The medieval Karlstor was one of three main gates into Munich’s old town and had been severely damaged during the war. On 29 April 1945, units of the US 7th Army reached the city center, led by the legendary 42nd Infantry Division (“Rainbow”) and the 45th Infantry Division (“Thunderbird”). The Rainbow Division’s 2nd Battalion, 222nd Infantry Regiment, pushed into central Munich that same evening as the first US unit to reach the city core. The former “Capital of the Movement” fell with almost no resistance; German defenses had largely collapsed by then.