Churchill at the Rhine

Central Europe

bigpigeon.us webpage  WWII - Germany > The ETO > Central Europe > Crossing the Rhine, updated by RAC 19 Jul 2022.

By the beginning of spring 1945, the western Allies had broken through the Siegfried Line and would soon control the entire left bank of the Rhine River. The weakly-defended remainder of Germany lay beyond the final barrier of the Rhine.

In the west, German strength had been dissipated by their losses in the counteroffensives in the Ardennes plateau and northern Alsace. In the east, Russian forces were approaching the German capital of Berlin. 

The German military destroyed all but one Rhine River bridges as the Allies approached. Nevertheless the Allies managed multiple Rhine crossings, all successful.

In most Rhine crossings, infantry first crossed in a variety of small vessels at night, establishing an east bank  beachhead. These beachheads helped protect engineering troops as they assembled modular pontoon bridges. Numerous bridges were built across the Rhine in March and April of 1945, many heavy enough to support armored vehicles. A limited number of vehicles could cross by pontoon ferry before a bridge was completed.

Once a bridge was available, the crossing could be exploited, generally against weak to moderate German opposition.

Rhine River

US Army engineering troops facilitated crossings by providing and staffing small boats, improving local roads, and most-importantly building bridges. In addition, the US Navy assigned a task unit to each of the First, Third, and Ninth Armies, as shown on the following map. These task units included numerous vessels small enough to be trucked to the water near crossing sites.

Listed in chronological order are the three best known Rhine crossings, the first over an existing bridge, the second amphibious and the third amphibious and airborne. The numbers correspond to the TASK UNIT numbers on the accompanying map.

1. March 7, First Army - III Corp's 9th Armored Division crossed the Ludendorff bridge at Remagen on the middle Rhine.
2. March 22-23, Third Army - XII Corp's 5th Infantry Division crossed at Oppenheim on the upper Rhine.
3. March 23-24, British Second Army & Ninth Army - The leftmost Ninth Army corps crossed on the lower Rhine south of Wesel as part of the largest crossing.

Most of the Rhine Crossings

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With the exception of the bridge at Remagen, the Allies found the bridges across the Rhine destroyed.  To exploit existing infrastructure, the temporary replacement bridges were often built near the destroyed bridge.

​In the Spring of 1945, the Allies built over 50 bridges, including a few railroad bridges, over the Rhine.

First Across the Rhine - The First Army on The Middle Rhine

Remagen Timeline:

• 7 March AM: advance units of III Corp's 9th Armored Division arrived at heights overlooking Remagen, south of Bonn. They discovered the Ludendorff railroad bridge across the Rhine was still intact.
• 7 March PM: An armored infantry platoon supported by tank fire stormed the bridge while under small arms fire. I believe no American lives were lost in the crossing. Thus, the first Rhine crossing occurred under exceptionally favorable circumstances. 

​

The Bridge at Remagen - looking east

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Some historic trivial: The Ludendorff bridge was completed in 1916 during World War I. After WWI, the American Army and then the French Army occupied Remagen. At that time French engineers shrewdly modified the bridge to make demolition more difficult.

​Remagen Timeline (continued):

• 11 March: Army engineers had two bridges in operation. Other bridges were added later. 

Treadway Bridge at Remagen

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Remagen Timeline (continued):

• 13 March: On General Eisenhower's orders, Remagen Bridgehead size was restricted to 25 miles long and 10 miles deep.
• ​17 March: The Ludendorff Bridge collapsed, killing 24 U.S. Army Engineers.
• 19 March: Eisenhower authorized a Remagen Bridgehead breakout for any time starting 23 March.

Note that by 24 March, all three of the First Army's corps, VII, III, and V, have a presence east of the Rhine.

Remagen Bridgehead Growth 7 March 1945 - 24 March 1945

Next Across the Rhine - The Third Army's Rhine Crossings

Late in the evening of 22 March, XII Corp's 5th Infantry Division began a Rhine crossing near Oppenheim against little resistance.  It is thought that the accompanying photo of General George Patton documents Patton urinating into the Rhine River. 

Subsequently  VIII Corps made two additional crossings downstream, to the south of Koblenz.

• early 25 March: 345th Inf. Regt., 87th Inf. Div., near Boppard.
• early 26 March: 89th Inf. Div., near St. Goar.

I have read that fourth and final Third Army crossing was made without loss of life:

• early 28 March: XX Corp's 317th Inf. Regt., 80th Inf. Div. near Mainz upstream from the Main River's junction with the Rhine. 

General Patton at the Oppenheim crossing, 24 March 1945

The British-US Major Rhine Crossing

Bernard Montgomery's 21st Army Group began the major Rhine crossing near Wesel one day after Patton's first crossing. The 21st Army Group included British, Canadian, and American armies. 

• Operation Plunder: British, Canadian, and US  Ninth Army troops  began crossing on 23 March  just before midnight.
• Operation Varsity: After daylight on the 24th, a massive fleet of aircraft landed British and American paratroopers and glider troops on the east bank of the Rhine.

The major Rhine crossing went well, except for substantial losses of both Allied aircraft and airborne troops suffered in the morning Operation Varsity drop.

Operations Plunder and Varsity Overview

Dead Allied Paratrooper Near Hamminkeln

The Ninth Army's Rhine Crossings

The Ninth Army began crossing near Reinberg fifteen miles upstream of Wesel early on 24 March.

• The 30th Infantry Division started about 1 am using all three regiments as assault regiments.
• The 79th Infantry Division started at 3 am further upstream with two assault regiments.

Losses in the initial crossings were light.

The Seventh Army's Rhine Crossings

The Seventh Army was late arriving in the Rhine crossing area, and crossed the Rhine near Worms south of the Third Army's  Oppenheim crossing.
The Seventh Army's crossing began early on 26 March.

• The 45th Infantry Division crossed just north of Worms.
• The 3rd Infantry Division crossed just south of Worms at Nierstein.

Both crossings were initially subject to mild to moderate German resistance, which soon lessened.

The accompanying photo shows the Alexander Patch Seventh Army bridge at Worms between Oppenheim and Mannheim. ​​

Heavy Pontoon Bridge, Worms, Rhine March 1945

The French First Army's Rhine Crossings

The French First Army anchored the south end of the front lines along the Rhine River. Although not reflected on the following map, on 27 March 1945 the French sector was extended to include the entire upper Rhine River from Speyer south to the Swiss border.

The French largely depended on whatever supplies the US Army provided, and thus lacked the advanced amphibious equipment used by the other allied forces. Here is what I have read of the French First Army's Rhine crossings, in chronological order.

• 31 Mar: A company of the 3rd Algerian Division crossed at Speyer in five rubber rafts.
• 31 Mar: Upstream from Speyer at Germersheim, a battalion of the 2nd Moroccan Division crossed under heavy fire. Of the first wave of 20 assault boats powered by outboard motors, only three reached the east bank.
• 1 Apr: French forces crossed using an American bridge at Mannheim and advanced 18 miles.
• 2 Apr: French forces crossed by boat near Philippsburg upstream from Germersheim.
• ? Apr: an additional crossing with date and location unknown.
• mid Apr: One or more crossings near the Swiss border.

Upper Rhine - 22 to 28 March 1945

Sources for the Central Europe > Crossing the Rhine webpage:

• Major Source: The Last Offensive, chapters XI, XIII, XIV, XV  (from The U.S. Army in World War II, European Theater of Operations series, by Charles B. MacDonald, 1973) - http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-E-Last/index.html#index.

• The webpage header photo Churchill at the Rhine shows Winston Churchill leaving a US Navy landing craft on the east back of the Rhine on 25 Mar 1945 at the conclusion of Operation Plunder. The photo is courtesy of alamy.com and replaces an uncropped version found at www.warhistory.com.
• The Rhine River Crossings by Barry W. Fowle - http://atloa.org/wp-content/uploads/The-Rhine-River-Crossings.pdf.
• Treadway Bridge at Remagen photo - https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/First_US_Army_Engineer_built_pontoon_bridge_crossing_the_Rhine_at_Remagen_during_WW2.jpg/1024px-First_US_Army_Engineer_built_pontoon_bridge_crossing_the_Rhine_at_Remagen_during_WW2.jpg.
• Remagen Bridgehead Growth ... - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Remagen#/media/File:The_Remagen_Bridgehead.jpg.
• Dead Allied Paratrooper near Hamminkeln photo - ​https://www.pinterest.com/pin/486529565965815166/.
• The Upper Rhine, 22 to 28 March 1945 map - excerpted from a map found at pinterest.

Pottawattamie Area WW II Dead - Central Europe > Crossing the Rhine:

• Taken from the bigpigeon.us WWII Roster module.

​03-08 - Central Europe > Crossing the Rhine: (six dead, updated 7 Oct 2020)
† Burch, Robert Joseph, SN 37-478-134, US Army, Harrison Co.

• 194th Glider Inf. Regt., 17th Airborne Div.; KIA 24 Mar 1945 in Landing Zone S, E of Rhine River, N of Wesel, Germany; Operation Varsity - Central Europe > Crossing the Rhine.

† Frahm, Leonard Carl, SN 19-032-134, US Army, Shelby Co.

• 347th Inf. Regt., 87th Inf. Div., Third Army; KIA 26 Mar 1945, on the Rhine at Boppard, S of Coblenz, Germany during a Rhine crossing; Central Europe > Crossing the Rhine.

† Frost, Darrell Finley, SN 37-692-444, US Army, Pott. Co.

• Co. C, 310th Inf. Regt.; 78th Inf. Div., First Army (1st Bn., 310th Inf. was attached to Combat Command B, 9th Armored Div.; KIA 10 Mar 1945, near Linz, Remagen Bridgehead, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany; Central Europe > Crossing the Rhine.​

† Hillman, Fred Albert, SN 37-734-965, US Army, Harrison Co.

• Co. I, 16th Inf. Regt., 1st Inf. Div.; KIA 20 Mar 1945 Remagen Bridgehead, Germany by an artillery shell; Central Europe > Crossing the Rhine. 

† Hoover, Everett L., SN 37-734-846, US Army, Pott. Co.

• 7th Inf. Regt., 3rd. Inf. Div., Seventh Army; KIA 26 Mar 1945 near Frankenthal on the Rhine River S of Worms, Germany; Central Europe > Crossing the Rhine.

† Miller, Raymond Detlef Jr., SN 37-470-777, US Army, Pott. Co.

• 395th Inf. Regt., 99th Inf. Div., First Army; KIA 13 Mar 1945 E of Remagen, Germany; Central Europe > Crossing the Rhine.