CHAPTER FIVE
The Plan for 7 March
Once Brigadier-General Hoge was clear what General Leonard expected, he called together his subordinate officers. Time was running out as Hoge issued his orders and 9th Division’s late change of objectives meant that the two columns would have to change their routes of advance.
The northern column, commanded by Colonel Leonard Engeman of the 14th Tank Battalion (he outranked 27th Armored Infantry Battalion’s CO, Major Murray Deevers), would exit the town from the east, heading to the north of Adendorf before passing through Arzdorf and then south past Berkum. Beyond Werthoven the column would head east, bypassing Birresdorf to the north, before entering the woods covering Scheidskopf, one of the hills overlooking the Rhine. The column’s final objective was the town of Remagen on the west bank of the river.
The left flank of the column would be covered by the 1st Battalion of the 310th Infantry Regiment, which would cooperate with elements of the 89th Reconnaissance Squadron. Little resistance was expected as the infantry swept the west bank of the Rhine around Bad Goesberg; the majority of the retreating German troops would be heading for the bridge at Remagen.
Lieutenant-Colonel William M Prince, 52nd Armored Infantry Battalion’s commanding officer, would lead the southern column. His new objectives were as follows:
Our mission has been changed, our mission now is to seize and secure bridgeheads over the Ahr River at Westum and Sinzig. Route of advance; Adendorf, Eckendorf, Fritzdorf, Leimersdorf, Bodendorf, Sinzig. To cross IP at southeast end of the town at 07:35. C Coy to lead to Sinzig, A Coy to follow through to take Westum, rest of battalion assemble in Bodendorf.
Time was running out as the two Colonels returned to their respective headquarters. Prince did not manage to pass on his orders until 06:45 and thirty minutes later his column of halftracks and tanks were on the move, heading out of Flerzheim for Stadt Meckenheim.
Troops of the 9th Armored Division prepare to move out. National Archives 111-SC-202353
As CCB’s staff waited for the advance to begin, a reconnaissance party returned to the headquarters having spent the night reconnoitring routes out of the town. Their findings were a cause for deep concern:
The destruction in Stadt Meckenheim had been so thorough that there was no way for troops north and north east of the town to get through to the Adendorf road, as all the streets were completely blocked with debris. The surrounding terrain was so soggy from heavy rains that neither it nor the dirt roads leading around Stadt Meckenheim would support vehicles.
It was clear that the road assigned to the northern column was impassable to tracked vehicles. Brigadier Hoge immediately sent military policemen to the southern outskirts of the town to redirect Lieutenant-Colonel Prince’s column south via Gelsdorf and Eckendorf, rejoining its prescribed route at Fritzdorf. Meanwhile, Colonel Engeman would have to leave Stadt Meckenheim via the Adendorf road once the engineers had cleared the road of rubble.
52nd Armored Infantry Battalion advances towards Sinzig
By the time the military police had reached the checkpoint, the reconnaissance vehicles scouting ahead of the southern column were already heading for Adendorf. The armoured cars came under small arms fire as they entered the village; it was however, a token gesture and the snipers quickly surrendered as the Greyhounds returned fire.
The first leg of Task Force Prince’s route.
Meanwhile, Prince’s column was well under way on its new route:
When C Company and the tanks reached the RJ [road junction] they were shunted south on the road to GELSDORF, being informed by the MP stationed there that their original route was to be used by the north column.
Progressing at a steady speed of ten miles an hour, the tanks and armoured cars were able to make good time. Open fields lined the road and although C Company halftracks approached each village with care there were no signs of German rearguards:
The advance was virtually unopposed. As each town and village was entered, the streets would fill with people waving white flags in the effort to save their houses from destruction. In their eagerness to avoid trouble, these people freely gave information about enemy movements. The indications were that the Germans had withdrawn to the Rhine the night before.
By the time the column reached Fritzdorf, the Reconnaissance element had rejoined the route and was able to begin scouting ahead. Brigadier Hoge had been carefully monitoring Prince’s progress. At 09:00 he was pleased to hear that the main column had reached Oeverich while the 89th Recon Squadron had scouted as far forward as Kirchdaun. It meant that the southern column would soon be in striking distance of the River Ahr.
Armoured troops advance cautiously through a German village. National Archives 111-SC-202076
Few Germans had been seen along the way and although occasional rounds of mortar fire fell close by, the column kept moving. It appeared that the majority of German troops had already escaped across the Rhine the previous night and Brigadier Hoge was sure that the overnight delay in Meckenheim had let the opportunity to capture large numbers of the enemy slip away.
Beyond Kirchdaun the column came to an abrupt halt as the lead platoon’s halftracks and supporting tanks floundered in thick mud. Rather than wait for his men to extricate their vehicles, Lieutenant-Colonel Prince decided to reroute the rest of the column through Gimmigen to the south. The trapped vehicles would have to rejoin the advance once they had freed themselves.
The southern column advanced quickly towards Sinzig. Natio
52 Armored Infantry Battalion managed to capture the bridge over the River Ahr intact.
Forty-five minutes were lost as the column struggled to reorganise itself and after passing through Gimmigen, 52nd Armored Infantry Battalion came under observed fire for the first time that morning. A German rearguard occupying a church overlooking the road targeted Prince’s men with accurate small arms and mortar fire:
Company C and Company A were waved on through to allow the tank destroyers and assault guns from Headquarters Company to come up into a position from which they could blast out the enemy strongpoint. The church and an adjacent structure were razed. The third platoon of Company B was then sent up to clean out the wreckage. The platoon took two prisoners and found six enemy
dead.
Following the brief gun battle, the 52nd Armored Infantry Battalion resumed its journey, heading through Heppingen and Bodendorf heading towards the final objective, Sinzig.
Lieutenant-Colonel Prince expected the Germans to defend the town and the bridge over the River Ahr. He ordered Company C and the tanks attached to his command, to approach the town with care, while Company A followed in support. As the lead halftracks drew near mortar fire, directed from the high ground across the river began to target them. As the infantry dismounted, they came under machine gunfire from concrete emplacements guarding the two roads into the town. German infantry, hidden in slit trenches and log bunkers, soon joined in the battle. The combined firepower of the Shermans’ 75mm guns and the 0.05 calibre machine guns quickly overwhelmed the rearguard, allowing Company C to push on into the town.
German engineers tried to blow up the main bridge as the halftracks approached but the demolition charges failed to destroy the structure. As Company C dismounted to begin clearing the north bank of the river, Company A crossed the damaged bridge and headed towards Westrum. As Prince’s men fanned out through the town, the Germans tried to escape towards Kripp, in the hope of reaching the ferry at Linz. For the majority it was too late:
Just inside the town Company C ran into an enemy ammunition train consisting of about twelve trucks and horse drawn vehicles. This column was completely smashed with small arms fire and machine gun fire, all enemy personnel with the train being killed either by fire or by the exploding ammunition.
German rearguards were quickly dealt with en route to Sinzig. National Archives 111-SC-203182
Captain Wortham’s men eventually captured over three hundred prisoners, many of them wounded left behind during the retreat.
Lieutenant-Colonel Price had managed to take all his objectives by 13:00 and later on he was able to report that seventy-five of the enemy had been killed and over four hundred men had been taken prisoner. His own casualties were minimal.
27th Armored Infantry Battalion’s advance on Remagen
As the southern column raced towards its objective, Colonel Engeman was still waiting for the engineers to clear a route out of Meckenheim. Although tanks fitted with bulldozer blades helped to clear the rubble from the main street, 27th Armored Infantry Battalion had to wait for two hours they could move. Brigadier Hoge was frustrated by the delay, convinced that the Germans were escaping across the Rhine at Remagen.
Lieutenant Karl Timmermann. National Archives 111-SC-202343
Eventually at 09:00 the platoon of armoured cars from the 89th Reconnaissance Squadron headed off towards Adendorf. Company A, under Lieutenant Karl Timmermann, led the main column and for Timmermann leading a company was a new experience; the previous day Captain Kriner had been wounded in the attack on Meckenheim. Pershing tanks, under Captain George Soumas, were interspersed between the halftracks.
The new M26 Pershing tank was armed with a powerful 90mm gun. National Archives 111-SC-455227
Although reconnaissance vehicles had previously passed through Adendorf, as soon as the column entered the village it came under small arms fire. Moving slowly forward, the tanks and halftracks targeted any signs of movement with their machine guns while the GIs watched for snipers. However, the Germans only intended to put up a token resistance and as soon as the armoured column drew near the 27th Armored Infantry Battalion was overwhelmed with prisoners. Already behind schedule, the head of the column pushed on, leaving the prisoners behind for the support troops to deal with. Later interrogation revealed that the majority of the Fifth Panzer Army Group’s Storm Battalion had capitulated en masse along with the crew of a heavy anti-aircraft battery.
The first stage of Task Force Engeman’s route.
As the column left Adendorf machine gun fire to the north brought the column to a halt until it was identified that friendly troops were engaging an enemy rearguard. As the head of the column crossed open fields on the approach to Arzdorf, the lead halftrack noticed a barricade blocking the road and opened fire with its 0.5 machine gun. The rest of the halftracks joined in, spraying the houses either side of the road with bullets as machine guns and Panzerfausts returned fire from woods north of the road. Lieutenant Timmermann ordered his men to dismount and split his company in two, to outflank the village. As the GIs crept forward through the fields either side of the road, the halftracks and tanks moved slowly towards the outskirts of Arzdorf, providing covering fire. Before long a handful of young soldiers emerged with their hands up; another German rearguard had capitulated. As Timmermann watched his men climb back into their halftracks he was pleased to hear that there had been no casualties.
Beyond Arzdorf the column was able to move quickly and although there were tense moments as the halftracks and tanks bypassed Berkum and through Werthhoven, both villages were deserted. Villagers had hung white flags and sheets from their windows in the hope that the Americans would pass through peacefully. Captain Soumas, commander of 14th Tank Battalion’s A Company noted that:
Throughout the movement, very little opposition was met. The column was constantly being passed by little groups of two or three prisoners marching to the rear, hands behind heads, to give themselves up to the nearest authority willing to accept their surrender.
The 27th Armoured Infantry Battalion moved quickly beyond Arzdorf.
Villagers display a white flag to show that German troops have already fled. National Archives 111-SC-203183
Colonel Engeman also recalled that resistance along the route was minimal:
Small arms, fire of a scattered nature, light artillery and a little AAA fire were all that was encountered on the advance towards the Rhine River and there were very few casualties.
Can the Bridge be taken intact?
While the two columns snaked their way across the rolling countryside towards the Rhine, a single Piper Cub was circling overhead. Lieutenant Harold E Larsen and Lieutenant Frank L Vaughn were on a reconnaissance flight, the first for several days due to poor weather.
Their mission was to find passable roads and bridges, enemy dispositions and to fire any artillery targets that might appear... They were given the additional mission of trying to see whether the bridge over the Rhine at REMAGEN was intact.
Having covered the skies over the two columns, Larsen decided to risk flying towards Remagen even though low clouds meant that he would have to fly well within the effective range of active anti-aircraft batteries. The gamble paid off. Although Larsen saw crowds of troops and vehicles heading for the river, no one seemed to take notice of the plane overhead:
As the columns approached the Rhine River, Lt Larsen flew on ahead towards the river in order to look over the area. He was able to see the outline of a bridge, but was unable to tell whether the structure was capable of carrying traffic. Knowing that such a structure would be well guarded with flak batteries, Lt Larsen did not deviate from his plan to make a reconnaissance of the bridge.
The German view of the Ludendorff Bridge, barbed wire entanglements line the railway. National Archives 111-SC-202786
Lieutenant Larsen radioed the news back to 16th Armored Field Artillery Battalion headquarters and Colonel Wesner immediately passed on the information to Combat Command B. The time was 10:30 when Hoge first learnt that the Remagen Bridge was still intact.
Colonel Engeman’s column was still several hours behind schedule and more than seven miles from the town. Although he had not been given any written instructions, Hoge had no doubt what he should do. The subject of the Ludendorff Bridge had been raised earlier that morning when Major-General Leonard visited CCB headquarters. Brigadier Hoge later remarked how he had posed the question:
I drew a line around the bridge on my map and asked General Leonard, Suppose I find that the bridge hasn’t been blown here, should I take it?
Leonard had left Hoge in no doubt; the bridge should be taken.
Major Ben Cothran, Hoge’s intelligence officer, was ordered to catch up with the head of the northern column to pass on the news about the bridge as well as instil a sense of urgency in Colonel Engeman. As the S3 officer left in his jeep, Hoge set off to find Lieutenant-Colonel Prince, to oversee the crossing of the River Ahr. Deep down he expected that the Germans would destroy the bridge as soon as their troops had crossed.
Crisis at the Bridge
While the two columns of Combat Command B moved steadily towards the Rhine, German troops continued to escape across the river. For the past twenty-four hours foot troops, in particular the shattered 277th Volksgrenadier Division (reduced to around 800 men), had been crossing the Ludendorff Bridge. As the soldiers trudged through the town their faces left no doubt in the minds of the local population that the German Army was in the middle of a full-scale retreat. The following day Remagen’s Chief of Police told an American intelligence officer: ‘...the officers left three days ago, the NCOs left yesterday and the privates must swim.’
Although foot troops had been able to cross the bridge for the past four days it had been closed to wheeled traffic while engineers placed timber decking over the rail tracks to allow armour to cross. The closure had led to a build of traffic in the streets and by the time the bridge opened at first light on 7 March there was a considerable build up of traffic. Rumours that American armoured columns had been spotted advancing towards the town added a sense of urgency and the sounds of gunfire to the south as 52nd Armoured Infantry Battalion attacked Sinzig confirmed the reports. As the soldiers waiting their turn to cross the river watching the hills overlooking Remagen for signs of American troops, the endless column of supply wagons, lorries and tanks made their way over the bridge:
On 6 and 7 March large numbers of the 277 Volksgrenadier Division crossed. They had a considerable number of horses but no artillery. Some armour also crossed in the same period, including 3 Tiger Royal, 20 Mark IV and 2 SP guns.
Infantry deploy into the fields while tanks engage a German strongpoint. National Archives 111-SC-201898
Amongst the column of vehicles were a number of flak batteries and their crews. They were the men who were supposed to assist the bridge security company in an emergency but despite Captain Bratge’s protests the officer in charge of the guns was adamant that he was acting under orders. It left Bratge with his small company of men to defend the bridge and the majority were already stationed on Victoriasberg Heights.
As the hours passed, Bratge’s attempts to get men to stay on the west bank to defend the town failed. The majority were stragglers without officers and there only concern was to cross the Rhine at the first opportunity. Rumours that an armoured column had been spotted heading for Birresdorf only four miles away only made them more determined to escape across the river. When Bratge contacted Army Group B Headquarters to report the news he was assured that the Americans were heading for Bonn.
Some time after 10:00 Major Scheller eventually reached Remagen, having spent all night on the road. After informing Bratge that he was the new ‘Commandant of Remagen’, the two officers assessed the situation. Scheller had expected to find a battalion of troops waiting for him at Remagen, ready to form a defensive perimeter around the town with the flak crews stationed in the area. Meanwhile, Bratge had heard nothing of the reinforcements promised by General Botsch and he also informed Scheller that the flak batteries had already withdrawn to the east bank. His own company was already in position on the Victoriasberg heights, leaving only a handful of men to guard the bridge. Although Major Scheller approved the withdrawal of the company to defend the bridge, attempts to contact them failed. In the meantime Scheller’s tried to get men to stay on the west bank and defend the bridge. Although he eventually managed to get a machine gun team to stop as soon as he turned his back the men disappeared.
Meanwhile, Captain Friesenhahn had taken steps to prepare the bridge for demolition. He had sent transport to collect the explosives, which until now, had been stored in a safe place away from the bridge. The lorry carrying the explosives eventually arrived at around 11:00 but to Friesenhahn’s dismay the amount delivered was far less than expected. Although he had the full compliment of packages required for the primary circuits, the amount sent for the emergency charges was less that expected. He had requested six hundred kilograms of military explosive, but the quantity sent was less than half of that and the charges were a weaker industrial grade, not the standard military issue. Despite the setback, Friesenhahn had no time to argue; all he could do was order his men to distribute the charges at the weakest points on the bridge.
Over the next three hours his men worked feverishly to install over four hundred pounds of explosive charges in the metal boxes fixed to the bridge girders. The plan was to cut all the trusses on the downstream side, sending the main span toppling sideways into the river. Further charges would break the back of the two smaller spans sending them crashing into the water. Once his men had placed all the charges connected to the primary circuit, they started to stack the remaining packages above the upstream pier. If the main circuitry failed Friesenhahn would be able to use primer cords would be used to detonate them. Although the engineers worked continuously throughout the morning, extracts from the 9th Armored Engineer Battalion’s report shows how little time they had:
The final leg of the northern column as it approached Remagen.
There was an estimated 600lbs of TNT on all the members [above the far stream pier]. The charges were packed in cardboard boxes whose exact dimensions are unknown. They appear to be hastily placed and were to be exploded with time fuze and a non-electric cap... Various charges were also scattered on the far shore span, the location of which cannot be determined. These appear to have been placed in great haste and seemingly without scheme or plan.
27th Armored Infantry Battalion continue to push east
While Major Cothran raced across the countryside to catch up with Colonel Engeman, the head of the northern column had bypassed Birresdorf and was heading east towards the wooded slopes of the Scheidskopf:
Mortar fire off road east of Objective 1 – Head of column 1,400 yards east of Birresdorf. Preparing to enter woods and assault final objective. Recon in front of Rebel. Good pace beyond Birresdorf, no enemy resistance.
However, Engeman had spoken too soon. As A Company approached the tree line shots rang out as a German rearguard engaged the column with small arms fire. Although Lieutenant Timmermann ordered his men to dismount within minutes the Germans emerged from the woods with their hands up.
As the column entered the woods, the GIs stared intently into the trees looking for signs of activity; it was the perfect place for an ambush. The sound of the halftracks and tanks echoing through the woods convinced some German soldiers to give themselves up, while the rest hid. The lack of German resistance was a relief to Colonel Engeman; thick woods and steep sided slopes would have made it difficult to engage a determined enemy.
Plattborn, a cluster of houses nestling in the trees, was deserted and as the column began to descend through the woods towards the Rhine, Major Cothran caught up the tail of the column. The news about the bridge was quickly transmitted to Colonel Engeman by radio and he was able to confirm to Brigadier Hoge that the reconnaissance platoon was closing in on Remagen.
As the armoured column approached Waldeschlössen tavern the Allmang family watched silently while waving a white tablecloth. As Lieutenant Timmermann pulled up in his jeep to speak to the family, the halftracks and tanks rumbled past. A short distance beyond the tavern the trees began to thin out and as Lieutenant Emmett Burrows’ platoon emerged from the woods they were taken aback by an astonishing panorama. In the valley below the Rhine wound its way past Remagen and although Erpeler Ley, the huge rocky outcrop on the far bank of the river, dominated the horizon, Lieutenant Burrows’ eyes were focussed on the Ludendorff Railway Bridge at the foot of the crag. Through his binoculars he could see that traffic was crossing the river:
The enemy was retreating with trucks and smaller vehicles (no armour was observed) and there were many civilians mixed in with the military traffic.
‘Hey Tim, take a look at that!’ The bridge was still intact.
It meant that the Germans had not destroyed the bridge.
Lieutenant Timmermann was called forward and as he approached Burrows shouted, ‘Hey, Tim, take a look at that’!
‘Dammit, that’s the Rhine; I didn’t think it was that close.’ Timmermann replied.
Upon the news of the intact bridge, Colonel Engeman and Major Deevers raced to the head of the column to see for themselves. The report reads:
Their first reaction was to try and get artillery fire brought down on enemy vehicles which were clearly seen crossing the bridge. The forward observer of the 400th Armored Field Artillery Battalion was called up, and he was highly elated at the possible opportunity to employ his new pozit fuse. However, higher authorities refused permission, stating that friendly troops were on or in the vicinity of the bridge.
After contacting Brigadier Hoge, Colonel Engeman was ordered to prepare to enter the town as soon as possible. In the meantime Hoge would make his way to the viewpoint to see the spectacle for himself. As Engeman wryly noted later:
At that time I smelled that they wanted to take the bridge intact... Although the mission was still to take and occupy REMAGEN and KRIPP, there was still in the back of our heads the thought with which we had started that morning – that it might be possible to seize the bridge.