Operation Sunrise: America's OSS, Swiss Intelligence, and the German Surrender 1945

Authors

Stephen P. Halbrook

Keywords

Switzerland, Swiss history, European history

Abstract

Operation Sunrise was a cooperative effort of American and Swiss intelligence services which led to the unconditional surrender of the German Wehrmacht forces in Northern Italy and Western Austria on May 2, 1945. General Heinrich von Yietinghoff, Commander-inChief of the Southwest Command and of Army Group C, surrendered nearly a million soldiers, the strongest remaining German force. This was the first great surrender of German forces to the Allies, and became a strong impetus for the final Allied victory over Nazi Germany on May 8, Victory in Europe (YE) Day. Operation Sunrise helped to nip in the bud Nazi aspirations for guerilla resistance in an Alpine redoubt.

Recommended Citation

Halbrook, Stephen P. (2016) "Operation Sunrise: America's OSS, Swiss Intelligence, and the German Surrender 1945," Swiss American Historical Society Review: Vol. 52: No. 1, Article 3.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/sahs_review/vol52/iss1/3