*7 February 1945 -
Units started the drive Duren meeting intense ground firing. The
unit provided AA protection for the crossing of the Roer River and
all gun sections took severe punishment. Duren taken, the unit
continued to Cologne-Bonn, meeting intense shelling all the way and
considerable strafing and bombing.
*29 March 1945 - Unit moved from Cologne-Bonn to the southern end of
the Ruhr pocket. The 8th Infantry Division formed the spearhead
driving north with the 1st and 76th divisions on each side. The unit
encountered intense ground action at Siegen. The gun sections were
in continuous action and lost much equipment due to the speed of the
drive. For several days after the drive was completed, the unit was
engaged in rounding up stragglers (German) and convoying them to POW
cages.
*26 April 1945 - Unit was alerted to drive across the Elbe River
with the British 2nd Army to protect the flanks on the drive to
Hamburg. On 1 May the unit crossed the Elbe and drove north to the
Baltic Sea encountering some ground fire until the Russian forces
were encountered above Schwerin, Germany. Thousands of prisoners
were taken and all equipment was used in guarding the prisoners and
transporting them to central inclosures.
*8 May 1945 - Gun sections were taken from alert status and rejoined
batteries in central areas but not brought under battalion control
for some time.
The 445th AAA AW Battalion was in continuous combat from 12 July
1944 to 10 May 1945. During this time intense fighting was
experienced at La Haye du Puits, Avranches, Brest, Huertgen Forest,
Roer River crossing, Duren, Erft Canal, Cologne, Ruhr pocket, Elbe
River crossing, etc. The 445th AAA AW Battalion has a record of 67
confirmed aircraft knocked down, the highest record of any Automatic
Weapons Battalion in the ETO.