02x06 - Defend the Rhine

[bunniefuu]

By March of 1945,

millions of allied troops

mobilize along the west bank

of the river Rhine

ready to deal a death blow

to n*zi Germany.

Their plans are epic.

Airborne drops, um, river crossings,

engineers building their own bridges.

It's almost analogous

to another amphibious invasion.

But in a surprise

turn of events,

rather than a great general

Caesar or George Patton

or somebody like that.

An unlikely warrior

may be the first allied soldier

to cross the Rhine.

On June 6th, 1944,

Allied forces finally

land troops in Normandy

to open the western front.

But n*zi fanatics and diehards

continue to fight ruthlessly for survival.

D-day was a battle.

The allies still need to win the w*r.

March 6th, 1945.

Flerzheim, Germany.

American army captain Frederick Kriner

leads 27th armored infantry battalions

Able Company

in a mop up operation.

Kriner orders his men

to sweep for n*zi defenses

and secure the town as quickly as possible

before they move on.

But as they leave

Aaaah!

Kriner is struck down.

At this point in the w*r,

it proves difficult to know

who the enemy is.

In 1945, the German forces

are a mixed bag.

You've got regular units,

you've got SS units, Hitler youth,

and you've got the Volksstrum,

so the people's army.

So we don't actually know

which unit wounded Captain Kriner.

This confusion does not improve

the odds for allied forces

advancing into Germany.

The casualty rates in the US Army,

in that spring of 1945,

are almost as high as they had been

the previous summer

in the battle of Normandy.

There's still a lot

of ways to get k*lled and wounded

and even captured,

at this point in the w*r.

You just know you have

to do more fighting today

and you hope to survive to see next week.

That has not changed.

With Kriner

wounded and evacuated

Platoon leader 2nd

lieutenant Karl Timmermann

takes over Able company.

It is the fourth change

of command in just six days.

The responsibility

of command is with you.

The lives of other

people are in your hands.

When your commander was around

there was always that layer

between you and

that level of responsibility.

Now you see him led away,

things get pretty serious at that point.

OK. Two move forward

Hey!

Hey! Hey! Hey!

Timmermann is an unlikely candidate for leadership.

NARRATOR Despite serving in

the US Army, he speaks German.

Timmermann was born in Frankfurt,

not far from here.

Timmermann's father had served

in the American occupying force

after World w*r I,

but deserted to marry

Karl's mother who was German.

The family later moves back

to the United States.

Karl and his brothers all enlist to redeem

the family name

after their father's dishonor.

Now as part of the 9th armored division,

Timmermann has returned to Germany.

He is part of the massive

allied advance east,

which is slowed each time they need

to ford another of the rivers,

which criss-cross western Europe.

You've moved through

some German territory,

you've started to breech

the Siegfried line,

which is a belt of fortifications

in Western Germany.

And now the main barrier in front

of you is the actual Rhine itself.

The Rhine

Stretching 765 miles from the Swiss alps

to the north sea.

The Rhine has long served as a moat

to protect German states from the west.

It is the last natural barrier

before advancing

into the heart of Germany.

So, who has got the Rhine,

has got Germany.

Allied planners must now find

a way to move 80 divisions,

about four million soldiers

to the other side.

It's a challenge as big as D-day.

What makes it even more difficult,

is that as the allies rush towards

the 31 bridges

that cross the Rhine deeper into Germany,

they drop into the river,

demolished by retreating German forces

to slow the allied advance.

To compensate, the allies transport

hundreds of boats

and tons of bridge building materials,

to get across in other ways.

But the goal of Timmermann's

9th armored division

is only to occupy the west bank

of the Rhine

to cut off the n*zi retreat.

The 9th Armored division

is not scheduled to cross the Rhine

and they resent it a little bit.

They feel like, they're a first team unit

that ought to get

the first crack at this kind thing.

The next morning,

Karl Timmermann briefs his platoon leaders

on the day's mission

as the commanding officer.

They lead a task force to occupy

the town of Remagen

on the west bank of the Rhine river.

The route will cover about ten miles

and take them through small villages.

They have orders to avoid any skirmishes

and to maintain a speed of about

10 miles per hour.

Timmermann points out a rail bridge

across the river

from Remagen to the east side

that they expect to be destroyed.

By noon, A-Company approaches

a vantage point with a view of Remagen.

Reconnaissance had flown

over earlier in the day.

US a*tillery battalions

have little Piper Cubs or Stinsons

and they sent them on ahead and they say,

"Guys we've got

a bridge still intact here."

But rumors also fly

and the situation is changing fast.

Timmermann and his platoon leaders

do not know what to expect.

So as A-company looks down over the town,

they are greeted with a big surprise

The Nazis have not blown the bridge.

It is still there.

The allies have an opportunity

to capture an intact bridge

over the Rhine river.

Remagen had never

really figured in a major way

in Allied plans of crossing the Rhine.

The Allies had a major operation plan

of airborne drops,

river crossings,

engineers building their own bridges.

No one really imagined that the Germans

would allow this to happen.

The Ludendorff Bridge

spans more than 1,000 feet

and is wide enough for two trains

to pass side by side.

Four stone towers overlook the ends,

and a deep tunnel is carved into the hill

on the east side.

The bridge was built during World w*r I

to speed the transport of soldiers

and supplies to the western front.

But it became a corridor of retreat

for the defeated army.

It once again serves German soldiers,

seeking to escape the Allied advance.

Timmermann's men must stifle

their initial impulse.

You see Germans retreating

across the Ludendorff Bridge,

your first inclination

might be to sh**t at them,

these were targets of opportunity.

You might pull back

from that because maybe

you don't want to give away your position.

The intact bridge

is a game changer.

The word goes up

the command chain saying,

"You've got a bridge there,

what do you want us to do?"

They tell task force Engamen go for it.

Get in as fast as you can.

If they blow it in your face,

fine, it's knocked down

but maybe we'll get lucky.

But the Germans still control

the Ludendorff Bridge

and could destroy it at any moment,

as they have with every other crossing.

The officers in charge are captain

Will Bratge, combat commander.

He's the average German officer.

Commissioned in 1940.

Fought in France in 1940.

Then fought later in Russia.

Captain Karl Friesenhahn,

commands an engineering battalion

responsible for bridge expl*sives.

Karl Friesenhahn is an older solider,

a World w*r I veteran,

member of the n*zi party since 1933.

So he's not called up for frontline

duty during the Second World w*r,

but only in training

roles and reserve roles.

Months before, Friesenhahn

had been assigned the Remagen Bridge.

So, he's more or less

babysitting the bridge.

The two captains

know the Americans are coming fast

and Friesenhahn readies the bridge

for demolition.

As the men review preparations,

a German army major

named Hans Scheller approaches

and announces he has been placed

in charge of all forces at the bridge.

It is quite symptomatic

for the chaos of these days

that the responsibility

for the Ludendorff Bridge

changes three times within 24 hours.

Both captains urge

Major Scheller

to issue the order for demolition.

Scheller asks the men

about the available forces.

Captain Bratge informs him

they have a convalescent battalion

of 36 wounded soldiers.

Along with scattered groups of armed

Hitler Youth and Volkssturm troops.

Friesenhahn commands

roughly 100 armed engineers.

Bratge asks major Scheller about

the reinforcements he requested

but there are none.

German forces are busy elsewhere.

The main focus during these days

is further up to the north.

It's in the area around Cologne and Bonn.

Remagen is only a side show.

The major hesitates.

Scheller's own

Corps is hastily retreating.

They don't want to get trapped and fall

into Allied hands on the west bank

of the river Rhine.

Scheller orders the engineers

to complete all preparations

for demolition,

but not to blow the bridge yet.

As they get to work, the men hear g*nf*re

from the western approach.

The Americans have arrived.

March 7th, 1945.

Western Germany.

The American 27th armored infantry

battalion has orders to capture the town

of Remagen on the west bank of the Rhine.

But when 2nd lieutenant Karl Timmermann

and his platoon arrive,

they are amazed to see that a bridge

across the river remains intact.

They expected

all the bridges to be down,

because most of the bridges

were already down.

The Germans rush

to complete preparations

for its destruction.

But major Hans Scheller still hesitates,

he must be careful.

Troops in panic blow up bridges.

That was already the case in autumn, 1944.

After the Mulheim bridge

was blown up by mistake,

Hitler implemented strict protocols.

You don't want the average guy

to blow up the bridge.

It must come from

a higher command authority.

If Scheller decides

to blow up the bridge too early,

it will leave thousands of German soldiers

trapped on the west side

of the river Rhine.

So everything depends that Scheller

finds out the right point in time.

As the work

to destroy the bridge continues,

American lieutenant Karl Timmermann

leads his men into Remagen.

A roadblock has been removed

and white sheets drape from windows

as signs of capitulation.

The town appears deserted.

The lack of resistance

makes the men wary of a trap.

They didn't know

what the reception was going to be

and some cases,

the German villagers simply wanted

to surrender their village.

But in some cases there would be

n*zi diehards

and they would stage ambushes

and so just because it seemed to be quiet

doesn't mean it really was quiet.

They encounter a sign

warning the locals of a mine field.

The Germans

put up signs everywhere, "Achtung Minen",

which translates into "Caution Mines."

And for the Allies, it's totally unclear

whether there are really minefields.

In any case, they have

to stop and search for mines

and that is time consuming

and slows down their advance.

American combat engineers

sweep the road ahead.

German engineers finish

the last steps of the demolition prep,

Friesenhahn checks the circuit

to ensure it is firing properly.

The bridge is ready to blow.

Friesenhahn again asks major Scheller

for the order to detonate

but with the German retreat still steady,

Scheller refuses.

Friesenhahn then takes some men

across the bridge towards the west bank.

At the approach ramp, he observes

the Americans advance with a tank.

Able Company is backed up

by M-26 Pershing tanks.

Equipped with 90 millimeter g*ns

with a wide tread and a low silhouette,

these beasts are brand new

to the battlefront,

part of a mechanized fighting unit.

The 27th Armored Infantry Battalion

is just one component

of this larger 9th Armor Division,

which would have like tanks,

armored infantry,

self-propelled a*tillery,

and armored engineers.

That would operate

as like mobile strike forces.

Speed is the key feature.

They're ideal for this point

in the w*r,

so that you've got firepower

and combat strength

but also you have that kind of

lightening quick mobility too,

as long as your fuel holds out.

With soldiers

on foot around the tank

the Americans begin to rush forward.

Move forward! Let's go!

German captain,

Karl Friesenhahn,

hears the whistle and tank engines

and yells "Feuer!"

Feuer! "Fire."

Before the Americans

even reach the ramp

an expl*si*n rocks

the ground beneath them,

sending rubble flying over their heads.

Get down!

When the dust and smoke clears,

a 30 foot crater in the approach ramp,

blocks any vehicle from the bridge deck

on the western side.

Friesenhahn now joins

the retreating Germans,

racing across the bridge to the east bank.

But as he runs, a shell explodes nearby

and knocks him out.

Friesenhahn is the only officer who has

got the keys to set off the expl*sives.

And now he's lying unconscious

on the bridge.

March 7th, 1945.

2nd lieutenant, Karl Timmermann,

leads an American task force

to the banks of the Rhine river,

where incredibly,

the Ludendorff Bridge still stands.

Their mission was simply to secure

and hold the town of Remagen,

but now, the Americans have a chance

to capture a bridge across the Rhine,

that could drive a dagger

into the heart of Germany.

- However, as they begin to cross

- Feuer!

there is a massive expl*si*n.

Every bridge over the river Rhine

has got expl*sives

on its western approaches.

In the case of emergency,

these explosions would be fused first,

and by the expl*si*n you will have

a crater against enemy tanks.

The Germans clearly are aware

of the approaching Americans.

But what Timmermann does not know

is the German officer who has the keys

to detonate the expl*sives,

has been knocked out

and lies unconscious on the bridge deck.

While they regroup after the blast,

the Americans must also

sort through the intelligence

and other information that is coming in.

As the task force from the 9th

Armored Division got into the town

they started picking up a mixture

of German soldiers

and Volksstrum

militia and local civilians.

And so the rumors started to circulate,

"Oh, yeah,

the bridge is going to be blown up.

It's going to be blown up at 1600.

Or it's going to be blown up

as soon as American troops stand on it."

Despite the risk,

Timmermann and his men have

their orders to seize the bridge.

There were all

these rumors circulating,

but most US soldiers figured

that the last minute

the Germans were

going to blow up the bridge.

But if the Germans are going

to wait until 1600 hours,

that gives Able Company 45 minutes.

Let's move!

Go! Go! Go!

The American infantrymen

make their way around the crater

and start to approach

the bridgehead again.

Once the Americans

are on the bridge,

the remaining Germans on the east bank

fire down on the bridge

and try to stop the Americans

from further advance.

The Americans

take cover in the crater

and return fire

Let 'em have it!

With back up

from the Pershing tank's cannons

It cannot move past the crater,

but it can still provide supporting fire.

Timmermann edges toward the bridge

and waves for his men to follow.

But they hesitate.

Stay low!

Remagen bridge on the east bank

was faced by a very,

very large hill and a tunnel

and so there was suspicion

on the part of the American infantrymen

that the Germans were lying in ambush.

And so that once they got out

and onto the bridge,

that they would receive very, very heavy

fire from the tunnel and from the hill.

And German fire from the stone

towers on the east side

also keeps Timmermann's men

pinned down.

Hey! See that turret?

Roger that!

The American tank gunners

take aim

and knock out large chunks of the tower.

The German machine g*ns are

silenced for the moment

and Timmermann takes advantage.

He checks his watch.

If the detonation is on schedule,

they have ten minutes.

American engineers from

the armored engineering battalion

also have orders.

They must get on the bridge

and disarm every expl*sive they can find.

They know what the demolition

charges are apt to look like

and so they're going to go out there

and try to remove the expl*sives

and try to deal with the cabling

that connects the expl*sives

to the detonator back in the tunnel.

The Americans deploy

white phosphorous shells as a smoke screen

to shield their advance.

Covering fire!

Now, with some covering fire

Approach!

Timmermann orders

his platoons onto the bridge.

Move it! Move it!

Where the threat seems to be far

greater than ordinary,

the main leadership skill is you have to

lead from the front.

He doesn't order the men,

"You go across the bridge,"

he says, "Follow me".

Keep moving! Keep moving!

Finally, the German captain,

Karl Friesenhahn, regains consciousness

and staggers to the east bank.

Major Scheller is located and the order

is given to blow the bridge.

Friesenhahn turns the key

to set off the detonation.

But there is no expl*si*n.

He tries again, and still nothing.

The circuit has been broken.

Friesenhahn had checked

that everything

was in working order

to blow up the bridge.

And now as he turns the key,

nothing happens.

Must have been quite shocking for him.

He and all the other officers

are totally in panic.

The Germans

have only one option

- ,

- There is an emergency demolition charge 90 yards back on the bridge

but it must be set off by hand.

Friesenhahn asks for a volunteer

from the non-commissioned officers.

Of course, in this situation,

you couldn't find anybody initially

who wants to do this mission,

because it's quite a lethal,

not quite, it's a very lethal mission.

Finally, a young soldier named

Anton Faust steps up.

Friesenhahn gives him instructions

and Faust takes off onto

the bridge under heavy fire.

At almost the same time,

American 2nd lieutenant,

Karl Timmermann, also charges forward,

to lead his men onto the bridge.

Keep moving!

You have got noise everywhere.

You've got the bridge under smoke.

And somewhere on this bridge you've got

Faust trying to detonate the bridge.

The seconds drag by.

Friesehahn cannot wait.

He leaves the tunnel

to catch a glimpse of Faust.

And Friesenhahn can't see him.

And suddenly, he emerges from the smoke

saying, "I've done my job."

As the Americans approach,

the bridge explodes

from charges beneath the pier.

As the roar rings in their ears,

the men brace for impact.

March 7th, 1945.

Western Germany.

American 2nd lieutenant, Karl Timmermann,

of the 27th armored infantry battalion

charges onto the Ludendorff Bridge.

It is an unexpected prize that may unlock

the door to the heart of Germany.

But determined to thwart

the American advance,

German captain, Karl Friesenhahn,

executes emergency procedures,

to blow up the bridge.

When the sheer noise

of the expl*si*n goes off,

the troops think that at any second

the bridge is going to collapse.

The whole bridge shook.

When the Germans

on the east side see the denotation,

or hear the detonation first,

they are jubilant.

They think, oh, well, we just made it

in time to blow up this bridge.

But miraculously,

the Americans raise their heads

to find they are still alive.

They weren't

sure what had happened.

Some charge had obviously gone off.

Had part of the bridge

gone down in the river?

Their part had not gone down

in the river yet.

They cannot see.

Everything is shrouded in dust and smoke.

It starts to clear.

Then suddenly they realized

the bridge is still intact.

The bridge is damaged,

but the bridge is still intact.

So what do you do now?

Well get off that bridge,

as soon as you can.

The Germans also wait anxiously

for the smoke to clear.

But after a couple of seconds,

they just freeze.

The bridge is still standing.

The bridge is ours! Let's move!

Go! Go! Go!

The German attempts

to blow the span have failed.

Timmermann sees that many of his men

are frozen in fear of another blast.

Move it! Don't stop moving! Go! Go! Go! And he urges them forward.

Move through boys! Move through!

The main thing

is get off that bridge,

because maybe the Germans

might hit another plunger

and have another expl*si*n.

Hey! We don't have time to stop!

Get up! Keep going! Get up! Let's go!

Keep moving! Keep moving! We gotta move!

We gotta move!

So in that case the self-interest

of the soldiers really coalesces

with what the higher brass would want too.

Around the same time,

lieutenant Hugh Mott, of the 9th

armored engineering battalion

leads a group of engineers to disarm

the expl*sives that remain rigged

to the bridge.

No one knows who

or what could set them off.

Because the bridge didn't go down

their assumption

is that there's another charge there.

So the engineers

have this nearly impossible task

of isolating the expl*sive charges

that are designed to take the bridge down.

One of Mott's men runs

to the far side of the bridge

to cut a thick cable.

But it is encased

and his tools are ineffective.

Stand back boys!

He pulls out his r*fle

and fires three rounds into the cable,

severing it completely.

Meanwhile, Sergeant Joseph Delisio

runs past the engineers

to the base of the towers

on the opposite side.

The main source of opposition

is coming from two big stone towers

on the eastern side of the bridge.

Set up, up there inside these slits

are German machine g*n teams.

Covering fire!

The tanks

have lobbed shots at the towers,

but they must be captured and cleared.

Delisio muscles his way inside.

As he advances, he hears

the machine g*n fire above him

But as he climbs, the firing stops.

Delisio might be headed into a trap.

But without hesitation,

he slams open the door.

And bursts in on German soldiers

huddled over a jammed machine g*n.

Delisio fires his r*fle as a warning shot

and the Germans surrender.

He then grabs the machine g*n

and throws it out the window,

in full view of the American soldiers

on the bridge.

Men from another platoon

clear the second tower.

With the withering machine g*n fire

silenced from the towers,

Timmermann again urges his men

to advance towards the east bank.

Sergeant Alex Drabik leads the charge.

Drabik had been a butcher's boy

at home in the US.

His men had provided covering fire

from the rear, and now they surge forward.

Could they be the first allied soldiers

across the Rhine?

March 7th, 1945.

American soldiers from the 27th

armored infantry battalion,

dashed across the Ludendorff Bridge,

under heavy fire from German machine g*ns

and a*tillery shells

Keep moving!

In a bid to conquer the Rhine.

Sergeant Alex Drabik,

a squad leader, leads an all-out charge

to get to the other side.

Drabik believes if he can keep moving,

he will avoid the German b*ll*ts

trying to stop them.

Amazingly, it works.

When you think about crossing the Rhine,

you think of a great conqueror.

You know, Caesar or George Patton

or somebody like that.

Instead it's just this anonymous

little American soldier,

who no one would have imagined he would be

in this circumstance,

but he ends up as the first guy

across the Rhine.

Drabik's entire squad

makes it safely to the east bank.

A few seconds later, 2nd lieutenant,

Karl Timmermann, joins them,

becoming the first Allied officer

to cross the Rhine.

But the euphoria subsides

with a profound realization.

At that moment they only have

one very understrength

infantry company on the eastern side

of the Rhine River.

So they obviously need troops,

they need lots of them.

They have no idea of what

the Germans have over there.

They're only lucky that the Germans

are even more confused than they are.

Timmermann's men spread out

to capture the hill

overlooking the bridgehead.

German major, Hans Scheller,

watches as the Ludendorff Bridge

falls into enemy hands.

He must send word to his superiors

for reinforcements to counter attack.

But none of his radios work and

they have lost telephone communication.

In desperation, he commandeers a bicycle

to take word personally.

The Americans also know

that speedy reinforcement

is essential to hold the bridgehead.

Once the bridge is captured

by the Americans

and you start to get people across,

the whole thing is a race,

to get as much across

as you can and hold the bridge.

By nightfall,

the road to Remagen

is jammed for miles with Allied tanks

and transport vehicles.

Tanks, in particular, will

be critical for self-defense.

The Germans are going to have

a pretty furious military response.

Perhaps try to destroy

the Ludendorff Bridge

behind the Americans to cut them off.

But even though

the bridge was not destroyed,

it has been badly damaged.

No one is sure if it will support

the weight of tanks.

The engineers work tirelessly to determine

its structural integrity

and make essential repairs.

It's late afternoon, early evening

and so the sun is setting.

It's difficult to get down there

and physically inspect the bridge.

The engineers come under

constant enemy fire.

But with steel resolve and covering fire,

they repair the worst of the damage,

to the bridge itself

and the crater on the west side.

By midnight,

they are ready for vehicle crossings.

The first Sherman makes it

way slowly on to the span.

Over 30 tons of steel

and potential deadweight.

I'm fairly certain

that the first tank that went across

every single tank crewman

had his hatch open.

If that bridge did fall down

because the weight of the tank

they wanted to be able to escape.

Engineers have strung white tape as guides

and roped off damaged sections

of the deck.

Keep moving! Go! Go! Go! Keep moving!

Finally, the tank rolls onto

the solid ground of the east bank.

Allied armor has crossed the Rhine.

Tanks are some

of the heaviest vehicles you have.

So it would have indicated

to you as an average soldier,

uh, that the bridge is structurally,

you know,

well enough that you can be reinforced.

Despite the morale boost,

German counterattacks continue

and the night becomes perilous.

You've got the Rhine at your back.

And there's nowhere to go.

Covering fire!

So it's a very uneasy situation.

Just wanting to hold on

long enough and play for time,

so that others can come across

and reinforce and help you.

German engineers

remain determined

to complete their mission

to destroy the bridge.

Just before dawn,

a group evades Allied lookouts.

Cloaked in darkness, the Germans almost

make it to the bridge with expl*sives.

Before they are spotted

and captured.

The Americans are relieved

when the night passes.

When the sun comes up,

obviously you haven't been

thrown back into the Rhine.

That, uh, things are better.

And that if the Germans do attack,

you can at least see them, I guess.

That helps, too.

As troops and equipment

pour across the bridge,

they are greeted with a sign which reads,

"Cross the Rhine with dry feet,

courtesy of the 9th Armored Division."

But the battle to hold

the bridge has only just begun.

Hitler's absolutely infuriated

when he learns

that one of the Rhine bridges

has been captured

and so it is something of a matter

of pride just to knock it down.

So for several days the army

starts launching V2 missiles against it,

all sorts of heavy a*tillery.

It becomes a real hot spot.

Shells start to hit the bridge

area about once every two minutes

and there are several casualties

amongst the engineers.

It is a relentless campaign

to make crossings

and repair work extremely hazardous,

but by the next night,

8,000 American soldiers have a bridgehead

a mile deep

for two miles along

the east bank of the Rhine.

With the constant attacks,

the Americans leave nothing to chance.

Engineers also build pontoon bridges

to create additional crossings

to the east bank.

Those bridges also become targets.

The Luftwaffe flies nearly 400 sorties

against the crossings,

greeted by growing numbers

of American anti-aircraft g*ns.

Remagen Bridge was one of

the heaviest commitments of US army

anti-aircraft battalions

during World w*r II.

It was realized how important it was

and it was realized that the Germans

were going to try to destroy it,

and the most likely means was air attack.

The anti-aircraft batteries

have a single goal.

Not how many aircraft they shot down

but the fact that they

prevented the Luftwaffe

from ever hitting the bridge.

Their determination pays off.

In less than a week,

more than three allied divisions

occupy 14 miles

along the east bank of the river Rhine.

But on March 17th,

ten days after the capture

of Ludendorff Bridge,

tragedy strike

when the weakened crossing

suddenly gives way.

March 17th, 1945.

Remagen, Germany.

American forces have

protected Ludendorff Bridge.

Covering fire!

Despite countless

German attempts to destroy it.

The survival

of the Ludendorff Bridge

for 10 days is absolutely vital.

It gives the army the opportunity

to move more troops

and equipment across the bridge.

But at the same time ,

it gives that interlude that they need

to assemble the new bridges.

The bridgehead on the east side

provides protection for the Allies

to construct the first tactical bridges

across the Rhine,

which permit a steady stream

of men and equipment

to continue crossing

even when engineers close

the Ludendorff Bridge itself for repairs.

But with a shocking twist

the Ludendorff unexpectedly, collapses.

The bridge has simply

suffered so much damage,

it finally just gives up the ghost

and falls into the river.

Engineers are thrown into the icy water,

with many men pinned

by the falling wreckage.

Rescuers enter the river itself,

to save their comrades

and pull them to safety on shore.

For others it is too late.

As many as 28 men are k*lled,

with 63 more injured.

A great sacrifice for the cause of peace.

The action which begins

with just two battalions

grows rapidly to

a four-division operation.

The Allies have got now a crossing,

a secure crossing over the river Rhine.

For the first time,

since almost 150 years,

since the time of Napoleon,

a foreign army

has crossed the river Rhine in w*r

and now the gate to Berlin

and the Ruhr area is open.

Tens of thousands of vehicles

cross the Ludendorff

and the floating bridges

and by mid-March,

the Allies reach the autobahn

and begin cutting off

the industrial Ruhr pocket.

Hitler orders a court martial for the men

responsible for the bridge's capture.

Major Hans Scheller shares the fate

of thousands of German soldiers

in the last months of the w*r.

He's been court martialed

and sentenced to death,

and subsequently shot by a firing squad.

Captain Will Bratge

is also sentenced to death.

But he's lucky that he had been

taken prisoner by the Americans

and so he survived the w*r.

Captain Karl Friesenhahn

is cleared by the same Court Martial,

but and has been taken prisoner

by the Americans.

Second lieutenant,

Karl Timmermann,

Sergeant Alex Drabik,

Sergeant Joseph Delisio,

Lieutenant Hugh Mott,

all receive

the distinguished service cross

for their actions at Ludendorff Bridge.

The story is front page news stateside

and they become household names.

It's what many American soldiers

dreamed of, in World w*r II.

That your name would be in headlines

and everybody back home would read it.

So, this definitely captured

the imagination

and of course it would foster hopes

to among the home front, uh,

that the w*r was about to be over.

But even

with the Allies across the Rhine,

the horrors of the n*zi campaign

have not yet been revealed,

and the w*r in Europe will still continue

for nearly two more months.