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Before their ground forces were ready for the final assault on Germany, the western Allies intensified their aerial bombardment. This offensive culminated in a series of five attacks on Dresden, launched by the RAF and the U.S. Air Force in the night of February
13—14, 1945, meanwhile the main strength of the ground forces was being built up for the crossing of the Rhine, allotted to Montgomery's armies on the northern sector of the front. Meanwhile, some of the U.S. generals sought to demonstrate the abilities of their own less generously supplied forces.
At last, in the night of March 23—24, Montgomery's attack by 25 divisions was launched across the Rhine near Wesel. Resistance was generally slight.
The dominant desire of the Germans now was to see the British and American armies go eastward as rapidly as possible to reach Berlin and occupy as much of the country as possible before the Soviets overcame the Oder line. But the Americans and the British met little opposition and reached the Elbe River 60 miles from Berlin on April 11. There they halted. The surrender of the German forces in northwestern Europe was signed at Montgomery's headquarters on May 4; and a further document, covering all the German forces, was signed with more ceremony at Eisenhower's headquarters at Reims, in the presence of Soviet as well as US, British, and French delegations. At midnight on May 8, 1945, the war in Europe was officially over.
