A long drive to Berlin.

[onlyMark]

The title is a little misleading in that it wasn’t me going to Berlin, it was the Allied forces in WWII.
Throughout the war there were innumerable examples of important moments. There were the turning the tide moments, the pivotal moments, the moments that if such and such hadn’t happened the end result may well have been different, or delayed at best.

One such is here, the subject of the report.
Remagen, specifically the Ludendorff Bridge.
At least one member of the forum who is extremely knowledgeable about this history will immediately recognise the name and as my knowledge is far less, if there is anything to be added, feel free.

The Allies landed in France on the 6th June 1944. By March 1945 they were approaching a major obstacle, the Rhine river. Numerous bridges spanned the river, 22 road and 25 rail, but by the beginning of March, only four were left.
This is partially due to the Allied bombing raids trying to destroy them to prevent reinforcements arriving from the east plus the German forces subsequently blowing them up to prevent the Allies crossing over.
The four were from north to south, in Cologne, Bonn, Remagen and Urmitz (north of Koblenz).

On the 6th March the one at Cologne was destroyed by the German forces, Bonn on the 8th and Urmitz on the 9th.
But - on the 7th March 1945 at 12.56, reconnaissance troops of the U.S. Army's 9th Armoured Division reached a point overlooking Remagen and were surprised to find the bridge intact.
They saw retreating German vehicles and forces filling Remagen's streets, all heading over the bridge, which was full of soldiers, civilians, vehicles and even livestock.

The details of the ensuing battle are comprehensive and far too lengthy to write it all down here.
Suffice to say the Wiki links are long and gives a good picture of the events -
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Remagen
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludendorff_Bridge

The bridge was 400m long, constructed of steel, named after a German WWI General who had pushed for a bridge at this location to be built and started in 1916 using Russian prisoners of war.
Each end are stone towers built in such a way that they could accommodate a Battalion of troops. It carried both rail and road traffic.
By late afternoon on the same day the bridge was taken. Due to ineffective demolition charges and confusion, the Germans had tried to blow the structure but failed.

Ten days later, “after months of aircraft bombing, direct artillery hits, near misses, and deliberate demolition attempts, the Ludendorff Bridge finally collapsed on 17 March at about 3:00 pm (killing twenty eight). From its capture 10 days before, over 25,000 troops and thousands of vehicles had crossed the bridge and the other two newly built tactical bridges.”

Time for some photos.
On walking towards the town the sun was as usual on the other side. I’d waited for a spell of fine weather that always just happens mid-afternoon when the side I want to be is in shadow.
Nice for the other side -




Dotted on the frontage to the river are old photos. You can just make out the bridge in the background -




This is the view nearby today. In the far distance on the other side of the river just after the houses is the east bank tower -






The same towers closer up -




These are the west bank ones -




There are a series of plaques attached to them -










All that is left of the steel structure -






More information -




Working my way behind the towers, some of the stone approaches remain -










A modern map of the town but notice the red, green and blue lines to the left labelled A4, A3, A2 and A5. These detail circular walks ranging from 5km to 13km in the surroundings. Certainly if I’m here again I’ll see about doing a couple of them -




Not far from the river is a cemetery. The first part is dedicated to those from WWI -






Then, attached to a wall are these. Lists of local soldiers who lost their life in WWII, plus, ‘An Den Kriegsfolgen Starben - died in the aftermath of the war, ‘Vermisst Blieben’ - still missing and ‘Bei Bombenangriffen kamen Ums Leben’ - people who died in bombing raids -






It’s all a quiet place now -

[kerouac2]

Very interesting. You can still see vestiges of destroyed bridges all over that part of Europe. When I was still quite young (first part of the 1960s), when we went to Metz with my grandparents, we still drove across a pontoon bridge left by the Americans across the Moselle. I'm not sure when that one was rebuilt, but I read that the very last one in that area was not even rebuilt until 1983. War damage stays around for a very long time.

[mossie]

A good history lesson.

[fumobici]

Very nice report. Odd to me to see destroyed bridges that haven't been rebuilt or have a new one built right near. Bridges are usually sited in the quite obvious places that best favor a crossing and connect to other natural lines of communication.

[onlyMark]

I think the reason this bridge was built in the first place was for military reasons. As these no longer apply I doubt there is much motivation to replace it.
And then when I look into the answer I find - "The bridges at Huningue, Rastatt, Rüdesheim (Hindenburgbrücke) and Remagen (Ludendorffbrücke), were built for strategic military reasons only, in order to allow the Imperial German Army and later on, the Wehrmacht, to quickly transport forces by rail to Germany's western border in the event of a war with France. Unlike other bridges built for the same purpose, such as the ones at Koblenz or Cologne, these bridges were of almost no use in peacetime and thus, were never rebuilt, after their destruction during the last months of World War II, except for the one at Rastatt, which was used to supply units of the French Army stationed in the area."

[kerouac2]

In cities, bridges are nearly always rebuilt in exacctly the same place, because that's where the streets are. However in Paris you can see the stone vestiges of the old Solférino bridge next to the new pedestrian bridge -- but this bridge (old or new) did not connect streets, so placing it was an optional choice.

Out in the countryside it is not at all unusual to see the ruins of an old bridge alongside the replacement bridge, but I think it is a matter of both convenience and budget. It is easier (and cheaper) to build a completely new bridge rther than fixing the rubble of the old one. The only work that needs to be done concerning the destroyed bridge is to remove any dangerous pillars from the middle of the river, if it is navigable.

[bixaorellana]

What a gorgeous opening photograph, followed by a somber yet beautiful and informative report.

Monuments to fallen soldiers are always sad, no matter how long ago they died and whether or not they were on "our side". Looking at the names, all I see are people, almost always young, who got chewed up and spit out by giant actions not of their making.

Like Fumobici, I was surprised to see all those bridges just left in a ruined state, so am happy to find out why, as well as learning the rest of the history presented here.

Sorry to be flippant, but the title keeps making me think it should be "onlyMark Drives on Deep into Germany".

[onlyMark]

I'll be driving deep into the Balkans in a few days. On the 31st, arriving on the 1st if all goes to plan.