Habichtswald Ridge — 318th Infantry Flanking Movement, 2 April 1945

Kassel, DE

The **Habichtswald** — a heavily forested sandstone ridge rising to approximately 468 metres above sea level west of Kassel — was the key terrain feature for the western approach to the city. On **2 April 1945**, the **318th Infantry Regiment** (80th Infantry Division) was tasked with seizing the high ground to prevent any German escape, reinforcement, or counterattack from the west. The Habichtswald's topography gave it considerable defensive value: the dense mixed forest provided concealment, the ridgeline commanded the western and northwestern approaches to Kassel, and possession of it meant that any German unit attempting to break out westward could be brought under direct fire or interdicted by artillery. The 318th secured the ridge against negligible resistance on 2 April and held it until the conclusion of the battle on 4 April, when elements advanced from the west to reach **Generalmajor Erxleben's** command bunker. The movement into the Habichtswald was the western pincer of a classic envelopment — while the 319th crossed the Fulda and advanced up the eastern bank, the 318th on the ridge denied the Germans any avenue of escape. The Habichtswald today is a protected biosphere reserve (Naturpark Habichtswald) and one of the largest remaining broadleaf forests in Hesse.