dismayed when Eisenhower announced that the main thrust through central Germany would be carried out by the Americans. His task was to liberate northern Holland, where millions of citizens were starving. The Canadians captured Arnhem on 14th April. The British encountered fierce resistance during their drive towards Bremen and Hamburg, which they eventually prevented from falling into Russian hands.

Eisenhower’s first objective in the invasion of Germany was the occupation of the Ruhr industrial area, which produced the bulk of German armaments. The American 1st army broke out of the Remagen bridgehead on 25th March. The American 9th army also advanced from the Rhine at Wesel. Eisenhower used these two armies to execute a pincer movement to encircle the Ruhr. Ultra reported that Hitler had refused to allow Model to withdraw. This typical ‘‘stand fast’’ order resulted in 350,000 Germans being trapped. Model was forced to surrender on 18th April and later committed suicide.

EAST MEETS WEST
By January 1945, Stalin’s armies had driven the German forces out of Russia. Hungary, Rumania and the Balkans had also been liberated. They renewed their offensive on 12th January. Four days later they captured Warsaw. The first meeting of American and Russian troops was at Torgau on the River Elbe on 25th April. The British crossed the Elbe further north on 29th April and met the Russians at Wismar on 2nd May.

HOLOCAUST HORROR
The advancing British, American and Russian forces discovered horrific evidence of the Holocaust when they reached the Death Camps, where millions of Jews had suffered appalling cruelty before being gassed and cremated. Thousands of prisoners were liberated but many died later from malnutrition and disease.

BATTLE FOR BERLIN
Zhukov and Konev had assembled 3,000,000 Russian troops, plus artillery and tanks, on the River Oder. They launched twin assaults on Berlin on 16 April. Four days later they had reached the outskirts. By 25th April the city was surrounded. The German defenders fought desperately because they knew the Russians would show them no mercy. Fierce street fighting continued until the remainder of the garrison surrendered on 2nd May. Over 125,000 citizens died during the siege, including many who chose suicide. Russian casualties totalled 300,000.

BUNKER DEATHS
Hitler celebrated his 56th birthday on 20th April in the Berlin bunker. He refused to flee the city and married Eva Braun on 29th April. Both committed suicide by taking cyanide capsules on 30th April. Hitler also shot himself in the head. Their bodies were burnt with petrol and buried in a shallow grave in the courtyard by Bormann. Goebbels and his wife poisoned their six children before committing suicide on 1st May. Bormann tried to escape but he was trapped by the Russians and committed suicide on 2nd May. Ultra reported that Hitler had appointed Doenitz as his successor.

ALLIED VICTORY
Doenitz tried to negotiate a separate armistice with the Western Allies, but he was rebuffed by Eisenhower. Consequently, he was forced to accept the unconditional surrender of all German forces on 8th May 1945. The western allies called this VE Day. The Russians insisted on a separate surrender which took place on the following day. Breaking the Enigma codes was the greatest success in the history of cryptography. Ultra had kept Allied commanders informed of enemy tactics and strategy from 1940 to 1945. Many thousands of Allied lives were saved. The war in Europe could have ended sooner if Ultra had been employed more effectively.
Kennedy McConnell via Dundee Central Library

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