Liberation of Czechoslovakia by the US Army

The liberation of west and southwest Bohemia in 1945 was provided by the US Army – V and XII Corps of the 3rd Army led by the most famous American general of World War 2, George Smith Patton. The first major engagements for a part of V Corps with Germans took place on 25 April 1945 when fighting for Cheb. The Americans prevailed and Cheb was free. General Eisenhower had to stop further progress shortly thereafter for political reasons; in addition, the US forces needed restructuring. The initial agreement between the Allies’ armies regarding the demarcation line forbade the US Army to proceed into Czechoslovakia. With the approval of Red Army General Antonov, the demarcation line was moved to the Karlovy Vary – Plzeň – České Budějovice axis on 30 April. In the morning of 5 May, General Patton started the offensive into Czechoslovakia; General Huebner leading V Corps issued the final commands and the Planá u Mariánských lázní – Klatovy line was taken by the evening of 5 May. The attack of Plzeň was scheduled for the next day. The situation in Plzeň was strained prior to the arrival of US Army. On the same day, uprising in Plzeň was initiated by the Škoda workers and Plzeň’s town hall was in the hands of the revolutionary national committee by the evening. When the vanguard of the 16th panzer division led by Colonel Noble reached Plzeň in the morning of 6 May, it had to purge the city from several fanatical snipers who refused to give up. The situation of the Nazi army, once a mighty force, was hopeless at the time. Most of Germany had been occupied and Hitler had committed suicide on 30 April. The final end of combat came on the very next day, 7 May 1945, as Colonel General Alfred Jodl signed unconditional surrender in Reims. US Army soldiers left Czechoslovakia in the latter half of 1945.

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