THE IMPACT OF THE WAR

World War II was a long and hard military strategy that pitted the Allied countries of USSR, Great Britain, and the US against the Axis countries of Imperial Japan, Fascist Italy, and Nazi Germany. The devastation from the war was overwhelming. Estimates claim that over three-fourths of the world population was involved in the war in some way. 110 million people were selected for military service with half of these recruits coming either from Germany, USSR, or the US. Over 70 million people were killed during World War II. Of this number, approximately 20 million were soldiers and about 40 million were civilians. Statistics estimate that approximately 12 million Jews died in concentration camps. The Allied bombings of Germany caused about 600,000 deaths. It was a war that took almost five years of fighting before the end of the war was over.

OUR FAMILY CONNECTIONS TO WW II

For both my husband and me, we have had family members who were enlisted in the war. My father was a Private in the Army Air Corps and served as a mechanic working on vehicles that had to be kept in good working order. He enlisted in 1941. My father’s brother served as a chauffeur in the military service and enlisted in 1942. My uncle served in the Air Corps and flew one mission to Ingolstadt. [I will devote another whole article later on about these veterans, their experiences and contributions.]

The main emphasis for this article is on my husband’s father who served in Europe and was in the middle of the action. He has given me a wealth of information about the war and several new insights into exactly how difficult missions could be. Although he passed away in 1989 we have many memories of him and the life he left behind.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RHINE RIVER

With the main focus of World War II being the elimination of Nazism, one of the most important parts of the coalition was to gain access to the Rhine River. The Rhine is probably one of the most important and if not the most important river in Europe. It stretches 820 miles long and was an important waterway because supplies could be easily brought in to the heavy industrialized area. It has been important as an international waterway since 1815.

The Rhine River that went through Bonn, Dusseldorf, and Cologne was the area where manufacturing was literally booming. Several military buildings dotted the area during the war and many of them were on the German side of the river. For the Allies gaining access to the river was the way to assure a decisive win over Germany. The area was also one that had many medieval castles. Since many of the castles were on the top of a hill it made a good vantage point for observing any troops that invaded the area.

COUNTRIES IN THE TOUR OF DUTY

NEAR AND AROUND NORMANDY

The main objective for his unit was to work methodically from country to country to slowly gain access to Germany by crossing over the Rhine River. Belgium, Netherlands, and France were important areas where fighting occurred and victories came slowly one at a time. Many of the battles in these areas continued for as long as five months.

SWITZERLAND

Although Switzerland borders on Germany, the need to maintain autonomy and independence was very important to the Swiss. After WW I the country was in a recession and food was scarce. Because of the proximity to Germany, the country had to decide whether or not to keep up its trade and financial obligations with other countries in the area. The second choice was to completely surrender to the Germans and join with them in their military policies against the Allies. Switzerland chose to keep as much independence as possible.

LIECHTENSTEIN

Liechtenstein is a small country located between Switzerland and Austria. The western part of the country borders on the Rhine River. The country is a constitutional monarchy like Britain and the ruling prince abdicated the throne in 1938 because his wife was a wealthy Jewish woman from Austria. The country kept a neutral position during the war.

GERMANY

Within Germany the soldiers moved in four different states or divisions. In the south the states were Baden, Wurttemburg, and Hessen or areas that are usually given the name “Black Forest”. Witzenhausen, the state, is composed of sixteen different districts. The areas that were targeted were places where manufacturing and industry was producing military supplies. The Rhine River was the focus of many missions because it was the main source for supplies getting into and out of Germany. The Werra River in Witzenhausen empties into the Rhine River so access to this area was equallyimportant..

AACHEN

Although Aachen is not located directly in the Rhine valley the success at Aachen opened the door to moving closer to the Rhine River.

October 1944: Aachen is located in a triangle area on the border of Luxembourg,
Netherlands and France. It took five long months of fighting to get into the area but once in the region, the Allies won the battle. Aachen was the first German city to be fall into Allied hands. With the victory of Aachen, the Allies would next move throughout southern Belgium and Luxembourg towards the land south of the Rhine.

The best way to move into an area was to crawl along the ground in the hours just before daylight. For the Germans, the heaviest fighting was usually one hour after dark. That gave them time to study the landscape and get their bearing. That gave the Germans an advantage over the GI’s. Once the Allies were aware of the German fighting hours the Allies would stop fighting one hour before dark so that they would have time to study the area and have a better opportunity to maintain the attack.

The most difficult obstacle that the Allies had to overcome in the area was the heavily fortified “pill box”. The pill box was normally located on a steep hill in regions that were heavily forested and where there was thick underbrush. The box could possibly be covered with wire so that it was even more inaccessible and had deep trench tunnels where the Germans could lie in wait. The concrete structure that was set in the ground gave an excellent camouflage for machine guns and mortars. When anyone was within a reasonable distance, the Germans would open fire on the unsuspecting GI’s. The goal for the Allies was to completely destroy the pill box either be detonation or by having a tank demolish the box completely. The purpose was to insure that the Germans would not be able to use them later on.

THE ACTUAL CITIES

Each of the cities or areas below had significance during the war and was a place where our father actually visited. Working to reach the Rhine River was crux of the entire objective and being able to enter Germany was seen as elemental to stopping the reign of Nazi encroachment. The war encompassed much more than just the battles in Europe but this movement took a united approach from Britain, USSR and the US. Relentlessly working forward took much effort and without the support from one another, the Allies may not have been unable to overcome Germany

KOBLENZ

Koblenz is located between Cologne and Bonn. It is 57 miles southeast from Cologne and 37.3 miles downstream from Bonn. Koblenz. Heavy bombing occurred in the area so much that Koblenz was forced to completely rebuild after the war. The US 3rd Army reached the area just near the town on March 6, 1945. Koblenz was overtaken on March 17, 1945. The Allies were one step closer to the Rhine.

DUSSELDORF

Dusseldorf: Prior to World War I and World War II the area near Dusseldorf was experiencing rapid growth due to the Industrial Revolution. As the war became a reality, Dusseldorf received air attacks almost around the clock making it hard to keep any stable economy. The city was literally reduced to a pile of rubbish. On April 18, 1945 the US Army entered the area and the Allies are one step closer to their objective.

REMAGEN

Remagen: In March of 1945, the Allied armies had made remarkable progress on gaining access to the Rhine River. The bridges were down in all spots along the river except at the small city of Remagen. On March 7th units of the US First Army captured the Ludendorff railroad bridge (also called the Remagen bridge). By March 24 The British Secopnd Army under Montgomery sent forces to the area while the US Ninth Army was sent across the river. The U.S. First Army was occupying a sprawling bridgehead between Bonn and Koblenz. On March 22nd the U.S. Third Army seized the bridgehead south of Mainz. The whole barrier of the Rhine river was broken, and Eisenhower ordered the armies to strike east on a broad front.

BONN

Bonn was a heavily populated area that was very important to the war. The city was in the military zone of British occupation. With the focus of the strategy being to reach the Rhine River it was a critical part of the maneuver. To accomplish this the Allies had to break through the west wall in the south and cross the Ruhr (Dutch=Roer) River on the north. The Germans had flooded the Ruhr Valley by opening the dams and it took nearly two weeks for the water to subsid4e. The U.S. Ninth and First armies crossed the Ruhr on February 23.

WITZENHAUSEN

Witzenhausen is a town located in the state of Hesse between Kassel and Gottingen. Located on the Werra River it was a valuable town to occupy. The Werra empties into the Rhine and since the waterway could be used to get supplies into Germany it was a necessary way to prevent the Germans from receiving essential supplies.

KASSEL

Kassel is located between Frankfurt and Hanover and was home to the German tank and airplane production. Kassel was the headquarters for Germany’s Wehrekis IX and a subcamp of Dachau. Prisoners in the area served as slave laborers for the Germans.

In April 3/4, 1945 the Allies removed the Germans from the town. The British bombed the area in 1943 and with the Allied bombing of the area many buildings were destroyed. Several buildings that were destroyed were never rebuilt and it was not into the 1950’s that the town was completely rebuilt.

GOTTINGEN

Gottingen is located 67 miles from Hamburg and 45 miles NE of Kassle.. The Leine River runs through the area and the town was almost completely untouched by the Allies until mid-1945. The US overtakes the town on July 4, 1945.

During the time that the Allies bombed the area, the town received no real damage. It was a highly academic area prior to the war and many professors either left the area or were forced to leave the area because they were Jewish. There was a concentration camp in the area for adolescents in Moringen which was closed in 1945. Several Jews were exterminated in camps in this same basic area. The hospital in the town was used to treat German soldiers who needed medical attention.

ALLLENDORF, EHRBACH-FURSTENAU. AND MICHELSTADT

Allendorf : June 5 to 10, 1945: Somewhere during these dates the troops moved into this town. The town is in the state of Hesse Germany between Frankenberg and Battenberg.

Ehrbach-Fursteanu: October 1945: The Allies enter into Germany by crossing the Rhine River. The gun battalion occupies the Furstenau Castle immediately after the Germans leave the area. The town of Michlestadt is very close to the area.

Michelstadt: I have several pictures of the town and a picture of the home where the soldiers were housed in October 1945.

HOMES & TOWNS WHERE SOLDIERS LIVED

From a collection of old pictures I have the following areas as places where the Allied soldiers stayed or visited while in the southern area of Germany. (These are all dated 1945 on the back)

Herborn, Germany: Soldiers arehoused in a bank

Michelstadt: The soldiers were housed in the area in 1945.

Ehrback-Furstenau: The unit stayed in the Furstenau Castle

Bonn, Germany: In April of 1945 several soldiers stayed at a mansion in the town

Witzenhausen area: The soldiers stayed in a home in the area.

Allendorf: A photo taken showing the supply room. Our dad is looking out the
window.

IMPRESSIONABLE MEMORIES OF WW II

Any account of the war just isn't complete without revealing some of the challenges or interesting events of the tour of duty. There is no way to imagine the challenges that the soldiers met as they maneuvered along the roads and forests with the task of meeting the long-term objective of gaining access to the Rhine. Retelling the events and accounts that made a lasting impression was part of the journey, for certainly nothing more than the facts can be rather boring.