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.