Ruhr Pocket

(noun)

A battle of encirclement that took place in late March and early April 1945, near the end of World War II, in the Ruhr Area of Germany. It marked the end of major organized resistance on Nazi Germany's Western Front, as more than 300,000 troops were taken prisoner.

Related Terms

Examples of Ruhr Pocket in the following topics:

  • The Allied Drive Toward Berlin

    • The first step of Eisenhower's plan was the eradication of the Ruhr Pocket.
    • Even before the encirclement had been completed, the Germans in the Ruhr had begun making attempts at a breakout to the east.
    • By April 13, the 9th Army had cleared the northern part of the pocket, while elements of the XVIII Airborne Corps′ 8th Infantry Division reached the southern bank of the Ruhr, splitting the southern section of the pocket in two.
    • The final tally of prisoners taken in the Ruhr reached 325,000.
    • Following the Ruhr Pocket battle, the Ninth and First American armies turned east and pushed to the Elbe river by mid-April.

  • The Allied Push to Berlin

    • By March, the Western Allies crossed the Rhine north and south of the Ruhr, encircling the German Army Group B, while the Soviets advanced to Vienna.
    • The crossing of the Rhine, the encirclement and reduction of the Ruhr, and the sweep to the Elbe-Mulde line and the Alps all established the final campaign on the Western Front as a showcase for Allied superiority in maneuver warfare.
    • These mobile forces made great thrusts to isolate pockets of German troops, which were mopped up by additional infantry following close behind.

  • War Debts and Reparations

    • The Allied occupation of the Ruhr industrial area contributed to the hyperinflation crisis in Germany, partially because of its disabling effect on the German economy.
    • The Dawes Plan ended the occupation of the Ruhr region and reorganized German payments, which contributed to some level of stabilization of the German economy.  
    • Between 1923 and 1925 France and Belgium occupied the German industrial region of the Ruhr.
    • Protests by gymnasts from the Ruhr at the 1923 Munich Gymnastics Festival.
    • The sign on the left reads "The Ruhr remains German."

  • Optional Collaborative Classrom Exercise

    • Raise your hand if you have any change in your pocket or purse.
    • P(change) means the probability that a randomly chosen person in your class has change in his/her pocket or purse.
    • Find P(change and bus) Find the probability that a randomly chosen student in your class has change in his/her pocket or purse and rode a bus within the last month.

  • Optional Collaborative Exercise

    • Count the money (bills and change) in your pocket or purse.

  • France at the End of the Interwar Period

    • As a response to the failure of the Weimar Republic to pay reparations in the aftermath of World War I, France occupied the industrial region of the Ruhr as a means of ensuring repayments from Germany.

  • Blister

    • A blister is a small pocket of fluid in the upper skin layers, forming as fluid collects between the epidermis and the layers beneath.
    • A blister is a small pocket of fluid within the upper layers of the skin.
    • Differentiate among the various types of blisters: fluid-filled pockets between epidermis and dermis

  • Optional Collaborative Classroom Activity

    • Have each class member count the change he/she has in his/her pocket or purse.
    • Let X = the amount of money a student in your class has in his/her pocket or purse.
    • Shade the area that represents the probability that one student has less than $.40 in his/her pocket or purse.

  • Lab 1: Central Limit Theorem (Pocket Change)

    • Count the change in your pocket. ( Do not include bills. )

  • Raising the Stakes of Your Argument

    • Here are three passages that describe the same psychological study, each using a different rhetorical tactic: Logos: Given that 84% of the subjects in six separate clinical trials reported a statistically significant increase in feelings of guilt when they carried a picture of a deity in their pocket, it follows that there is a correlation between guilt and religion.
    • Imagine starting your day with a photo of a deity in your pocket.
    • Keeping a picture in your pocket makes that possibility even more present in the mind. 84% may seem like a surprisingly high percentage, but guilt is an emotion that afflicts all of us, and it will take root at any excuse.
    • Susan Miller, author of the foundational book Religion and Guilt, wrote a paper that questioned his methodology: "Pocket Full of Questions: Methodology and Bias in Recent Scholarship. " Jones responded to her concerns in a post on his personal blog, and Miller responded that she was satisfied.