Ludendorff Bridge
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The Ludendorff Bridge (in WW-II literature, frequently called the Bridge at Remagen') was a railroad bridge across the Rhine in Germany, connecting the cities of Remagen and Erpel between two ridge lines of hills flanking the river.
The bridge is famous for its capture on March 7th—March 8th 1945 by Allied forces in the Second World War as its capture allowed the allies to establish a bridgehead across the Rhine and expand that into a lodgement in a desperate and frantic battle where both sides raced to reinforce changing the entire nature of the conflict on the Western Front. A lodgement across the Rhine anywhere presented the allies with an opportunity to return to a battle of maneuver and conserve men, while the Third Reich had almost succeeded in establishing a stable defensive line along the rough terrain of the Rhine valley buying time to restore strength and prolong the war.
The bridge capture was an important strategic turning point during WWII because it was the only remaining bridge which led over the Rhine River into Germany's heartlands and was also strong enough that the Allies could cross armor and truck loads of supplies immediately. Once captured, the German efforts became desperate measures to knock it down, damage it beyond use, and slow allies use of it while the allies worked to defend it, expand their bridgehead into a lodgement sufficiently large so that the Germans could no longer attack it by artillery, and keep it in repair despite the ongoing damage inflicted by battle damage while using it to support the lodgement expansion.
The ensuing meeting engagement went on for more than a week during which it understandably triggered a huge artillery duel, a desperate air battle (effectively finishing the Luftwaffe), and totally scrambled troop dispositions for both sides along the entire defensive front along the Rhine as both sides reacted to the capture. One side effect of those redeployment was that the allies were able within the fortnight to establish other lodgements using pontoon bridges in several other sectors of the rhinish front, again complicating the defense for the Germans and hastening the collapse.
[edit] History
The bridge had been built in 1916 during the First World War to facilitate transport to the Western Front. Designed by Karl Wiener, it was 325 meters long, with two rail lines and a walkway. It was named for the German WWI general Erich Ludendorff, one of the bridge's proponents. This was one of the four bridges guarded during the Third United States Army occupation at the end of World War I.
[edit] Captured
During Operation Lumberjack, on March 7, 1945, troops of the U.S. Army's 9th Armored Division reached one of the two damaged but intact bridges over the Rhine (a railway bridge in Wesel (today NRW) was the other one), after German defenders failed to demolish it, despite several attempts. Sgt. Alexander A. Drabik of Holland, Ohio was the first American soldier to cross the bridge, thereby becoming the first American soldier to cross the Rhine River into Germany; Lt. Karl Timmermann was the first officer over the bridge. By the Allies, this was hailed as the "Miracle of Remagen." General Eisenhower called the bridge "worth its weight in gold." It remained intact, but severely weakened, despite several further German efforts to destroy it, such as the first tactical use of a V-2. 8,000 men crossed it in the first 24 hours alone.
A large sign was put up on one of the stone towers reading "CROSS THE RHINE WITH DRY FEET COURTESY OF 9TH ARMD DIVISION." The sign is now on display at the Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor at Fort Knox, Kentucky, above an M26 Pershing tank, a type used in the battle.
Hitler's reaction was to court-martial five officers, four of whom, Major Hans Scheller, Lieutenant Karl Heinz Peters, Major Herbert Strobel and Major August Kraft, were quickly executed. The fifth one, Captain Willi Bratge, was convicted and sentenced in absentia, having become an American prisoner of war by this time.
Ten days after its capture, the bridge collapsed, killing 28 U.S. army engineers, and wounding 93 others working to strengthen the bridge. However, by then the Americans had established their position on the far side of the Rhine and had additional pontoon bridges in place.
A Hollywood film, The Bridge at Remagen was made in 1969. The surviving towers of the old bridge now house a museum.
[edit] References
- US 9th Engineer Battalion Retrieved July 22, 2005.
- The 9th: The Story of the 9th Armored Division Retrieved June 3, 2006.
