THE EMERGING NATIONS The Impact of the Industrial Revolution CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER ONE

THE EMERGING NATIONS

The Impact of the Industrial Revolution 

The situation of Europe in the mid-19^th century was one of constantly shifting ideas and innovations that dominated the landscape particularly in terms of technology. The wind of change was constant; blowing hard and strong. Scientific and technical innovations and changes abounded by the day.

In mainland Europe, Germany began to make an impact in heavy industry as the mid-19^th century progressed. The spate of technical innovations spread to the new world. Mainland Europe’s pace of economic growth quickened so much so, that the nations on the Atlantic seaboard (Portugal and Spain) that had a history of lagging behind the rest of Western Europe began to make their own mark in terms of industry and economic growth.

The growth of industry, particularly steel production, the invention of the internal combustion engine and advances in electrical engineering drove the pace of industrialization to unprecedented heights on a dramatic scale. The introduction of the telegraph, steam train, steamships and other innovations led to a pace of change that was breath-taking. The expansion in trade and industry cut across, all the way to Japan in the Far East

 The trend and spread, cut across the introduction of more modern and sophisticated production methods in the textile industry, cloth making, shoe production and significant growth particularly in the agricultural sector where the planter, harvester and even combined harvesters were fast becoming a norm. The printing press boomed, unrelenting in its modernization and innovations.

The fact was that a new dawn had come to Europe and the people were beginning to enjoy a higher standard of living. Better health resulted in drastic reduction in infant and maternal mortality. Corporations, companies and corporate entities began to emerge, requiring more advanced and sophisticated methods of control in government and the bureaucracy.

 The era of the skilled and trained factory worker had begun, and as the pace of industrial production increased, the rural-urban migration patterns that had been slowly emerging over the centuries quickened in pace.

The steady increase in technical innovations and quality of industrial output also meant that wealth and prosperity saw a dramatic rise. As the production of goods and services boomed, there was also a dramatic increase in population growth. The division of labor, methods of automated manufacturing, mass production systems and other improved methods of production, began to gain ground.

As businesses grew, the idea of share ownership, co-operative movements and other modern methods of economic and financial growth mechanisms began to boom as businesses grew larger, companies expanded and the working class began to emerge as labor unions increased in numbers.

THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH IN SHAPING THE AFFAIRS OF THE STATE

The mid-19^th century also marked a trend that resulted not only in the growth of the Evangelical and Orthodox Church but also the increasing tendency to separate the affairs of the Church from the State.

The pressure for democratic reform coupled with the increasing enlightenment on the part of the working class saw a greater push towards regulation, increasing pressure on governments towards separating issues of politics, business and religion.

Issues of religion were already being pushed from the public domain to the private. Parliaments were increasingly under pressure to concentrate on issues of economic and social growth and withdraw from issues of individual beliefs and religious persuasions.

 The Church of England for instance began to exercise more control on issues of liturgy and doctrine, and parliamentary approval was no longer required in issues relating to reform and changes in the common prayer book.

The increasing demand for individual and personal liberties also made it more ethically popular for individuals to take personal decisions on the issues of faith and devotion. The corresponding result was an explosion in the evangelical movement.  

While the orthodox Churches began to shrink in terms of active Church membership, the evangelical churches grew and expanded particularly in Britain, the Low Countries and Germany. Industrialization also led to the strengthening of workers demand for representative government and improvement in workers’ and human rights.

In Italy, the control of the Vatican over the fortunes and affairs of the Italian city states come under increasing pressure for review, leading to a redefinition of the whole issue of Italian independence and nationhood. When the Italian statesman Garibaldi led his peoples, workers and peasant army to challenge the rule of the Bourbon dynasty over the city states of Italy, the issue of Church and state control came up once more.

The emergence of Italy as a free and independent nation under the rule of King Victor Emmanuel was also ushered in with reforms and agreements with the Vatican to lessen its interference in, and control of the political affairs of Italy.

All over Europe, monarchies, parliaments and institutions of control were pressured to become more responsive to the yearnings of the people than the pressure of the clergy and Church authorities.

Not surprisingly, the birth of freedom and liberal thinking,  also led to the rise of anti-church doctrines such as Darwin’s theory of evolution, Friedrich Engel’s and Karl Max’s teachings of workers’ control of the factors of production and ultimately the instruments of state power.

EMERGING SOCIAL TRENDS

The changes and innovations in technology led to a change in the social class order of Europe. While the feudal class remained strong in some segments of European society, the peasant class remained notable, particularly in Eastern Europe.

The new social trend led to upward mobile integration for some of the lower class who began to enjoy the benefits of the improved economic system. That system enabled them to transport their goods more easily and quickly to the markets while enjoying more sophisticated methods of trading and industrial processing which invariably led to increased production and improved earnings for the emerging middle class.

As the working class grew, the salaried bureaucracy began to pressure for improved working conditions for the workers. These groups were only a little bit better off than their colleagues who labored in factories, in the sense that they were the literate white and blue collar workers and were able to exert a little more pressure towards the improvement of their working conditions.

The organized corporate sector sought to limit the power of the unions by keeping different workers’ groups in separate unions which lessened the overall pressure for reform and better pay. At the top of the social structure was a new class of capitalists who worked towards influencing political direction in terms of improved investments in business, agriculture and in the military.

As individuals prospered, the pace of spending and demand for consumer goods increased, and this in itself drove the momentum of industrial growth upward, leading to higher government revenues and increased spending on infrastructure and municipalities.

The increased pressure on fiscal spending also saw the beginning of the topsy-turvy movement in economic growth indicators that came to be described as seasons of booms and stagnations.

 The clearly defined direction of economic growth and expansion brought about the seasons of economic booms and depression, resulting in difficult and challenging social conditions hitherto unknown like unemployment and layoffs, that the modern economic society has become accustomed to.

As people became more prosperous generally, demand for tangible goods like housing increased. Improved diets and improved lifestyles became noticeable. As the population also became more literate, a high standard of living was accompanied by a decline in the birthrate which trend gained ground particularly amongst the working class.

This in itself was also accompanied by a marked shift in the rural – urban migration trends that saw farm families becoming smaller while output increased as agriculture became more mechanized.

As literacy increased, more people were able to afford newspapers which increased massively in circulation leading to greater political, economic and social awareness, which in turn led to the increasing tendency towards more expressive forms of nationalism.

THE FOUNDATIONS OF A NEW DEMOGRAPHIC ORDER

The demographics of Europe particularly Western Europe began to change significantly after the middle of the 19^th century for six primary reasons:

1. Extended periods of peace

2. Demarcation of land borders

3. Improvement in Health care

4. Decline in infant mortality

5. Mass migrations to the new world

6. Reduction in family size

Whilst not putting forward this list as being comprehensively exhaustive, it is important to note that the end of the Napoleonic wars and the decisions taken in the Congress of Vienna in 1814/1815 went a long way in bringing lasting peace back to Europe.

The treaty saw the emergence of nations in western Europe such as Germany out of the Prussian states, Russia which annexed much of the ancient kingdom of Poland, Britain whose overseas holding were expanded, the Bourbon dynasty which was restored to the French throne in the reign of Louis XVIII.

The treaty helped to restore the balance of power while firmly delimiting the land borders of the major powers and also ushering in a season of peace. Coupled with this development was the extension of the life expectancy of the average European as better drugs and improved medical care systems began to emerge.

 Hospitals, doctors and nurses emerged in their distinct professional forms as we know them today. During this time, there was also a noticeable decline in cases of infant mortality as the system of health care improved while new and more effective drugs began to enter the market.

This consequently this led to the reduction in the number of children born to a household as child survival and infant care methods improved. The decline in family size also was accompanied by the renewed quest for individual prosperity and a better lifestyle.

At this time, the shift from Blue-collar to White collar jobs became the norm as more and more people deserted the peasant and feudal lifestyle in search of jobs in towns and in the newly emerging factories and industries. Cities began to expand significantly in population so much so that the rural-urban drift began to be established as a socio-cultural phenomenon.

 The basic consequence was that the demographics of Europe began to change significantly, particularly among the newly industrializing nations like Germany, France, Italy and Great Britain. Another major factor in the shift of demographics in countries like Ireland, Germany and Italy was the large segment of their population particularly the working class that chose to move their families across the Atlantic to the Americas particularly the U.S.A.

 At the close of the 19^th century over 20 million migrants had crossed the Atlantic Ocean into the New World thereby denying Europe a significant segment of its active working class.

THE SCRAMBLE FOR EMPIRE

As industrialization and scramble for markets intensified, many European states began to be outward looking in their desire to expand their markets and acquire raw materials for their industries.

Dramatic improvements in shipping and naval capabilities meant that armies and military forces could be extended overseas in the search and scramble for areas of domination and colonization as had been the trend with the big powers for the previous one and half centuries.

As the individual European nations became more powerful and prosperous, the instinct was to shift the power play to bases beyond the continental shelf. As new technologies allowing the steam engine, machine guns and new techniques in advancement of drug production became more available, the capacity and desire for territorial expansion surged ahead.

At this time, the emergence of Germany and Italy as united and powerful nations heated up the power tussle in Europe which before then was exclusively an Anglo-French affair. The scramble for Africa was so intense that to avoid war and conflict, the German statesman and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck called for a conference of the major Colonial powers in Berlin in 1884 in November to February 1885 in order to peacefully demarcate areas of influence, control and colonization in Africa.

This process led to the complete partitioning of Africa among the major European nations with the notable exception of Abyssinia, the only African country to escape colonization in the traditional sense. The major Colonial Powers; Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, Belgium, and Holland partitioned major portions of Asia, the Pacific Islands and Africa amongst themselves. They saw the new colonies as a veritable investment in territories, raw materials, markets and recruitment grounds for man power in military, economic and political frontiers.

Many governments were involved in the scramble for colonies more for the prestige and honor that came with having colonies; in so much so that many small European states acquired the status of empires and dominions on account of their colonial holdings.

 While Portugal gained control over Angola and Mozambique, Belgium took over the huge area in mid equatorial Africa called the Congo region. Germany conquered the present day Namibia, the Cameroons and Togo land.

Britain on the other hand, held much of the prized possession in west Africa, southern Africa and the Horn of Africa and together with France accounted for more than 2/3 of the colonial holdings. The scramble generated tensions and territorial issues among the colonial powers which often drew them close to war and conflict.

 This led to the major European powers creating a system of military alliances principally designed to rein in, and maintain effective control over these newly won lands and territories. The British colonial holdings in Africa for instance stretched all the way from South Africa to Egypt and a good portion of the Middle East.

BLOOD,FIRE AND STEEL 150 years of European History, the forging of the European Union; INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 2

BLOOD, FIRE AND STEEL

INTRODUCTION

The beginning of the year 1850 saw the unveiling of a new horizon for modern day Europe, as the turn of the mid century had spawned the dawn of a generational shift that saw Europe embracing the widespread changes associated with the industrial Revolution on the continent.

The French at this time as leaders on the continent were also passionately immersed in a national debate as to whether to return to the way of the dynastic rule or to embrace a Republican system as Napoleon III’s reign appeared questionable in character and lacked credibility.

The Italian city states at this time were also in the process of evolving, and an inherent Italian nationalism was evolving as the City states began to focus on merging and shaking off the Papal conventions that put Rome under Vatican control, while at the same time they also labored towards ending the rule of the French- imposed Bourbon dynasty.

The middle of the 19^th Century became a defining period for the manifestation of the pro-democracy credentials of the newly emerging nation states in Europe with agitation for civil liberties, free press, and the rule of law and the establishment of a parliament that made representative rule possible.

 All these however were met by strong repressive measures, as the existing “powers that be” were definitely not willing to yield to the wind of change that was blowing all over Europe     

                                                                                                                                                       

The birth pangs of transformation of the existing feudal and agricultural economies into modern industrial economies were to be felt all over Europe. The birth of the Industrial Revolution in England in the mid-18^th century had sent sparks of reform and change all across France, Prussia, and the Low Countries all the way to Russia.

The dawn of the industrial age, the defeat of Napoleon and the treaty of the Congress of Vienna were notable milestones that sparked a desire for transformation and an aspiration for modernization and innovation throughout Europe. The foundation of the modern European society that was to emerge 100 years later in the form of a free, united and economically prosperous Europe was laid at this time.

A lot of the change was precipitated to start with from the series of violent responses and protests, which culminated in wars and bloodshed as the existing socio-economic order simply refused to yield to the emerging trends.

 The states of Prussia, Austria, Italy and much of Central Europe were racked by prolonged political and economic instability. Ideological and political ideas that were seen as anomalous by the ruling feudal class were handled with violent force and brutal suppression.

Change as we know, is a powerful force that is difficult to suppress especially when it’s time is ripe. The printing press and the free flow of ideas that came with the advent of the railways, telegraphs and the typewriter made it easy for ideas to move across borders with incredible speed, while the whole continent reverberated with the impact of innovations that were being transported all the way from the United Kingdom, France and down to the Prussian states and beyond.

The boundless energy and insurmountable desire of people to freely imbibe those changes swept through every nook and cranny of Western Europe. This was evident in the passion of the people to move forward, express new ideas, both political and economic and also to recreate the existing social order. The old order that was based on Church and State control was now being challenged by a new wave of nationalism and a push for the expression of individual liberties.

The pressure for political reform all across Europe reached its zenith during the middle of the 19^th century. People long accustomed to feudalistic and dynastic rule began to press and agitate for representative government, independent parliaments; introduction of individual liberties and free expression of speech and thought.

All these culminated in increased pressure on the socio- political order of the day and led many governments to become increasingly repressive in their bid to curb dissent.

Europe in the 1850s was a continent on the move. Many of the seeds of the social order enjoyed in Europe today were sown and nurtured then. Free thought expressed mainly through writings continued to push forward the frontier of wisdom and learning, and people began to question and abandon long held practices as they discovered newer and better ways of doing things.

No country in Europe experienced more fundamental changes at this time than Prussia, which was in the midst of a revolution that would soon give birth to the nation of Germany. In France, the pressure to return from monarchy to Republican rule was on.

The smaller European states meanwhile were pressing for independence and political reform. The United Kingdom, flourishing at the height of the Victorian Empire was more concerned with issues of trade, empire, expansion and reform of the political and economic system on the home front.

In Germany, Karl Marx had produced his communist manifesto and was daily winning friends and followers to his socialist and communist teachings. Friedrich Engels and others were busy putting into print the unique message of communism. The economic conditions of the working class which were quite unhealthy in that era naturally drove the cry for the working class to take over the whole system of production.

The industrial revolution added its growing pressure to the discontent that was spreading amongst Europe’s industrial and economic powers. Charles Darwin with his theory of evolution was also undermining the moral persuasive strength of the Church by creating the foundation for the extreme secularism that we see flourishing in Europe today.

Everywhere people questioned the old and existing order and demands were made for change on a national and class level. A new group was also forming out of the prevailing agricultural and feudal society while the new working class was demanding better pay and better conditions of living.

This emerging trend was most noticeable among the working class who were definitely struggling to stamp out the yoke of feudalism. Labor laws at this time were few and rudimentary. The emerging industrial powers battled with the issue of, and on what terms the working class was to work and exist.

Wages were still low and precarious. Industrial safety was still an unexplored subject as many workers, under- aged by contemporary standards, labored under very seriously inhospitable conditions. Voices were already emerging, trying to reform society as it then was, on the need to protect the working class and insulate the under- aged from the lure of factory work which in any case then, was clearly exploitative.

The emerging industrial class of this period who hitherto were the landlords of the existing feudal society was more interested in maximizing profits and wealth than in creating a new working order which would have made life more tolerable for the masses. The middle 19^th century was clearly a hard time in European society. Change was the only constant factor in everyday society.

When Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria initiated the Great Exhibition in London in 1851 to show- case the wealth and achievements of the British Empire in Hyde Park in the summer of that year, it became a moment of marvel at the innovations and wonders of the new face of emerging industrial Britain.

The middle of the 19^th century was also the peak for the scramble for Africa as each of the dominant European powers schemed for its own position of imperial dominion particularly in Africa. The scramble also tended to generate conflict and rivalry among the main European powers as each plotted to outwit the other in the scramble to partition Africa.

 The scramble for Africa as it came to be known, led to a conference held in Berlin and sponsored by the Prussian Chancellor, Otto Von Bismarck in 1881 to delimit the borders of colonial control among the dominant players in the rush to seize and create colonies in Africa.

 The African colonies also played a prominent role on the political scene in Europe as the prestige of a nation was somehow revealed in the size of its colonial holdings. This led to rivalry and competition among the major players i.e. Great Britain, France, Germany, Holland, Belgium and late-comer Italy.

 The struggle for a global presence also led to the building of merchant fleets and formidable navies which eventually led to the naval arms race that ensued between Great Britain and Germany in the late 19^th and early 20^th century. The emergence of Otto Von Bismarck was particularly significant at this time in the evolution of Germany following his ascension to power as Premier of Prussia in 1862.

His defeat of Austria in the Austro-Prussian war created the North German federation and his subsequent defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71 paved the way for a united German empire and the ascension of Wilhelm I as the Emperor of a united Germany.

Germany under Bismarck’s premiership flourished politically and economically becoming a dominant power in Europe in the late 19^th century particularly after its conquest of France and the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine as part of Germany.

Under Bismarck, the German Navy began a significant build up that towards the end of the 19^th Century, began to rival and undermine the naval supremacy of Great Britain. German ascendancy altered the face of Europe as France’s prestige began a decline as the dominant power on the continent following the defeat and abdication of Napoleon Bonaparte in the war of 1814 and the decisions reached by the victorious powers in the Congress of Vienna in 1815.

The ascendancy of Prussia became a defining moment in European history as the balance of power was greatly altered (with growing apprehension on the part of France) to include a growing and virile Prussia. The defeat of Austria and France set the stage for Germany’s ascendancy as a world power and also directly led to the creation of the system of alliances that indirectly set the stage for the two great conflicts that were to engulf Europe in the first fifty years of the 20^th century.

The dominant issue in France in the 1850’s centered on the rule of Napoleon III which lasted until his downfall following the defeat of France in 1870 by Prussia.

 In Italy the Risorgimento, meant bitter battles among the Italian city states led by Garibaldi to free Italy from the rule of the Bourbons dynasty which was a product of French imperial designs of the late 14^th to the 19^th century. His eventual victory paved way for the unity of the Italian states and ascension to power of King Victor Emmanuel in 1861.

On the whole, the situation of Europe in the 1850s was fluid, volatile and evolving. 1860 marked the year the state of Prussia expanded vigorously under Bismarck as Prime Minister who also became its first Chancellor. The emergence of Germany as a united modern state in Europe in the 1860s changed the whole shape and character of Europe.

 The French as was to be expected became nervous and uncomfortable with the emergence of a united and strong Germany as a rival power on the European mainland. Prince Otto Von Bismarck was not unaware of the tension generated in France over the emergence of a united Germany.

He immediately swung into action to build a formidable German army that was designed to stand and resist the best equipped armies in Europe. His defeat of Austria in 1866 led to the creation of the North German Federation and his victory over the French in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 led to the emergence of a German Empire under Prussian hegemony.

 Germany had certainly arrived as a great power on the European scene and was to keep Europe on her toes for the next hundred years as she sought to define her sphere of influence on the European political stage and on the world scene in general.

The annexation of Alsace-Lorraine following Prussian victory in the war of 1870 left France bitter and humiliated. The defeat in fact ended the rule of Napoleon III and once more France swung over to Republican rule. The rule of the Bourbons following the defeat of Napoleon had been brief following which Louis Philippe was put on the throne of France in the July Revolution of 1830.

Following the deposition of Napoleon II, Louis Philippe became Emperor under the Second Republic in 1852. His downfall and ultimate dethronement came with his defeat and capture in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. His deposition gave birth to the Third Republic.

BLOOD, FIRE AND STEEL , 150 years of European History; PREFACE CHAPTER ONE

 August 1, 2014 will mark the Centenary or 100 years since World War 1 began. Back then it was known as the Great War. As students of history and political scientists will disclose after a thorough perusal of past events in the world in the last 100 years, 1914 marked a watershed in the political evolution of the contemporary world, because World War 2, which was to ensue barely 21 years post WW1 was simply a postscript of events thrown up by WW1. In the words of then French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau
the peace of 1918 was simply a 'truce' pre-dating the next great conflict.

Then he was regarded as a pessimistic prophet of doom , but his prediction uncannily proved to be true barely 21 years later. 100 years after the events of that era we still live in a simmering world tethering on the edge of conflicts some generated by events that predated the beginning of the Great War. The Sino-Japanese War of 1894-5 obviously gave birth to the island acquisitions that are at the root of the present conflict between China and Japan over the Shenyang Islands.

Similarly issues of land settlements that spawned the creation of new nations in Eastern Europe following the treaty of Versailles are still brewing conflicts  and tensions that require settlement till date. In my own nation Nigeria, even the very legitimacy of the 1914 amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates are still a subject of dispute till date with the British Government still reassuring the Nigerian people that the amalgamation still serves the very best interest of Nigeria.

One hundred years have since passed since the events of August 1914, several generations have since grown up and moved on, and hundreds of books and publications have since been written about these events but the dawn of the digital age and the revolutionary technological changes spawned by this information technologies have raised the case for the revisiting of these events particularly for many young people in this digital age who find it difficult to devote time and attention to reading the large volumes required in the traditional books to have a knowledgeable grasp of the events that have helped to shape the world we live in today.

For instance many young people particularly in the developing world cannot understand why only five particular countries  sit as permanent members of the Security Council of the United Nations and why this group of countries individually possess the veto power, able to overrule a resolution of the Security Council even when it is endorsed by the General Assembly. More baffling to them is why the combination of these five countries remain inexplicably unchangeable and no new permanent members regardless of the changing World order has been added since 1945.

While this writings encapsulated in the ensuing blog is not offering any final answers to these posers it simply will attempt to enlighten the average blog reader who will make the effort to remain committed to these pages in the upcoming days as to the trend of events beginning from 1850 in Europe in particular. that began the dawn of the industrial age and the modern era of nation states, nationalism, alliances and power blocs that have shapened the world to what it is today.

The face of the modern world began to take shape in Europe in the 19th century and by the middle of the 19th century quickened in pace and the fate of the modern world began to be decided then. For the sake of brevity and clarity , to save time and space we decided to begin in the middle of the 19th Century when the pace of events really took a quick turn. Remain on Board as we commence the journey. 

THE US FIRST ARMY THE FORGOTTEN HEROES OF WW2; The First Army's Drive on the Elbe and the end of the War. CAP 11

      The First Army’s Drive to the Elbe

With the Allied Armies all across the Rhine and preparing for the final sweep across Germany, General Eisenhower in concert with the American Combined Chiefs of Staff modified his original plan and announced that General Bradley’s 12^th Army Group would lead the drive across Germany to Leipzig on the Elbe River over 210 kilometers away to link up with the approaching Russians and cut up the German forces into two with a view to hastening the end of the war.

 His initial plan involving a drive to Berlin by Field Marshal Montgomery’s 21^st Army Group was now abandoned in favor of this new plan as he didn’t see any sense in rushing his forces forward to take Berlin ahead of the Russians as Berlin lay deep in the Russian zone of occupation as agreed upon by the Allied leaders in the Yalta conference in February of that year. Eisenhower felt that since Berlin lay securely in the Soviet Zone of Occupation, they ought to be the ones to pay the price in blood for the capture of the Reich Capital.

 Even though Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the British Combined Chiefs vigorously protested the change of plans, Eisenhower stuck to his new position. He couldn’t be persuaded to shed American blood for what ultimately would be in the Russian Zone of Occupation.

Shortly after the end of the war and the onset of the Cold War, General Eisenhower was largely vilified by Western historians for granting the Russians control of Berlin and undermining the Western Alliance in the eventual struggle with the Soviet Union over the control of Eastern Europe during the Cold War particularly during the Berlin Crises. Events since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union have however since then, vindicated General Eisenhower’s decision.

The prestige of vanquishing the Reich capital would have been a poor compensation in the face of the ultimate loss of over 200,000 Russian lives that it took to conquer the German capital.

Had General Eisenhower capitulated to pressure particularly from British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the British Combined Chiefs of Staff to assault Berlin in April 1945, I wonder in the light of later Soviet intransigence, what he would have held up as the ultimate gain, to the American public for the anticipated heavy loss of American lives that would have been involved at a time when the end of the war was clearly in sight, particularly as he reiterated, Berlin lay deep in the agreed Soviet Zone of occupation.

Consequently the Ninth Army was re-assigned to the 12^th Army Group under General Omar N Bradley whose Army Group was ordered to lead the new Allied offensive. General Courtney Hodges First Army in the centre was ordered to make for Leipzig on the Elbe River, 210 kilometers away while the Ninth Army also struck for Magdeburg also on the Elbe about 105 kilometers north of Leipzig, and the Third Army made for Chemnitz 45 kilometers south east of Leipzig from where it was to turn southeast to Austria and then to Czechoslovakia to neutralise any attempts by Nazi fanatics  to establish any Redoubts or last stand in the forests of Bavaria as was been widely speculated then.

Of the three Armies, the First Army encountered stiffer resistance than the other two armies even though German resistance was on the whole sparse and sporadic. The fast armored spearheads had learnt to outflank and isolate determined German pockets of resistance, leaving incoming infantry to do the mopping up operation, and by so doing the momentum of the advance was maintained, so that by the 20^th of April, Leipzig had fallen even though the First Army was subsequently directed to halt its advance on the Mulde River.

As the First Army halted its operations on the Mulde /Elbe River, attention now turned to the link up with the Russian forces advancing from the East and this eventually became a race as to which unit will make the first contact with the approaching Soviet forces. As a result deep patrols were sent out by all units along the Elbe. By 11; 30 am on the 25^th of April a small unit of the First Army’s 25th infantry division met a lone Russian horseman in the village of Leckwitz.

 Several other patrols made several other contacts with Soviet units that day and on the following day the 26^th of April, the 25^th Infantry’s Division’s commander, Major General Emile F Reinhardt met with Major General Vladimir Rusakov of the Russian 58^th Guards Infantry Division at Torgau in the official link up ceremony and April 25 became officially known as Elbe’s day. The First Army’s advance across Germany had ended by the 26^th of April and only local mop-up operations now remained.

 The war itself would end officially about eleven days later after German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler with his bunker in Berlin under direct Russian artillery attack took his life and left his designated successor Grand Admiral Doenitz to handle the official capitulation. 

This finally took place at about 2 am on May 7^th 1945 at Reims, Eisenhower’s headquarters in Eastern France when Colonel General Alfred Jodl, Germany Army headquarters Chief of staff leading the official German delegation sent by Doenitz to negotiate with General Eisenhower signed the surrender document on behalf of the Wermacht and brought the war to an end.

The end of hostilities in the European Theater of Operations was not however to mark the end of the First Army’s ordeal in World War Two, however as Washington had penciled the First Army for re-assignment to the far East to participate in operations planned for the invasion of the Japanese mainland code-named Operation Olympic earmarked for November 1945.

The news was heart wrenching for men who had led the spear head of the United States Army into combat in Western Europe on June 6^th 1944, and had fought longer and harder than any other unit, had also borne the brunt of the fighting in the battle of the Bulge suffering disproportionately huge casualties.

However the choice to detach the First Army from the European front to fight alongside General Echellberger’s Eight Army based in the Philippines spoke eloquently about the fighting qualities of the First Army and the confidence the Pentagon and General Marshal in particular had in the men and officers of the First Army.  The First Army became the only Army in World War 2 to have the privilege of activating its headquarters in both the European and Pacific fronts when its temporary headquarters was activated in the Philippines in July 1945.

As the men prepared to board troopships to travel to the Far East to participate in the invasion of Japan proper, the stomachs and hearts of the men churned in agony as to the fresh ordeal that lay ahead of them. Men who had not seen their families in two years and had survived the European battlefields and were still required by their nation as an elite force to participate in the invasion of Japan the only remaining enemy of the United States still on the battlefield, could never be justifiably described as anything but heroes, heroes not only of the United States but of World War 2

As the men agonized as to the fate that still peculiarly befell them, news came on the 2^nd of August 1945 that the United States had successfully exploded an Atomic Bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima and three days later another one on the city of Nagasaki bringing about the capitulation of Japan and the end of World War 2.

 The eruption of joy that swept through Europe that summer over the news of the Japanese surrender must have been felt more keenly amongst the men and officers of the First Army, who only then realised that their fight to rid the world of tyranny and evil had finally come to a successful end.

Thus the men of the First Army were released from their obligation to transship to the Far East and begin a fresh campaign. They were then able to rejoin the rest of the US forces in occupation duties in Germany and thereafter participate in the rapid demobilization that enabled the men to set foot once more on the United States and reunite with their families. World War Two was finally over for the officers and men of the United States First Army