86th Infantry Division Campaign Map

Arriving in France in March 1945, the Blackhawk Division crossed into Germany and relieved the 8th Infantry Division near Cologne. Its first operations came east of the Rhine, where elements supported the Sieg River assault and the division moved toward the Ruhr.

In April, the 86th division helped reduce the Ruhr Pocket, advancing through Attendorn, Hagen, Hohenlimburg, and the Lenne River towns. This fighting occurred amid the collapse of one of the last large German concentrations in western Germany, where infantry units cleared bypassed towns and industrial approaches behind the armored advance.

The division then shifted south for the final drive through Bavaria. It crossed the Altmuhl and Danube, secured crossings at Ingolstadt, and continued toward the Amper Canal and Isar. Under direct fire near Freising, the division crossed the Isar by assault boat and moved toward Wasserburg before being redirected east toward the Salzburg region. Its compressed route runs from the Ruhr's industrial pocket to the river crossings of southern Germany.

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