In the spring of 1945, Adolph Hitler's Third Reich was on the brink of collapse, ground between the Red Army, advancing westward towards Berlin, and the American, British, and Canadian armies, under the overall command of General Dwight Eisenhower, moving eastward over the Rhine.  Since the D-Day landings in Normandy the previous June, the westward Allies had won back France and the Low Countries, and some Wehrmacht commanders were already trying to negotiate local surrenders.  Other units, though, continued to obey Hitler's orders to fight to the last man.  Most systems, including transport, had broken down, and civilians in panic flight fromt he advancing Russians roamed at large.