Remagen 1945: Endgame Against The Third Reich (campaign)
by Steven Zaloga /
2006 / English / PDF
32.2 MB Download
Following the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes, the Allies began
steps for the final assault into Germany. The long-delayed US Army
thrust over the Roer River, Operation Lumberjack, finally took
place in February, placing the US Army along the Rhine. The Rhine
represented the last major geographical barrier to the Allied
advance into Germany. The plan was for Montgomery's 21st Army Group
to leap the Rhine into the Ruhr in a carefully choreographed attack
called Operation Plunder. In the event, fortune smiled on the US
Army when the 9th Armored unexpectedly found that the Ludendorff
bridge at Remagen had not yet been demolished by the Wehrmacht,
leaving this one major crossing over the Rhine intact. An armored
infantry team supported by the new Pershing tanks stormed the
bridge, seized it in fierce fighting and disarmed the charges
placed on it. They then held it against numerous counterattacks in
which the Germans used conventional tactics and unconventional,
including jet bombers, V-2 missiles, and frogmen.
Following the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes, the Allies began
steps for the final assault into Germany. The long-delayed US Army
thrust over the Roer River, Operation Lumberjack, finally took
place in February, placing the US Army along the Rhine. The Rhine
represented the last major geographical barrier to the Allied
advance into Germany. The plan was for Montgomery's 21st Army Group
to leap the Rhine into the Ruhr in a carefully choreographed attack
called Operation Plunder. In the event, fortune smiled on the US
Army when the 9th Armored unexpectedly found that the Ludendorff
bridge at Remagen had not yet been demolished by the Wehrmacht,
leaving this one major crossing over the Rhine intact. An armored
infantry team supported by the new Pershing tanks stormed the
bridge, seized it in fierce fighting and disarmed the charges
placed on it. They then held it against numerous counterattacks in
which the Germans used conventional tactics and unconventional,
including jet bombers, V-2 missiles, and frogmen.
Remagen was not the only impromptu Rhine crossing made by the US
Army in central Germany but it was the most dramatic and hardest
fought. The irrepressible George Patton, in spite of instructions
to stay put, snuck an infantry division across the Rhine in the
south, setting the stage for the race into Germany. After
reinforcing their two major Rhine crossings, the US Army launched
its late-March offensive, encircling Frankfurt, and setting the
stage for the defeat of the Wehrmacht in the West. This is a
gripping, authoritative account of a crucial battle during the last
major set-piece operation of World War II (1939-1945).
Remagen was not the only impromptu Rhine crossing made by the US
Army in central Germany but it was the most dramatic and hardest
fought. The irrepressible George Patton, in spite of instructions
to stay put, snuck an infantry division across the Rhine in the
south, setting the stage for the race into Germany. After
reinforcing their two major Rhine crossings, the US Army launched
its late-March offensive, encircling Frankfurt, and setting the
stage for the defeat of the Wehrmacht in the West. This is a
gripping, authoritative account of a crucial battle during the last
major set-piece operation of World War II (1939-1945).