Chapter 4

XVI CORPS CROSSES THE RHINE

The final countdown

At darkness fell on 23 March convoys of trucks moved towards the Rhine, guided by military police working to detailed schedules. Infantry moved halfway on board lorries, walking the final six miles to the assembly positions, while 2½ton trucks carried their heavy weapons down to the crossing sites. Motorised elements followed different routes to the river to avoid the attentions of the German artillery:

March units not to exceed 25 vehicles; ten minutes between serials; 60 yards distance between vehicles in open country and 20 yards distance between vehicles in towns and cities; slowest vehicle will lead each march unit; head of column speed 17½ mph in daylight and with lights at night and 10 mph in blackouts; maximum speed any vehicle 25 mph, halts for 10 minutes every two hours.

The movement of thousands of men called for a highly organised traffic control system controlled by communications cables laid along the route. Signallers could plug into the network at any point and transmit messages by wire or radio to keep the convoys moving.

Each group of men and vehicles had been allocated a number and serials waited at a safe distance until their transport was available. Flexibility was the keyword and the order of serials could be changed if the situation on the far bank changed and Regimental Executive Officers worked alongside the Beachmasters, coordinating operations on the riverbank. Once the initial crossing had been made, General Hobbs and General Wyche were reliant on a steady flow of men, tanks, vehicles and supplies to the far bank to have a chance of succeeding.

This GI is wearing the twin tube inflatable life belt, a lifesaver if an assault boat overturned.

Soldiers wait anxiously for their turn to carry the assault boats down to the water’s edge.

The priorities for the first stage of the operation had been given to anti-tank guns and Weasels, small amphibious vehicles stocked with ammunition. Tanks and tank destroyers would be needed in the push east and amphibious Sherman DD tanks, (named after the Duplex Drive propeller system that powered the tank through water) would follow the infantry, while rafts carried M24 Chaffee light tanks and tank destroyers across the river. As soon as the bridgehead was secure, landing craft could begin to operate on the river, delivering communication vehicles, ammunition jeeps and 1½ ton prime movers to the far bank. Bulldozers would then cut roads through the floodbanks to allow DUKWs, (amphibious lorries) to operate a ferry service across the river, taking ammunition, fuel and food across to the far bank and returning with the wounded.

The final artillery barrage

As XVI Corps assembled opposite its crossing sites, the first stages of Operation VARSITY had already begun and 51st (Highland) Division encountered stiff resistance as it crossed opposite Rees on Second Army’s front. 1st British Commando Brigade had managed to cross the river to the west of Wesel and was moving along the riverbank towards their objective as 200 bombers reduced the town to rubble.

The devastating results of the RAF’s bombing raid on Wesel.

General Eisenhower and his Deputy, Air Marshal Tedder, accompany Montgomery and Bradley during a final visit to Ninth Army’s headquarters.

As midnight passed, a three-quarter moon illuminated the Rhine, casting an eerie glow through the thick smokescreen drifting across the river. As the final hours passed, General Eisenhower and General Simpson mingled with crowds and both were impressed by the GIs’ professionalism and enthusiasm as they passed on encouraging words; Eisenhower later recalled that the men were ‘remarkably eager to finish the job’.

As 01:00 hours approached the two commanders could do no more and moved to the church that would act as their observation post during the vital hours of Operation FLASHPOINT. With one hour to go the bombardment suddenly intensified as over 2,050 artillery pieces opened fire, creating a continuous roar of noise as over 1,000 shells a minute hit the German positions across the river. Meanwhile, the Allied Air Forces were making their own contribution and 1,500 bombers were on their way to hit airfields beyond the Rhine, stifling the Luftwaffe during the critical early stages of the operation.

The intensity of the bombardment gave the men waiting along the river a degree of confidence and as they looked back at the western sky, ablaze with gun flashes, many must have thought that no one could survive the barrage of shells hitting the far bank. Only time would tell if it had succeeded in breaking the Germans’ morale. A few hours later Lieutenant Colonel Norman King heard first hand what the men across the Rhine thought of the Ninth Army’s preliminary bombardment:

They had never seen anything like it, and it completely stunned, scared and shook them.

Eisenhower watches the spectacle unfold.

30th Division’s crossing

Each battalion had fifty-four storm boats, large enough for seven men, and thirty double assault boats capable of carrying fourteen men. The companies chosen to lead the crossing formed close to the west bank, sheltering behind the dyke and as the minutes ticked by, buckled double-tube life preservers around their waists. As H-hour approached the noise of the artillery, machine guns, mortars and howitzers rose to a crescendo as the assault troops pulled their boats from their concealed positions and dragged them down to the river’s edge. Gasping as they waded into the cold water, men steadied the boats as their comrades climbed aboard and as soon as the last man had scrambled inside the pilots fired the motors into life and set out across the river. The assault was underway.

In the left sector of 30th Division’s front, 2nd Battalion led 119th Regiment’s assault and as the first wave crossed opposite Spellen, tracer bullets fired overhead to guide the boats through the smokescreen to the far shore. The German reaction was negligible and two minutes later the first wave of boats grounded on the opposite bank. As GIs ran across the exposed beach the second wave was in the water, crossing in the larger and slower double M2 boats, guided across by flashlights and luminous markers set up by the first men ashore.

Gasps and curses as the GIs wade into the cold water and scramble into their crowded assault boat.

Colonel Russell A Baker listened carefully to the radio as Lieutenant Colonel McCown reported on progress across the river. The assault was looking promising. 2nd Battalion’s crossing had been far easier than expected as the following radio signals show:

02:18	First wave went over in time; second wave is on its way. So is Thomas’ bunch.
02:20	Notify Beston to take care on other side, there are Schumines and S-Mines over there.
02:23	Second wave is gone.
02:33	Third wave is gone.
02:40	Fourth wave gone.
02:41	Whole outfit is over. Stewart is on his way to Alligators.

It had been a complete success and 2nd Battalion had only lost two boats to hostile artillery fire.

2nd Battalion fanned out beyond the dyke and while Company G headed north towards the locks at the mouth of the Lippe Canal, the rest of the Battalion cleared a group of farmhouses overlooking the crossing site to the south. Many Germans were taken by surprise and an hour after the first soldier had stepped on the east bank of the Rhine, Lieutenant Colonel McCown was able to report that his first objective had been secured; opposition had been negligible.

1st Battalion led 117th Regiment’s assault opposite Ork in the centre of 30th Division’s sector while 3rd Battalion helped to carry the storm boats to the water’s edge. From the moment the first wave boats hit the water, radio reports gave Colonel Walter M Johnson a running commentary as the operation unfolded:

02:10	1st Battalion informs that initial wave has reached east bank of Rhine and second wave has jumped off.
02:37	1st Battalion report right platoon of Company B has cleared first obstacle (dyke) and Company is reorganising to proceed as planned.
02:38	1st Battalion CO reports all his Battalion has completed crossing of the Rhine River and are now reorganising to proceed as planned.

After reaching the top of the dyke, Company B worked its way south along the dyke clearing German outposts covering Ork and by 03:30 hours 1st Battalion was moving towards the hamlet where the garrison was sheltering from the American barrage. 1st Battalion moved forward as soon as the artillery increased their range and at 05:00 hours Colonel Johnson was pleased to hear that Objective Judy had been taken with minimal casualties. One hundred and fifty prisoners had been taken and as one company commander later commented “there was no real fight to it, the artillery had done the job for us”.

The bend in the Rhine on 120th Regiment’s front meant that Colonel Branner P Purdue planned to send two companies across at the same time. Company G would cross on the left, clearing the curve in the river, before advancing over the two dykes to assault objectives north of Mehrum. Meanwhile, Company F would make its assault 1,000 metres upstream, attacking the southern end of the village.

Despite the extra number of men and boats entering the water, the Beachmasters made sure that both companies hit the water on time. As the minutes ticked by Colonel Branner P Purdue was pleased to hear that men had reached the far bank in both sectors; it seemed that everything was going to plan. As the GIs swarmed ashore, the German artillery responded with indirect fire, shooting at pre-planned points with little effect. One German artillery observer captured on the dyke overlooking Mehrum, pointed out this battery had been ordered to only fire five rounds a day and stockpile shells ready for the forthcoming assault. The plan to shell the American soldiers as soon as they hit the beach fell foul of the Allied bombardment; shellfire severed the telephone link to the battery and the observer had been captured before communications were restored.

Thirteen minutes after H-hour, Colonel Purdue was pleased to hear that Company F had secured the first dyke. Captain John Jacobsen’s crossed the second dyke only to come under fire from the outskirts of Mehrum. As soon as the machine-gun platoon had silenced the German bunker, the rest of the company charged down the embankment into the village. A second enemy machine gun opened fire on the mortar platoon as it moved forward but the crew surrendered following a burst of fire from Sergeant Sellers BAR; a second rifle pit was captured a few minutes later bringing Sellers’ haul of prisoners to twenty-two. The rest of Jacobsen’s men moved quickly into the village.

As Company F stormed the southern end of Mehrum, Company G was experiencing difficulties crossing the river downstream of the village. Captain Charles W Moncrieff’s men were supposed to capture Objective Bill, a bridge over the Momm Stream north-west of the village, but hardly any of the boats had reached the assigned landing point. The curvature of the river was disorientating and some pilots accidentally steered back towards the friendly shore without realising. In the confusion of smoke and noise the GIs were met by the next wave of soldiers as they charged ashore. Other boats mistook a sandbar in the middle of the river for the far shore and returned for their next load, leaving the men stranded midstream for some time.

Assault boats and Alligators begin to ply their trade on the river, ferrying men and equipment through the smokescreen.

Although Captain Moncrieff was amongst the missing, Lieutenants Arthur Saal – field and Charles Pike rounded up two groups of stragglers and headed for their objective. Pike’s group stumbled on an enemy post as they headed along the dyke and the young officer was killed in the fight that followed leaving Private Earl A Otto to lead the group to the rendezvous point. As the minutes ticked by Lieutenant Saalfield waited in vain for the rest of his company to arrive and eventually decided to attack Objective Bill with the men to hand. As the group moved inland over the winter dyke, scouts reported that a patrol was guarding the bridge and if they did not move quickly Saalfield’s small group might not be able to take their objective. With no time to spare the GIs broke into a run, overpowering the guards before they realised what was happening.

As the group reorganised, Sergeant Boures reconnoitered the road into Mehrum and found a German outpost at Check Point Able 8, a crossroads on the northern outskirts. Charging forward, firing his BAR from the hip, Boures welcomed the sight of the four guards raising their hands; they had not fired a shot. With his first objective secure, Lieutenant Saalfield led the depleted Company G north-east across the fields towards Objective Abner, the hamlet of Wurm-Gotterswick.

Company E had crossed the river close behind Company F and, while Jacobson’s men engaged the German troops holding the east end of Mehrum, moved west along the dyke to attack the opposite end of the village. The pincer movement had immediate results and as GIs closed in from both sides, the garrison surrendered leaving Objective Betty in Lieutenant Colonel Cantey’s hands. Despite the initial setbacks 2nd Battalion had taken all of its objectives and Colonel Purdue was able to order 3rd Battalion across the river.

All along the line resistance had been lighter than expected as the Germans reeled in the face of the crushing bombardment and the well-executed attack by the assault battalions, however, 30th Division faced a race against the clock and as the first three battalions consolidated their objectives, the next phase of Operation FLASHPOINT was underway on the west bank. Beach masters guided men to the embarkation points as the second wave of Battalions moved forward and wave after wave of men crossed the river in a mixture of storm boats, assault boats and LCVTs. Meanwhile, armour was on its way to support General Hobbs’ troops. Amphibious DD tanks entered the water and began to swim across the Rhine while huge lorries carried landing craft to the shore and engineers brought rafts to the water’s edge ready to take Light M24 Chaffee tanks across. Meanwhile, 1153rd Engineer Combat Group was busy moving pontoons towards the river ready to begin work.

Lorries carry LCM landing craft to the river so they could start ferrying tanks across.

Powered assault boats guide a raft and its tank over the Rhine.

The Second Phase

Having cleared the dyke and the first line of villages on the far shore, it was time to send the second wave of battalions across the river and link up the three small bridgeheads. On 30th Division’s left flank the second phase involved a coordinated attack by 119th Regiment and 117th Regiment against Spellen, large village overlooking the centre of General Hobbs’ front. Although 2nd Battalion had captured the locks at the mouth of the Lippe Canal on 119th Regiment’s left flank with ease, the plan was beginning to unravel in front of Spellen. 3rd Battalion had crossed on time and had assembled in woods ready to assault the north end of the village, Objective Patty, as early as 04:35 hours. However, although Lieutenant Colonel Stewart was ready, no one else was.

In 117th Regiment’s sector, 2nd Battalion’s crossing had been a fiasco. Several assault craft had failed to start and the occupants had to wait until other boats became available, meanwhile, many of the pilots became disorientated out on the river and deposited their load of men in the wrong place. For the second time that morning GIs milled around on the shoreline while their officers tried to herd them to their assembly point. It would take some time to round up the stragglers; time General Hobbs did not have. To make matters worse the riverbank in 119th Regiment’s sector was too soft for tanks and the landing craft pilots had been ordered to take the M24 Chaffee’s upstream into 117th Regiment’s sector.

119th Regiment secures Spellen and 30th Division’s left flank along the Lippe Canal.

After waiting for an hour for news from 117th Regiment, Colonel Baker felt he could wait no longer; 3rd Battalion would have to attack Spellen on its own. Moving quickly across the fields towards Objective Patty, Colonel Stewart’s men made good progress to begin with, penetrating the outskirts of the village before the alarm was raised. However, as the Germans tumbled out of their shelters the GIs were soon pinned down, unable to advance any further. They needed help from the south.

Two hours passed before 2nd Battalion recovered from its disaster on the riverbank by which time a company of amphibious Duplex-Drive tanks from 743rd Tank Battalion had arrived in 117th Regiment’s sector. At 06:30, two hours later than planned, the second phase of 117th Regiment’s advance was underway and as Shermans and infantry moved out of Ork heading into the southern outskirts of Spellen, codenamed Polly, German resistance collapsed. Although the 200 strong garrison had been able to hold its own against one attack, the arrival of American troops to their rear broke their morale. With dawn approaching the village had been cleared just in time and as the prisoners were herded towards the river, Colonels Baker and Johnson ordered their reserve battalions across the Rhine for the next phase of the operation, the advance to the Wesel – Dinslaken railway line.

On 119th Regiment’s front 2nd Battalion had started to move forward at first light and was already closing in on Objective Joy, two bridges on the division’s left flank, when aerial reconnaissance planes reported a lot of enemy activity on the far side of the railway. 2nd Battalion alone faced a company of German engineers armed with four machine guns and tanks had been seen roaming beyond the railway. It looked as though 30th Division advance was about to come to an end. Only one company of 743rd Battalion’s DD tanks had managed to reach the east bank and Colonel Duncan was expecting to have to wait until noon before his M24 Chaffee tanks would begin to cross. The rest of 119th Regiment and 117th Regiment faced a tough battle for the underpasses.

117th Regiment captures Ork before moving north towards Spellen.

Prisoners start to pour in as XVI Corps expands its bridgehead.

120th Regiment’s two-pronged assault on Mehrum.

While the rest of the division had been focused on Spellen, Colonel Purdue was having his own problems getting the rest of 120th Regiment across the river. While 2nd Battalion advanced north-east from Mehrum towards Schanzenberg, codenamed Blondie, 3rd Battalion was supposed to advance along the riverbank towards Objective Daisy, Götterswickerhamm. However, yet again moving troops across the Rhine was proving to be a problem and Major Chris Mac McCullough’s men were still stranded on the wrong side of the river.

3rd Battalion was in position on the west bank on time but as the minutes ticked by neither the LCVPs nor the Alligators designated to ferry the battalion across the river had arrived. The LCVPs had been launched downstream and missed the crossing point as they sailed up river. Frantic radio calls eventually located the missing boats but as they sailed back to the rendezvous point, Major McCullough was informed that the Alligators had also failed to arrive. Although the Alligator officers had been shown the route to the loading point and tapes marked the cross-country sections, the column had managed to miss a turning in the darkness. They reached 3rd Battalion an hour later than planned and found Major McCullough’s men operating a shuttle service with assault boats as they tried to cross the river to join the rest of the Regiment.

There were more problems ahead. One of the Alligators carrying Company K sank midstream, leaving the unfortunate platoon to swim the rest of the way. The rest of the Company was scattered along a wide stretch of the shore and it was some time before the disheveled GIs found their way to the assembly area where Captain Harold Plummer was waiting.

The LCVPs designated to carry Company L’s leading platoon turned up late and it was some time later before Captain Earl Wilson found the demarcation point. Company M and Company L landed together on the far bank but disaster struck as the men organised on the move and advanced over the dyke in close formation; a shell hit Company M’s machine-gun platoon killing two and injuring another nine, including the platoon officer. Company I also experienced difficulties as it brought up the rear. One LCVP suffered engine failure midstream but after Lieutenant John DePutron had ordered his platoon to abandon ship the motor fired into life. The crew headed back to the shore to pick up another load, leaving twenty-five men to swim to safety.

Soldiers file down to the water’s edge to wait their turn to cross.

The succession of delays had set Colonel Purdue’s schedule back by two hours and while Major McCullough waited for the rest of his Battalion to assemble, Company K headed east towards Götterswickerhamm. As Captain Plummer’s men moved along the riverbank, anti-tank guns and machine guns opened fire from the outskirts of the village but while the rest of Company K dived for cover, two individuals ran forward. Private Campbell sprinted ahead of his platoon shooting as he ran towards a machine-gun post shouting surrender; seven Germans complied with his request. On 1st Platoon’s front Sergeant Owens ran towards a machine-gun nest, while his men gave covering fire. The sergeant jumped into the German trench and had killed an officer and two men before the rest surrendered. With the two outposts silenced, the rest of Company K moved forward to clear the anti-tank gun positions.

Moving into the heart of the village, Plummer’s men found Germans holding many of the buildings and as they worked forward, clearing the houses with bayonets and grenades, it became clear that the garrison intended to make a stand. For three hours thirty soldiers, supported by an anti-tank gun and two machine guns prevented Company K advancing down the main street. It looked as though 3rd Battalion’s advance had come to a halt until one individual found a way forward. Private Waldron ran and crawled forward while the rest of his platoon gave covering fire and eventually reached a commanding position overlooking a roadblock. As soon as he opened fire, the men behind the barricade took cover and the rest of Waldron’s platoon charged down the street to clear the obstacle.

Although the main line of resistance in Götterswickerhamm had fallen, groups of soldiers continued to fight on as Plummer’s men worked their way towards the eastern edge of the village. When a machine gun opened fire from an upper storey window overlooking the main street, Private Nyland ran forward dodging bullets and burst into the house; two grenades thrown up the stairs convinced the two men to surrender their weapon.

As Company K worked its way through the town of Götterswickerhamm, prisoners reported that SS men were leading the defence at the eastern of the village, explaining why the rest of the German soldiers in the town continued to fight on. By mid-morning Company K was exhausted and as soon as Company I was ready, Major McCullough ordered Captain Charles Shaw forward to regain the initiative. The added firepower turned the tide of the battle for Götterswickerhamm and once the SS leader had been killed, resistance ended; within a short time Company I had rounded up over 100 prisoners.

As 3rd Battalion pushed east a machine gun opened fire on Company L as it approached Möllen, codenamed Ruth. Several GIs were wounded but as the rest of the Company scrambled for cover Technician Pelkey ran forward to cut the barbed wire fence protecting the outpost while his squad gave covering fire. As soon as Pelkey was through the entanglement the GIs charged, killing all four Germans inside the emplacement.

Although Company L bypassed a second outpost, the machine-gun team inside caught Company K in the open as they followed. After four men had been wounded trying to reach the bunker, Sergeant Santella decided to take charge of the situation; Lieutenant Thomas Voorhis later recalled how his Sergeant risked his life to take on the German position:

Sergeant Donald J Santella, assistant squad leader, perceiving the enemy troops were holding up the advance, and acting entirely on his own initiative, carefully advanced about fifty yards over open terrain to a position from which he could effectively fire rifle grenades on the defending forces. When Sergeant Santella reached a woodpile about fifteen yards from the entrenchment he took careful aim and fired a rifle grenade into the trench, killing the officer in charge and wounding five others, one of whom subsequently died of his wounds. During the time Sergeant Santella was preparing to fire the enemy threw two hand grenades at him, neither of which wounded him despite the fact that they were thrown from such a short distance and at such a plain target. Immediately after he had fired his grenade Sergeant Santella ran from his position and jumped into the entrenchment with such speed that he succeeded in forcing the surrender of the remainder of the enemy force, taking ten prisoners.

While Company K covered the Battalion’s northern flank, Captain Earl F Wilson reported that Company L were pinned in front of log bunkers along the riverbank. Major McCullough had no option but to deploy his reserve, Company I, if he was to enter Möllen. Although rifle and machine-gun fire greeted Captain Shaw’s men as they advanced, Lieutenant Peters managed to push his platoon across the railway. Before long the rest of the company followed, clearing the underpass on the outskirts of Möllen and entered the village. The most dangerous part of the attack had been completed but the Germans were far from beaten. Before long all three of Major McCullough’s companies were embroiled in the battle for Möllen; street fighting would continue throughout the morning and well into the afternoon.

While 3rd Battalion fought for Möllen, 2nd Battalion had been advancing on the Regiment’s left flank and when Captain Moncrieff finally caught up his Company at Wurm-Gotterswick he found Lieutenant Saalfield eager to press on to the Company G’s final objective, Schanzenberg. He volunteered to take forty men forward while ten stayed behind with Captain Moncrieff to wait for Company E to arrive.

In the original orders Moncrieff planned to deploy the entire company against the hamlet but Saalfield’s small group pressed on undaunted, reaching the houses in spite of small-arms fire. Spreading out to give the impression that there were far more than forty men, Saalfield’s GIs persevered and although progress was slow, three hours later the Germans withdrew from the village. On hearing the news, Lieutenant Colonel Cantey ordered Company E and Company F forward so the Battalion could prepare to attack Löhnen codenamed West Lana. It was 2nd Battalion’s final objective.

Navy personnel were drafted in with their landing craft to help ferry heavy equipment across the Rhine.

In spite of the problems along 30th Division’s front, by mid-morning the Old Hickories had seized all their initial objectives and were positioned to attack the two railway lines crossing north to south. The first railway ran along an embankment right across the division’s front, posing a serious obstacle to tanks and other vehicles and both 119th Regiment and 117th Regiment would have to capture underpasses before their armour could advance to the next railway and a second embankment. Although General Hobbs realised he needed to coordinate all his supporting arms before attacking, there was a glimmer of hope on the division’s right flank. Only the first railway ran on top of an embankment, and 120th Regiment already had men across, fighting in Möllen and anxious for armoured support. The question was, could the tanks reach his men in time to make a breakthrough?

At first light a thick smokescreen engulfed the river as the storm boats, assault boats and LCVPs ferried the final wave of battalions across the river. As they assembled on the far bank engineers began to build a Bailey Bridge in 120th Regiment’s sector. The sooner 30th Division removed its dependency from the Navy the better, and before long the need for a bridge was brought home to Major General Hobbs; the LCMs detailed to carry the tank destroyers across had been delayed, McCullough’s men would have to fight on alone in Möllen for some time.

79th Division crosses the river

As 30th Division charged across the Rhine, 79th Division’s GIs lined up on the west bank of the river near Rheinberg waiting for their turn to cross. The curvature of the river meant that the assault battalions would cross an hour later, at 03:00 hours, in the hope that the two divisions would meet near Möllen at the earliest opportunity. It also meant that the Germans on the far bank faced two hours of shelling rather than one.

General Wyche had chosen to make the crossing with two regiments side-by-side, each regiment using one battalion in the assault. They would attack on narrow fronts and the plan was to advance quickly behind the supporting barrage, bypassing centres of resistance. The deeper the assault troops could advance before dawn, the greater chance there was of disrupting the enemy’s plans. If the leading battalions could cross the dyke and the railway beyond before first light, the reserve battalions would be able to mop up behind them. General Wyche had decided to mix storm boats and the larger assault boats to get the maximum number of men across the river in the shortest possible time; the slower craft would be given a head start so that every boat hit the far shore at roughly the same time.

315th Regiment, led by Colonel Andrew Schriner, would embark on A Beach on the division’s left flank and land south of Stapp hamlet. The assault battalion would turn north-east towards Eppinghoven, linking up with 120th Regiment near Möllen. On the right, Colonel Edwin Van Bibber’s 313th Regiment would leave B Beach ½ mile north of Orsoy and land in front of Walsum. Moving quickly past the village, the assault battalion would advance to Vierlinden before forming a defensive flank along the Neue-Ernscher Canal; the second battalion across the river would take Walsum. 314th Regiment would bring up the rear, crossing via both beaches as soon as the far bank was cleared. Colonel Warren Robinson’s men would then advance straight towards Dinslaken and seize the town.

Patrols believed that the Hamburg Division held the opposite dyke in strength, relying on sentries near the water’s edge to warn of an attack. Anti-tank guns and anti-aircraft guns were dug in upstream of the Neue-Ernscher Canal with commanding fields of fire of the front face of the dyke. A railway embankment just beyond the flood embankment was another likely line of defence and local reserves were garrisoned in the villages along the railway. The form of defence carried out by the Germans, Major Schwartz’s 588th Regiment, opposite 313th Regiment, was typical. Leutnant Weiss’ company held the dyke while two more were dug in along the railway, the men of the fourth company were split between the other three. Despite his attempts to develop a coordinated defensive position, Schwartz could only count on two horse drawn 75mm anti-tank guns for support.

79th Division’s crossing and rapid advance towards Dinslaken.

As zero hour approached the assault troops groped their way down to the water’s edge carrying their boats while the barrage of shells hitting the far shore reached a crescendo. Tank destroyers and machine guns, positioned south of the crossing site, joined in the tremendous artillery barrage, in the hope of drawing the Germans’ attention away from the beaches. At exactly 03:00 hours the first wave of boats, entered the water as .50 and .30 machine guns opened fire, drowning out the sound of the motors. The assault was on.

The men in the first wave braced themselves as the boats roared across the water, waiting in anticipation for the expected rattle of machine-gun fire from the German outposts. The artillery lifted their fire to the dyke as the boats approached the shore line and as the first wave of men jumped onto the east shore, it was obvious that the guns had paved the way with style. Only a few German sentries opened fire and they were overrun in the first few minutes. The lack of enemy artillery and mortar rounds landing in 79th Division’s area indicated that the extra hour of shelling had completely shattered the German defences.

Another platoon of GIs makes the crossing.

The main problem for Major General Wyche’s men was navigation. By 03:00 hours a mist had started to form along the river and it thickened into a dense fog as it mingled with the smokescreen. Many crews became disorientated in the fog and failed to find their assigned landing points. Some coxswains had lost all sense of direction and returned to the west bank. The confusion caused some embarrassment to the men of one boat as they raced ashore and deployed into skirmish line expecting to encounter German sentries; the eager GIs were surprised to meet the next wave of friendly soldiers coming down to the water’s edge.

Fortunately, the German reaction had been minimal and the first wave of troops crossed the dyke on time, moments after many of the howitzers and tank destroyers on the west bank had switched to the section of the dyke south of 79th Division’s front to suppress the German guns there.

The initial, and most dangerous, stage of Operation FLASHPOINT had been completed (XVI Corps had only suffered sixteen casualties through enemy action crossing the Rhine) but General Simpson was under no illusions; now that the Germans knew where his men had crossed, the fighting was about to intensify.

Moving fast, the two assault battalions advanced towards their final objectives with the help of an unusual source of extra firepower; each battalion had 200 captured German Panzerfausts (single-shot bazookas), ideal weapons for dealing with emplacements and bunkers. On 315th Regiment’s front 2nd Battalion headed north-east into Warnung Woods looking to open the road into Dinslaken while 1st Battalion advanced north along the riverbank into the village of Am Stapp. German resistance was sporadic, the attack had taken them completely by surprise, and Schriner’s men were digging in on both objectives before daylight. 313th Regiment was equally successful on the southern flank. 2nd Battalion bypassed enemy strongpoints and drove deep into the German lines passing the phase lines, codenamed Kesselring, Quisling and Tojo, on schedule. The battalion entered Vierlinden before the alarm had been raised and 1st Battalion followed close behind, entering Walsum at the same time. The artillery had shattered the Germans’ will to fight and by dawn Colonel Van Bibber was able to report that both villages had been cleared; it meant that 79th Division’s flank along the Neue-Ernscher Canal was secure.

At daylight 89th Chemical Mortar Battalion opened fire with its 4.2 inch mortars, firing white phosphorous shells into the area south of the canal and before long the individual clouds of white smoke fused together to cover the division’s flank with a thin haze. The effect was just what was needed, and while 313th Regiment dug in under cover of the smokescreen, the rest of 79th Division prepared to attack Dinslaken.

314th Regiment received the order to cross as soon as the plumes of smoke screened the crossing sites and assault boats and landing craft worked throughout the morning to shuttle all three battalions over the river. Sporadic artillery and mortar fire was the only response from the Hamburg Division but the shells hit nothing and by 13:00 hours 314th Regiment was at its assembly area on the east bank and ready to advance. 79th Division’s operation had been a complete success.

Rafts operated a ferry service across the river during the early stages of the operation while engineers started work on a treadway bridge. 111-SC-203293