Chapter 6
Both of General Anderson’s divisions were firmly established on the east bank of the Rhine by mid afternoon on 24 March. On 30th Division’s front both 119th and 117th Regiment were approaching the Wesel – Dinslaken railways, while 120th Regiment had one battalion across the first railway at Möllen. 79th Division had also rushed the German defences along the riverbank, securing both of its flanks before first light; the reserve Regiment was preparing to attack the final objective for the day, Dinslaken, a town with a pre-war population of 25,000, two miles east of the river.
Although the first German line had been broken, resistance could be expected to increase as the two German divisions in the area deployed their reserve of infantry and tanks against XVI Corps. Anti-aircraft positions formed an integral part of their defence line and both General Hobbs and General Wyche needed tanks and tank destroyers to support their attacks across the railways.
30th Division’s fight for the railway embankments
As it began to grow light, the German artillery had begun to target the engineers working along the river and landing craft and rafts had to be brought forward to float the equipment across the river where the dyke afforded some shelter. As Major General Hobbs considered the consequences of the delay, 105th Engineers reported another difficulty. Landing craft had been unable to unload the tank destroyers where they were needed on the east bank; soft mud on the shoreline had forced the pilots to find a new landing site.
The first platoon of light tanks had been welcomed in 119th Regiment’s area at 11:00 hours and immediately moved forward to 2nd Battalion in front of the railway embankment. A second platoon reached 1st Battalion on the south bank of the Lippe Canal an hour later and helped it advance towards Objective Joy where patrols reported that the tanks could cross the railway. They were also quick to note that German infantry and anti-aircraft guns could be seen waiting in the woods on the far side of the underpass; it appeared that the Germans intended to take advantage of the bottleneck. As the engineers set to work, anti-aircraft guns across the canal opened fire on 1st Battalion’s flank and while the mortar platoon fired smoke shells to screen the watercourse, two companies deployed to deal with the threat.
Armour pours into the bridgehead as XVI Corps prepares to attack across the Wesel – Dinslaken railway.
2nd Battalion reached the embankment thirty minutes later and Lieutenant Colonel McCown reported that he needed bulldozers to clear craters and barricades blocking the two underpasses on his front. As patrols moved over the embankment it was again obvious that infantry and anti-aircraft guns were waiting on the far side; three tanks had also been spotted waiting to target anything trying to move through the underpasses.
As the reports flooded into 119th Regiment’s command post, Colonel Baker agreed to give the engineers two hours to finish their work, in the meantime the GIs would have to keep the Germans at bay.
117th Regiment’s patrols reported mixed news to Colonel Johnson. The single underpass, Objective Katie, on the left of the Regiment’s sector, was blocked and 2nd Battalion kept the German infantry at bay while the engineers set to work. Meanwhile, the news from 1st Battalion’s patrols was promising; tanks would be able to negotiate the embankment. Colonel Johnson sent his first armoured support, a platoon of DD tanks, forward and by midday 1st Battalion was across the railway. The DD tanks then retraced their steps to help the 2nd Battalion clear Objective Katie.
As the rest of the division prepared to cross the embankment, 120th Regiment set about clearing the villages astride the railway lines. 2nd Battalion was met by machine-gun and tank fire from the orchards and hedges around Löhnen but the show of strength was shortlived. As Company E worked their way forwards, a solitary Panzer IV withdrew, leaving behind a token rearguard; Captain Walter Wert’s men quickly secured the village.
On 3rd Battalion’s front Major McCullough’s men were finally overcoming resistance in Möllen, and after Company L had cleared the riverbank and moved into the village from the south, Captain Shaw had Company I send patrols beyond the second railway line. It was soon apparent that there was no sign of the enemy on the Battalion’s next objective.
By mid-afternoon both divisions had all three regiments on the east bank but the ferries continued to work around the clock. 111-SC-272416
Colonel Purdue was growing concerned by Major McCullough’s desire to push on and expose 3rd Battalion flanks, but he quickly sought permission to probe beyond Möllen from divisional headquarters after McCullough had assured him that there was no sign of the enemy in the area. Major General Hobbs approved the plan when he heard the news from Major Eugene Thomas, Purdue’s intelligence officer:
3rd Battalion went through Ruth. They’re planning to attack Mae and bypass most of the East Lana, West and East Jean.
The opportunity on 3rd Battalion’s front was too good to miss. The chosen route involved advancing north-east before making a large sweeping arc through Bruckhausen, moving behind any Germans planning to make a stand around Voorde. Contact had just been made with 79th Division south of Möllen, securing Colonel Purdue’s southern flank and it appeared that the time was ripe for making a deep push into the enemy rear.
Since midday engineers had been ferrying Company B of the 744th Light Tank Battalion across the Rhine on Bailey rafts. Alongside landing craft shipped a platoon of 823rd Tank Destroyer Battalions to the east bank and by mid afternoon the M-10 Hellcats had joined Company K in Götterswickerhamm.
Artillery shells targeted the column as it waited to move and as Captain Plummer’s men scrambled for cover someone noticed a lone Piper Cub plane circling overhead; the only possible explanation was that the guns belonged to 79th Division. When news reached divisional headquarters General Hobbs immediately telephoned General Wyche for an apology; Wyche gave the caustic reply: ‘We have battalions to spare to fire at anything in our zone.’
The mistake was quickly cleared up when the commanding officer of an artillery battalion admitted to thinking that the tanks were German; he had not realised that 30th Division had penetrated so deep into the enemy positions.
As soon as Company K remounted their tanks, Task Force Plummer moved out, finding the area beyond Möllen clear of enemy troops. The advance took the Germans holding entrenchments on the road to Bruckhausen, codenamed Objective Mae, completely by surprise and as tanks rolled by the GIs shot at anyone who tried to run. At the head of the column Sergeant McLeod spotted a group of infantry digging in on the outskirts of Bruckhausen, 1,500 metres to the north-east and while the rest of Company K rounded up their prisoners, he urged the tank commander to drive on. Many Germans tried to run as they spotted the tanks climbing the slope but it was too late, fifteen were killed or wounded and another forty were taken prisoner. Although McLeod had taken an important position, Captain Plummer was forced to recall his sergeant; the hill was beyond the limit of XVI Corps artillery. 120th Regiment had advanced over six miles from the river; the furthest of all the three regiments.
Resistance collapsed across 30th Division’s front beyond the railway, and 120th Regiment pushed deep into the German rear.
Along the rest of 30th Division’s front preparations were under way for the assault across the Wesel – Dinslaken railway. Despite the show of resistance by infantry, tanks and anti-aircraft guns, 180th Division had been virtually destroyed by mid afternoon on 24 March. The only soldiers confronting General Hobbs’ men were a mixture of rear echelon troops from Regimental and Divisional Headquarters and a few stragglers who had escaped the initial assault.
The assault across the first railway line had been timed for 15:00 hours and as soon as fighter-bombers had flown overhead, Ninth Army’s guns across the river added to 180th Division’s woes. As the final rounds of smoke shells erupted on the German positions, infantry swarmed over the embankment as Chaffees, Shermans and M10 tank destroyers roared through the underpasses. The next phase of 30th Division’s attack was under way.
As XVI Corps pushed east, engineers started to build treadway bridges across the river. The sign on the front of the lorry reads Engineer Bridge Priority. 111-SC-337112
The battle for the underpasses along the Wesel-Dinslaken Railway.
The combined effect of planes, tanks, infantry and artillery stunned the Germans and the majority withdrew beyond the second railway embankment allowing 119th and 117th Regiments to take Objectives Ginny and Sue. The rapid advance made the village of Voorde in front untenable and 120th Regiment took Objective East Lana without a fight.
On 120th Regiment’s front 1st Battalion had not been idle and had been pushing forward while Company K drove deep into the German rear. Lieutenant Colonel Williamson’s men had moved forward across the railway alongside the rest of the division and at 18:00 hours Company B struck out towards Bruckhausen while Company K’s tanks fired into the German rear from the top of the slope. The outcome was inevitable and although a few determined individuals put up a fight, most of the German soldiers caught in 120th Regiment’s trap surrendered without firing a shot:
The majority of prisoners taken were slovenly and apathetic. One group taken near Bruckhausen had no previous training and had seen no previous combat. Many surrendered easily and most were happy to be taken. One officer, typically stubborn, claimed he would not have surrendered if his gun had not jammed and claimed Germany would never give in. Others tried to maintain their dignity, but talked after small persuasion.
1st Battalion eventually rounded up 114 prisoners and captured three anti-tank guns, a halftrack and a Panzer IV; engineers also disarmed two 500-pound bombs set to blow craters at two vital road junctions.
79th Division’s attack on Dinslaken
By mid afternoon 79th Division was in a position to renew the advance on its front. 313th Regiment had a firm hold along the Neue-Ernscher Canal on the division’s right flank while 314th Regiment had moved up into line alongside 315th Regiment. However, as General Wyche prepared to attack Dinslaken, nature decided to play a part and brought the movement of tanks and tank destroyers across the river to an abrupt halt. At 14:00 hours the wind veered to the south-east, pushing the smokescreen away from the crossing site, revealing the activity along the river to German observers for the first time in the day. As the enemy artillery started to range in, the chemical mortars tried to re-register their targets to compensate for the wind but they soon found that the new target areas were either out of range or already occupied by friendly troops; General Wyche had to find another way of restoring the smokescreen, and he needed it as quickly as possible.
Smoke pots failed to produce enough smoke and while divisional headquarters put the call out for a smoke-generating unit the decision was taken to suspend certain activities along the river until the smokescreen could be re-established. Although the landing craft carrying men and supplies were too fast to become targets, the slow moving tank carrying rafts would be sitting ducks.
During the delay the tank companies sent advance parties across the river to reconnoitre routes and arrange guides so that no time would be wasted when their vehicles eventually reached the east bank. After two hours’ delay, smoke-generators were in action and as smoke filled the sky over the Rhine once more, the tanks and tank destroyers began to move down to the river and load onto the waiting rafts. But as the armour crossed, General Wyche decided he could wait no longer, Dinslaken had to be taken before it was dark and 314th Regiment moved out at 16:30 hours while the tanks were still moving forward to join the infantry.
GIs move across a wrecked bridge towards 79th Division’s final objective, the town of Dinslaken. 111-SC-272415
Dinslaken, a maze of houses and industrial buildings surrounding a huge steel fabricating plant, was typical of the towns along the northern edge of the Ruhr; ugly to look at but perfect to defend. 1st Battalion came under fire first, drawing the attention of several Stug III assault guns near the factory while flak guns fired at 2nd Battalion from the outskirts of the town. As Colonel Robinson called for assistance, Ninth Army’s artillery systematically targeted the German positions, turning the town into an inferno.
The arrival of 717th Tank Battalion on 314th Regiment’s front quickly turned the tables against the Germans and although the light was fading fast, fires lit up the skyline as the Shermans moved in for the kill. The flak guns were destroyed one by one and the German assault guns withdrew to a safe distance as the GIs moved into the town. As 314th Regiment pushed into the burning ruins no one could fail to be impressed by the devastation wrought by Ninth Army’s artillery, in particular the men of 717th Tank Battalion who were taking part in their first battle:
This town, centred around a large steel fabricating plant, was on fire most of the day, and Company C’s 2nd Platoon received a heavy baptism of fire in more ways than one.
By midnight Dinslaken was secure, increasing 79th Division’s bridgehead to a depth of over three miles and while General Wyche’s position was anchored to the south by 313th Regiment’s line along the Neue-Ernscher Canal his men had contacted 30th Division to the north. German resistance had been ineffective and over 700 prisoners, mainly from the Hamburg Division’s 588th Regiment, had been taken; 79th Division’s own casualties had been light (313th Infantry only suffered one fatality and eleven wounded). Although the smokescreen problems had delayed General Wyche’s plans for several hours, it had made little difference to the outcome. At times many artillery batteries on the west bank of the Rhine had been silent due to a lack of targets and 79th Division had not had to call upon its assigned fighter-bomber group for assistance. Operation FLASHPOINT had been a total success and a tribute to Ninth Army’s planning.
Alligators ferried ammunition to the front line units before returning to the river bank with wounded GIs.
