The German maps get kind of spotty from this point on. We will get more western front situation maps in a few days. The most recent western front map is from about a week ago, but I'll post it anyway just because I like these maps. Here is the sector of US 1st and 9th Armies battering away at German 15th and 5th Panzer Armies. It doesn't look that much different than the maps that were posted back at the end of November when 1st Army's big push petered out. The biggest difference is that the Germans no longer have any reserves behind the front, and are desperate to pull whatever they can out of the line to send to the east. One other thing; looking at the concentrated combat power of both 1st and 9th Armies, a greater concentration than anywhere else on the front, makes me wonder why Ike let Monty keep command of the 9th. Both armies should be answerable to the same chain of command. But that's coalition warfare, I guess.
In the East today, the only thing noteworthy on the one map available is the situation around Elbing and the mouth of the Vistula River, where Rokossovsky's 2nd Belorussian Front has driven a wedge between German 2nd and 4th Armies. You can see the names of German Corps and Division HQs that have fought together in the East for four years, but now these are little more than blue marks on a map. The formations are spent. You will also notice the German warship in the Bay of Danzig. The Kriegsmarine will have it's final hour serving as floating artillery platforms to provide naval gunfire support to German troops in the Baltic. Mostly provided by heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen and pocket battleship Admiral Scheer, they will eventually wear out their gun barrels and lie up in port for lack of fuel.
