Maps of World War II 1939-1945

Allied Advance to the Elbe
April - May 1945

With the Rhine River obstacle overcome, Allied armed forces began a final drive which encircled Army Group B in the Ruhr valley and pressed eastward toward the Elbe River -- the agreed upon demarcation of Allied and Soviet forces advancing from west and east respectively. American military forces in the south exploited southeast into Austria and Czechoslovakia after achieving this objective.