CHAPTER FOUR
Overnight in Stadt Meckenheim
Combat Command B (CCB) advanced through Esch on the afternoon of 6 March and as 27th Armored Infantry Battalion advanced towards Morenhoven, Brigadier-General William M Hoge ordered his second battalion, the 52nd, to move forward in support. Although Hoge expected a long drawn out battle for the town, his men could see white flags as they entered the town. Flerzheim had also been abandoned by fleeing German troops and although it seemed as though CCB was at long last making good progress, ahead lay Stadt Meckenheim, a potential bottleneck.
Brigadier-General William Hoge. National Archives 111-SC-200521
Tanks and halftracks line the streets waiting for the order to advance. National Archives 111-SC-335254
27th Armored Infantry Battalion came under fire as it entered the town during the late afternoon and although the 52nd was close behind resistance quickly came to an end as the infantry and tanks worked their way through the streets. After Brigadier Hoge had set up his headquarters in the town he ordered the 52nd Armored Infantry Battalion to reorganise in Flerzheim overnight; the 27th would billet in Stadt Meckenheim along with the 14th Tank Battalion. Although the GIs were used to seeing bomb damaged towns, the devastation caused by the USAFs bombing raids on Meckenheim was extraordinary; many buildings had been destroyed, leaving the local population homeless. Huge mounds of rubble, in some places over two metres high, blocked many of the streets and the tanks crews and GIs were forced to stand by and watch as the engineers set to work clearing a road through. Although tanks equipped with bulldozers joined the clear up operation, it would still take many hours before vehicles could move along the high street.
Brigadier Hoge’s original orders called for an advance northeast the following morning, towards Lannesdorf. Meanwhile, 9th Armored Division’s second Combat Command (CCA) would advance east towards Remagen and Sinzig. Taking note of the roads leading out of Meckenheim, Hoge decided to spilt his command into two task forces, each one comprising of a mix of tanks and infantry mounted in halftracks. The armoured columns were expected to meet little resistance and it was hoped that they would be able to make good progress, reaching the Rhine by midday. Armoured cars of the 89th Reconnaissance Squadron would scout the route ahead, looking for signs of enemy roadblocks.
Whenever a German rearguard was located, the column would prepare to engage the enemy. Usually the infantry would dismount, fanning out across the fields to outflank the position while the tanks and halftracks provided supporting fire. The tanks would also target suspected strong points or enemy armour. The tactics had worked well and in many cases poorly equipped rearguards surrendered after putting up a token defence.
Brigadier Hoge planned to send the 27th Armored Infantry Battalion, supported by Company A of the 14th Tank Battalion, in a north easterly direction, while the 52nd Armored Infantry Battalion, supported by Company A of the 14th Tank Battalion headed east through Adendorf. However, before his plan had been formalised, Major-General Leonard issued a new set of orders. CCB was to advance southeast towards Sinzig on the River Ahr.
At first the order caused confusion. Hoge was convinced that CCA was supposed to take the two towns but the new instruction meant that the two commands would be advancing at right angles, overlapping en route. After querying the order with his commanding officer, Hoge received detailed instructions at 03:30 am, clearing up the confusion. CCA’s route had been shifted south and was expected to capture Bad Neuenahr. Meanwhile, CCB had two objectives. The main thrust would be southeast, with the intention of capturing the crossings over the River Ahr at Bodendorf and Sinzig. The Division would then be able to continue to push south along the Rhine towards Seventh Army. It was hoped that the pincer movement would trap thousands of Germans before they could escape across the river.
CCB’s subsidiary objective was to clear the west bank of the Rhine around Remagen. Reconnaissance troops would cover the left flank of the advance, scouting the area west of Bad Goesburg. It was known that the Germans were destroying the bridges over the Rhine once their own troops had crossed. Orders issued by III Corps mentioned the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen. Once the artillery was in range it was directed to use time, or pozit, fuses only. Thus exploding shells would cause casualties but leave the structure undamaged. No one expected to capture the bridge intact, yet, the possibility was briefly discussed at a higher level. During a telephone conversation, General Millikin remarked to Major-General Leonard, ‘Do you see that little black strip of bridge at Remagen? If you happen to get that, your name will go down in glory’. In less than twenty-four hours that casual comment would take on a new meaning.
While the 27th and 52nd Armored Infantry Battalions spent a restful night waiting for new orders, 9th Armored Division’s third armoured infantry battalion, the 60th, was on the move. Lieutenant-Colonel Collins had split his task force into three groups, each containing a rifle company and a tank platoon. The plan was to drive quickly through the night, in the hope of cutting off thousands of German troops heading for the Rhine and Collins’ had ordered his company commanders to keep moving, avoiding contact with the enemy if at all possible. The three groups would advance in column, swapping the lead when a company ran low on ammunition.
Tanks of the 9th Armored Division advance across country. National Archives 111-SC-203638
At dusk the 60th Armored Infantry Battalion set off, heading south through Altendorf and Gelsdorf and as they travelled through the night the GIs encountered hundreds of Germans heading for the Rhine. The appearance of the armoured column passing by shocked many and they wanted to surrender immediately. However, Collins’ ordered his men to keep moving and let the rear echelon units round the prisoners up. The plan to advance quickly under cover of darkness was a complete success; it had taken the Germans completely by surprise. Under cover of darkness, the column of tanks and halftracks moved swiftly through Vettelhovgen and Bolingen, towards Lantershofen. 60th Armored Infantry Battalion eventually reached his objective at 2:00 am, where Lieutenant-Colonel Collins was able to let his men dig in and rest while the rest of the division completed its advance to the Rhine.
Overnight in Remagen
As CCB advanced towards Meckenheim, eight miles to the east, in Remagen, Hauptmann Bratge’s concerns were growing. Although the bridge was closed to wheeled traffic while engineers boarded over the tracks, foot soldiers had continued to cross the bridge throughout the day. They brought news that American troops were close behind and it appeared that there were no organised troops between them and the bridge. Bratge had seen no sign of the reinforcements promised by General Botsch and attempts to contact the General had failed. As darkness fell HauptmannBratge ordered Feldwebel Rothe to take the majority of his men (his company had dwindled to only thirty-six men) onto the Victoriasberg Heights to watch for signs of American troops, in the meantime he would continue to try and contact his commanding officer. Little did he know that Botsch had been transferred to command LIII Corps earlier that day without having the chance to brief his successor, Generalmajor Richard von Bothmer.
Although it seemed to Hauptmann Bratge that the Remagen crossing had been forgotten, during the early hours of 7 March Fifteenth Army informed LXVII Corps headquarters that it had been given direct responsibility for the bridge. General Hitzfeld was told that an infantry battalion and a number of flak crews were already at Remagen and that he must send a staff officer to establish a bridgehead. Major Scheller, Hitzfeld’s adjutant-general, was instructed to make his way to the town and take command of the troops already there, bolstering their numbers with any stragglers heading towards the river. He was also ordered to oversee the engineers’ work as they prepared the bridge for demolition. Just before 03:00 Major Scheller accompanied by Hauptmann Vasel, eight men and a radio, drove off into the darkness on the start of their long journey. It would take them nearly eight hours to navigate their way through the crowds of men and vehicles jamming the roads.
General Otto Maximilian Hitzfeld.
With the Americans closing in on the Rhine, Major Hans Scheller was ordered to Remagen take command at the bridge. Here he is pictured in happier times. Scheller/Friedensmuseum
