Crossing the Roer
Crossing the Roer
bigpigeon.us webpage WWII - Germany > ETO > Rhineland 1945 > North Rhineland 1945, updated by RAC 17 May 2022.

In the late winter of 1945, the Allies' Rhineland Campaign passed through the remaining Siegfried Line and cleared the left bank of the Rhine River, preliminary to crossing the Rhine and advancing eastward into central Germany. For this campaign:
  • The US Ninth Army, part of General Bernard Montgomery's 21st Army Group, had responsibilty for crossing the Roer River and advancing to the Rhine between the Wesel and Dusseldorf areas.
  • Montgomery's Canadian First and British Second Armies were responsible for the lower Rhine on the Ninth Army's left.
  • The US First Army, part of General Omar Bradley's 12th Army Group, was responsible for advancing to the Rhine upstream from Dusseldorf to the Remagen area, while protecting the Ninth Army's right flank.
The North Rhineland, 8 February - 10 March 1945
(Note: Accompanying maps give March 7 and 5 as termination dates. March 10 is used more often.)​
Operation Veritable and Operation Grenade of Montgomery's 21st Army Group had as their mutual objective the clearing of the Rhine's west bank from Dusseldorf downstream. ​This would allow preparations to begin for a massive crossing of the Rhine in the Wesel area.

​

  • The Canadian First Army's Operation Veritable, began in the Nijmegen area and moved southeast. British forces had occupied Nijmegen in September 1944 as part of the failed Market Garden operation.
  • The US Ninth Army's Operation Grenade began by crossing the Roer River, and then proceeded northeast. US forces had occupied the left bank of the Roer in December 1944  just before Germany's Ardennes counteroffensive.
After Operation Veritable began, German engineers sabotaged the upstream Roer River dams, flooding the Roer Valley. Although Operation Grenade officially began on 9 February, the Ninth Army couldn't  begin crossing the Roer until 23 February, thus increasing the burden on the Canadian First Army.

​On 26 February, Montgomery added the British XXX Corps to Canadian forces, renaming Operation Veritable as Operation Blockbuster.

The first two days of the Ninth's Army's Operation Grenade were difficult, both because the Roer River was still in flood stage and Wehrmacht resistance from the east bank of the Roer. Bridges were soon built and soon the Ninth Army was able to exploit the use of armor to great advantage. Canadian and American forces linked up at Geldern on 3 March after a nine-day campaign.

During Operation Grenade, Hodge's First Army was charged with protecting the Ninth Army's right flank, and thus had advanced to the outskirts of Cologne by 5 March. Much of the Siegfried Line in the First Army's sector had been overrun during the Fall of 1944.
Allied Drive to the Rhine - North Rhineland
Allied Drive to the Rhine - North Rhineland
Operations Veritable and Grenadde
Operations Veritable and Grenade
Sources for the WWII - North Rhineland 1945 webpage:
  • The webpage header photo Crossing the Roer is courtesy of the Warfare History Network.
  • The Allied Drive to the Rhine - North Rhineland map is courtesy of onwar.com and was found at https://www.onwar.com/wwii/maps/wfront/21wfront.html.
  • The Operations Veritable and Grenade map is courtesy of wikipedia.org.

Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead - Rhineland 1945 > North Rhineland 1945:03-07 - Rhineland Campaign 1945 > North Rhineland 1945: (eight dead, updated 13 Feb 2022)
† Baker, Everett Ernest, SN 17-122-788, US Army, Montgomery Co.
  • Co. L, 26th Inf. Regt., 1st Inf. Div., III Corps, First Army; DOW 26 Feb 1945 near Roer River SE of Aachen, Germany; Rhineland 1945 > North Rhineland 1945.
† Braden, William Court, SN 37-465-735, US Army, Montgomery Co. & Adams Co., NE.
  • Co. D, 415th Inf. Regt., 104th Inf. Div., VII Corps, First Army; KIA 26 Feb 1945 near Roer River, N of Düren, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany; Operation Grenade - Rhineland 1945 > North Rhineland 1945.
† Decker, Charles Earl, SN 37-750-378, US Army, Harrison & Mills Cos.
  • 39th Inf. Regt., 9th Inf. Div., III Corps, First Army; DNB 28 Feb 1945 Udingen, S of Düren, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany;  Rhineland 1945 > North Rhineland 1945.
† Guyett, Homer Max, SN 37-734-948, US Army, Harrison Co.
  • Co. G, 16th Inf. Regt., 1st Inf. Div., III Corps, First Army; KIA 1 Mar 1945 bet. Düren and Bonn, Germany, artillery burst; Rhineland 1945 > North Rhineland 1945.
† Lutz, Wilbur Leroy, SN 37-485-626, US Army, Harrison Co.
  • 67th Armored Regt., 2nd Armored Div., XIX Corps, Ninth Army; KIA 3 Mar 1945 near Krefeld, W of Rhine River & NW of Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany; Rhineland 1945 > North Rhineland 1945.
† Patton, John A., SN 37-463-856, US Army, Page Co. & Los Angeles Co., CA
  • Co. F, 504th Parachute Inf. Regt., 82nd Airborne Div., attached to First Army; KIA 2 Feb 1945, Siegfried Line, near Udenbreth SE of Monschau, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany; Rhineland 1945 > North Rhineland 1945.
† Rohrberg, Robert George, SN 37-490-420, US Army, Pott Co.
  • Co. F, 13th Inf. Regt., 8th Inf. Div., VII Corps, First Army; KIA 23 Feb 1945 near Düren, North Rhine–Westphalia, Germany; Rhineland 1945 > North Rhineland 1945.
† Wright, David Frederick, SN 37-036-584, US Army, Crawford Co.
  • ​14th Tank Bn., Combat Command B, 9th Armored Div., First Army; KIA 1 Mar 1945 in Sievernich-Mülheim area SE of Düren, North Rhine - Westphalia, Germany; tank hit by anti-tank shell, three crew died immediately, the two captured included David F. Wright who died of wounds soon after capture; Rhineland 1945 - North Rhineland; BNR.