Rhine Crossings in the North 24-28 March 1945

Operation Flashpoint was the

Ninth United States Army The Ninth Army was a field army of the United States Army, most recently garrisoned at Caserma Ederle, Vicenza, Italy. It was the United States Army Service Component Command of United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM or AFRICOM). Activated just ...

part of

Operation Plunder Operation Plunder was a military operation to cross the Rhine on the night of 23 March 1945, launched by the 21st Army Group under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. The crossing of the river was at Rees, Wesel, and south of the river Lippe b ...

, the crossing of the lower

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

by the

21st Army Group The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established ...

during March 22–28 March 1945, in the last months of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, in which the Ninth Army established bridgeheads in the sector between

Wesel Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel (district), Wesel district. Geography Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine. Division of the city Suburbs of Wesel i ...

and Walsum on the right bank of the Rhine.

Initial assault

Operation Flashpoint, under the command of

William H. Simpson General William Hood Simpson (18 May 1888 – 15 August 1980) was a senior United States Army officer who served with distinction in both World War I and World War II. He is best known for being the commanding general of the Ninth United Sta ...

, involved an assault by the 30th Infantry Division (between Wesel and

Möllen Möllen is the southernmost administrative district of Voerde in Wesel district, North Rhine-Westphalia, having 3040 inhabitants. History The Haus Wohnung (the region's water castle) was built in the fourteenth century. The former school was ...

) and the 79th Infantry Division (between Möllen and Walsum), a sector defended by the

1st Parachute Army The 1st Parachute Army () was a combined forces between airborne forces (Fallschirmjäger), armoured, and mechanized infantry unit of German Army, formed in September, 1944, comprising 30,000 men. History Its first commander was Colonel Gene ...

commanded by

Alfred Schlemm Alfred Schlemm (18 December 1894 – 24 January 1986) was a German ''General der Fallschirmtruppe'' in the ''Wehrmacht''. His last command in World War II opposed the advance of the First Canadian Army through the Reichswald in February 1945. ...

. As Schlemm had been wounded in an air attack on his command post at

Haltern Haltern am See (''Haltern at the lake'', before December 2001 only Haltern) is a medium-sized town in the northern part of the district of Recklinghausen in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Münster in North Rhine-Westphalia. The town is located in the n ...

March 21, command was assumed on 27 March by

Günther Blumentritt Günther Blumentritt (10 February 1892 – 12 October 1967) was an officer in World War I, who became a Staff Officer under the Weimar Republic and went on to serve as a general for Nazi Germany during World War II. He served throughout the war, ...

Bridging the Rhine

The Rhine was bridged by the

17th Armored Engineer Battalion The 17th Armored Engineer Battalion was a part of the 2nd Armored Division (United States), 2nd Armored Division "Hell on Wheels". During World War II, they were active in North African Campaign, and Western Front (World War II), Western Europe Ca ...

, detached from the 2nd Armored Division. On the night of 23 March, Company E and C constructed two preliminary treadway rafts over the Rhine, south of Wesel and opposite Spellen (now part of the town of

Voerde Voerde () is a town in the district of Wesel, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, approximately south-east of Wesel, and 20 km north of Duisburg. City structure According to art. 1(3) of the ...

). In the morning, a bridge that could bear mechanized transport started at 9:45 am, and by 4:00 pm the first truck crossed the floating bridge. Over 1152 feet of M2 treadway and 93 pneumatic floats were used in the project, which required just six hours and fifteen minutes to complete, setting a record for the size of the bridge.

Breakout

After the Rhine had been bridged, the 75th Infantry Division crossed on 24 March and the 35th Infantry Division crossed 25–26 March. Once the 8th Armored Division was across, the Ninth Army was able to break out of the bridgehead, push along the northern edge of the Ruhr Pocket, and link up on 1 April near

Lippstadt Lippstadt () is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest town within the district of Soest. Lippstadt is situated about 60 kilometres east of Dortmund, 40 kilometres south of Bielefeld and 30 kilometres west of Paderborn. Geo ...

with the

First United States Army First Army is the largest OC/T organization in the U.S. Army, comprising two divisions, ten brigades, and more than 7,500 Soldiers. Its mission is to partner with the U.S. Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve to enable leaders and deli ...

coming from the south, thus surrounding the German

Army Group B Army Group B () was the name of four distinct German Army Group, army group commands that saw action during World War II. The first Army Group B was created on 12 October 1939 (from the former Army Group North) and fought in the Battle of France ...

under the command of

Walter Model Otto Moritz Walter Model (; 24 January 1891 – 21 April 1945) was a German during World War II. Although he was a hard-driving, aggressive panzer commander early in the war, Model became best known as a practitioner of defensive warfare. H ...

References

Bibliography

* Christopher Chant: ''The encyclopedia of codenames of World War II''. . * Charles B. MacDonald: ''The Last Offensive''. (United States Army in World War II, European Theater of Operations). Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army. Washington D.C. 1973
pages 303-309
. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flashpoint, Operation Conflicts in 1945 1945 in Germany Battles of World War II involving the United States March 1945 in Europe Operation Plunder Rhine Province