Bridging the Rhine for 12th Corps - March 1945

Thanks Ted! When exactly were you in the area? I remember the year 1972 or 1973 when I witnessed a Canberra crashing at Xanten - I think it was based in Laarbruch...

 

Great thread, many thanks.

 

I was at Bruggen January 1979 to February 1982, then Laarbruch july 1986 to February 1990. Air Crashes I witnessed 2 Canberra crashes one in UK and one in Cyprus, In Germany 1980 whilst stationed at Bruggen I attended a Jaguar crash at Hardt, then whilst stationed at Laarbruch we assisted Bruggen when one of their Tornados crashed into the village of Hunxe, parts of the village were like a war zone- terrible but luckily no serious injuries. I have to say I really enjoyed my time in Germany, met some great people, worked closely with some great members of the German armed forces, enjoyed some excellent wine & beer and outstanding food in the restaurants. Had it not been for the untimely death of my father I was scheduled to return for another tour at Laarbruch in 1992. TED.

 

A recently discovered photo of "Dempsey Bridge" under construction at Xanten/Bislich.


Today „Dempsey Bridge“ and its predecessors as well as the Rhine crossing in 1945 are commemorated by this pietà - this monument is located on the concrete abutment of „Dempsey Bridge“ at the dyke in Bislich.


This is exactly the same spot in 1945 - „Dempsey Bridge“ is ready for traffic. In the background the Xanten church is visible. It had lost one of its spires in the course of the bombardments and the subsequent fighting on the ground. Today, the lost spire is restored - as can just be seen on the picture showing the monument at Bislich.

 

A thread titled „Bridging the Rhine for 12th Corps“ would not be complete without taking a look at the city of Wesel. In those days Wesel had the two northernmost Rhine bridges in Germany - a road bridge called „Rheinbaben-Brücke“ and a railway bridge a little further downstream. These bridges and the roads and railway leading to them made Wesel an important communications centre in 1945. In support of „Operation Veritable“ Allied bombers attacked both the bridges and the city of Wesel. On February 16th, 17th and 19th Wesel was completely destroyed by US bombers - and so was the road bridge.

The Wesel road bridge in 1945.


The railway bridge at Wesel while still in use by the German army - timber beams have been placed between the tracks. Thus wheeled vehicles could use this bridge too.

The German army blew up this railway bridge when it withdrew to the east bank of the river on March 10th, 1945. On that day - faced with the final onslaught of British, Canadian and US forces - the defending Germans had to give up their last foothold on the west bank, just across from Wesel.

After British Commandos had taken the ruins of Wesel on March 24th US engineers started building bridges at Wesel - the area was the boundary between British Second Army and US 9th Army which had crossed the Rhine just upstream of Wesel. These bridges are mentioned in this context because British 12th Corps troops had exclusive running rights on these bridges for four days after their completion.

Wesel in March 1945 - on the top right the destroyed railroad bridge can be seen. To the left of the broken bridge two US pontoon bridges can be made out.

 

On March 25th the soldiers of the US Corps of Engineers started building three bridges at Wesel - they were all located between the destroyed road bridge and the ruins of the railway bridge.

The first bridge was a so called "Treadway" bridge on rubber pontoons. It was ready for traffic on March 26th.

 

The second US bridge was of the "Heavy Pontoon"-type - this class 40 bridge was finished on March 26th as well. This is a view from the west bank To the left the Wesel railway bridge, blown up by the retreating Wehrmacht on March 10th, 1945.

 

Alberk - the bridges at Wesel at the time were the first bridges across the Rhine River upstream from Nijmegen.

Do you also know when the traffic bridge at Wesel was destroyed.

 

Hello stolpi - indeed, from the Dutch perspective the Wesel bridges were the first upstream from Nijmegen. From the German perspective they were the northernmost Rhine bridges, as I called them.

The Wesel road bridge was destroyed by US bombers on February 14th, 1945.

The attack on Feb. 14th. The bridge led from the star shaped 19th century fort (on the west bank) across the river to the city of Wesel.


Wesel road bridge - a view from the west bank.

 

Not only from the Dutch, but also from the 21st Army Group perspective Wesel was the first major crossing point.

Alberk - Thank you for the info ... 14 Feb 45 ... when 30 Corps debouched from the Reichswald during Op Veritable.

Wonderful pictures! Never seen them before ... from the aerial I guess that the Weseler Strasse (it's all in the name) leading north out of Büderich is the old approach route to the bridge. It runs straight through the fort. I will have to revisit the spot ... have frequently visited the remnants of the railroad bridge during Battlefield Tours, but the fate of the traffic bridge always remained a bit of a riddle, other than that I knew it was destroyed.



I now realise that I was close by last Summer, making a bicycle tour to Rheinberg. View of the Rhine near Büderich from the terrace of Restaurant "Wacht am Rhein". Looking towards the northeast; Wesel is to the left (not visible on the picture). The wooded elevation on the left is the Büdericher Insel; behind it the Lippe River flows into the Rhine. A couple of Summers ago, I followed the winding river bed of this river all the way to Paderborn on bicycle - in ancient times the Lippe was used by the Romans to penetrate deeper into 'free' Germania as is evidenced by permanent Roman Camp sites along the river among others at Haltern-am-See. In 1945 the Ninth US Army used the same route to advance into Germany in the northern encirclement of the Ruhr Industrial Area.


Scale model of the Roman Camp site in the Römermuseum Haltern-am-See. It was only after their defeat in the Varusschlacht that the Romans definitely decided to settle behind the Rhine and make this river their northern boundary.

 

stolpi - you mention the Lippe river flowing from the east into the Rhine at Wesel. In 1945 this river separated the British and the US advance to the east. While the British pontoon bridges were all located downstream of the mouth of the Lippe, the bridges of US 9th Army were all upstream of the mouth of the Lippe river. The three bridges bulit by US engineers at Wesel were the exception - the were downsteam of the Lippe and led to good roads north of the Lippe. But these US bridges were for the time being used by British units crossing the Rhine - British 7th Armoured Division crossed the Rhine at Wesel via the US bridges and advanced to the east north of the Lippe river. US 8th Armored Division had to use the bridges further upstream - these led to inferior roads and a large wooded area (the Hünxer Wald). This terrain was not suited very well for an andvance by armoured columns - nevertheless the Aamericans sent their troops into battel south if the Lippe river. And here they ran into elements of 116. German Panzer Division.


US 8th Armored Division had to use the bridges further upstream - these led to inferior roads and a large wooded area (the Hünxer Wald). This terrain was not suited very well for an andvance by armoured columns - nevertheless the Americans sent their troops into battle south of the Lippe river. And here they ran into elements of 116. German Panzer Division.

 

stolpi - you threw me another cue: Hotel "Wacht am Rhein" in the village of Büderich. As you will know this was the spot from where Winston Churchill observed the bridging and crossing activities around Wesel on March 25th, 1945.


The balcony is gone today - it was attached to tower where the porch can be seen on the modern picture. Churchill is not the only prominent figure in this picture...

 

Alberk - Thank you! I didn't realize that Restaurant "Wacht am Rhein" was the location of the famous balcony scene. We had a "Flammkuchen" at the terrace and enjoyed the view. Below the view Churchill had upriver in the direction of Spellen and Mehrum, on the far bank, and the village in between, with the ominous name of Orck:

 

The third bridge built by US Army engineers at Wesel was a class 40 Bailey bridge. It was started on March 25th - just like the Treadway and Heavy Pontoon bridges. These two were ready for traffic on March 26th - the Bailey bridge apparently took longer to finish. I have no precise date for the completion of the latter, so I cannot say whether it was available for British 12th Corps units while they had four days of running rights for the US bridges at Wesel at the end of March 1945.

Americans building a Bailey bridge at Wesel - the broken girders of the Wesel railway bridge in the background. In front of the broken bridge we can see - as a thin black line - the US Heavy Pontoon bridge.

 

In the morning hours of March 31st the three US bridges at Wesel came under control of US Ninth Army - however, the running rights for British 12th Corps were not completely lost - the British retained the right to use these bridges for 5 hours in every 24 hours.


At 7.45 AM on March 31st the US 5th Armored Division started crossing at Wesel - the US advance north of the Lippe river could now start with a vengeance. The aim was the encirclement of the Ruhr industrial area. This is a view from the west bank.



US tanks concentrating in Wesel after the crossing. Up to 1945 Wesel had been an important communications centre - but in March the two existing bridges and the city itself lay in ruins.


Wesel in March 1945. The bridges built by the Allies only made sense if they connected well to the existing road net - so the rubble blocking some major roads in Wesel was swiftly cleared and its roads were put to use.

 

This thread dealt with the operations of British sappers in the 12th Corps sector between March and May 1945. In a previous thread I presented a summary of bridge building activities in the 30th Corps sector:
The longest Bailey bridge ever built


All of this happened in the context and in the wake of „Operation Plunder“. Crossing the Rhine was a demonstration of the capabilities of British and Allied engineers and a display of the impressive quantity and the quality of their material. The Bailey system stands out as a most useful piece of equipment. Admittedly, the Rhine was a considerable water obstacle but it never was the the formidable barrier that the German propaganda made it out to be. The advance of British Second Army and the advances of the American armies further upstream were proof of that - and so were the many bridges they built.

 

Thanks for this informative and well-researched thread - much appreciated!

 

I went for a walk along the Rhine at Bislich yesterday - at the site of Sparrow Bridge built by British engineers in late March 1945 I found these concrete structures. The recent flooding of the river apparently brought these to light. I suppose it is British made concrete - built as a foundation for cribs.

 

I'd need to check, to be 100% certain, but I'm pretty certain that bracket was for clamping 20-ton Bridging Cribs (Christ Church Cribs) in place.