Big Boys

The Germans threw everything that they had at the Remagen bridgehead. The Arado Ar234 Blitz jet bomber, massive artillery barrages, V2 rockets (their only tactical use in WW2), and frogmen. However, a well-coordinated, crushing ground assault never came. General Bayerlein …

1945-03-24

PD05

The Germans threw everything that they had at the Remagen bridgehead. The Arado Ar234 Blitz jet bomber, massive artillery barrages, V2 rockets (their only tactical use in WW2), and frogmen. However, a well-coordinated, crushing ground assault never came. General Bayerlein finally attacked the Northern edge of the bridgehead on 24 March with 653rd Heavy Panzerjager Battalion, remnants of the Panzer Lehr and 11th Panzer. The Jagdtigers allegedly destroyed 30 American vehicles, but the attack was poorly coordinated and lacked air support. In the end, the Germans were beaten back.

Remagen, Germany

The Battle of Remagen during the Allied invasion of Germany resulted in the unexpected capture of the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine. After capturing the Siegfried Line, the 9th Armored Division of the U.S. First Army had advanced unexpectedly quickly towards the Rhine. They were very surprised to see one of the last bridges across the Rhine still standing. The Germans had wired the bridge with about 2,800 kilograms (6,200 lb) of demolition charges. When they tried to blow it up, only a portion of the explosives detonated. U.S. forces captured the bridge and rapidly expanded their first bridgehead across the Rhine, two weeks before Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery's meticulously planned Operation Plunder. The GIs' actions prevented the Germans from regrouping east of the Rhine and consolidating their positions.

Wikipedia: Battle of Remagen

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