Battle of Remagen

The Battle of Remagen was a World War II battle between the forces of the United States of America and Nazi Germany in and around the German town of Remagen, particularly centred on the Ludendorff Bridge, the short-term reason why the Americans were fighting the Germans in Remagen.

The fighting resulted in the capture of the German Ludendorff Bridge by American forces and allowed the Western Allies to commence their first major crossing of the River Rhine the last natural line of defence that the Germans thought could be used to substantially hold up the Western Allied advance. The bridge allowed, for the first time, armour to cross from the west bank of the River Rhine, into Germany proper whereas before, crossings had been limited to small infantry reconnaissance patrols by boats or maybe by pontoon bridges. Importantly, the battle convinced the Allied high command in Western Europe that they could envelop the German industrial area of the Ruhr as opposed to focusing primarily on the British general Bernard Montgomery's plan, Operation Plunder, which would bring the British 21st Army Group across the River Rhine into northern Germany.

The battle lasted from the 7th March 1945, when the American troops entered Remagen, and captured the Ludendorff Bridge, through the German attempts to destroy the bridge through a variety of methods, including air attacks by jet fighter-bombers and frogman trying to implant explosives. The battle ended on the 25th March 1945 when the American forces started to break out of their bridgehead and advance into the rest of Germany thus destroying any chance that the Germans had to eradicate the bridgehead.

The bridge itself collapsed, due to structural damage, on March 17th but not before six US divisions were in place in the bridgehead and able to advance on the 25th March.