Over the Rhine

The Americans couldn’t believe their luck when they came upon the Ludendorff Bridge still intact. They rushed to capture it and pushed as many troops as they could across the Rhine. The Germans scrambled to mount a counter attack. They …

1945-03-10

W15

The Americans couldn’t believe their luck when they came upon the Ludendorff Bridge still intact. They rushed to capture it and pushed as many troops as they could across the Rhine. The Germans scrambled to mount a counter attack. They had to get to the bridge and destroy it.

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

German

American