North German Plain

It is known that the North German Plain was formed during the Pleistocene era as a result of the various glacial advances of terrestrial Scandinavian ice sheets as well as by periglacial geomorphologic processes.

The coastal areas consist of Holocene lake and river marshes and lagoons connected to Pleistocene Old and Young Drift terrain in various stages of formation and weathering.

In comparison, the dry plains of northwestern Germany (Lower Saxony, western Schleswig-Holstein, and the Bochum area of North Rhine Westphalia) are more heavily weathered and levelled (Old Drift) as the last large scale glaciations here occurred at least 130,000 years ago.

Special microclimates occur in bogs and heathlands and, for example, in the Altes Land near Hamburg, which is characterised by relatively mild temperatures year round due to the proximity of the North Sea and lower Elbe river, providing excellent conditions for fruit production.

Azonal vegetation complexes of moors, riparian forests, fens and water bodies originally stretched along the rivers Ems, Weser, Elbe, Havel and Spree.

The natural vegetation of the North German Plain is thought to have been forest formed mainly by the dominant species European Beech (Fagetalia).

[citation needed] Of the two North German plain invasion options, the southern route of the attack, which had the better strategic opportunities, would have been led by the Soviet Third Shock Army.

The plain's geography, which makes it suitable for the deployment of armored and mechanized maneuver, led to it being identified as a major invasion route into West Germany.