Storming The Rhine in WW2 Caught on Film! (WW2 Documentary)

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2024-01-19に共有
In early March 1945 the German Army was well on the defensive and the outcome of WW2 in Europe was in no doubt. With allied forces approaching the vital River Rhine all along Eisenhower’s ‘broad front’, German hopes were to make one last defensive stand on the east bank of that river in hopes of stalling the allies and bringing about a negotiated peace on the Western Front. Those dreams were crushed when on 7th March, against all expectation, American troops discovered and stormed a vital bridge across the Rhine at a little known town called Remagen. This is that remarkable story.

Special thanks to WOWBuildings for providing us with the 3D model of the bridge. If you want to 3D print your own Remagen Bridge, check out their store. wowbuildings.net/product/remagen/


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Written References:
A. Rawson, Remagen Bridge (2004)
K. Hechler, The Bridge at Remagen (20055 edition)
H.G. Phillips, Remagen: Springboard to Victory (1994)
U.S. Army, The Bridge (1949)

Video References:

U.S. Army Pictorial Service, The Story of the Remagen Bridge Capture (1945), accessible via U.S. Army Pictoral Service: Story of Remagen Bridge Capture (youtube.com/)
A.N. Productions, The Bridge at Remagen (2023), accessible via:    • The Bridge at Remagen, 1945 ALL PARTS  

General Sources:

US National Archives (NARA)
165th Signal Photographic Company (Facebook Group)
Ralf Anton Schäfer (www.das-kriegsende.de)
British Newspaper Archive (BNA)
The National Archives, Kew (TNA)
Google Earth Pro & Web Versions
Maptiler Pro (Desktop Version)

Image Sources:

Maps: NARA Aerial Imagery
nara.gov
Bundesarchiv:
Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1971-033-01 / CC-BY-SA 3.0
Bundesarchiv, Bild 173-0422 / CC-BY-SA 3.0
Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1995-082-19 / Hackel [Hackl] / CC-BY-SA 3.0
Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-695-0407-13 / Leher / CC-BY-SA 3.0
Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-455-0006-02 / Kamm, Richard / CC-BY-SA 3.0
Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-J28732 / Pincornelly / CC-BY-SA 3.0
Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-J28489 / Herbert Ahrens / CC-BY-SA 3.0
Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-H28150 / CC-BY-SA 3.0
Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-H28150 / CC-BY-SA 3.0
WikiCommons:
Kriegsgräberstätte Birnbach by STYX69



Credits:
Research: Edwin Popken & Shane Greer
Historical Support: Ralf Anton Schäfer
Script & Narration: Dan Hill
Editing: Shane Greer & Linus Klassen
Thumbnail Design: Linus Klassen
Image Optimization: Linus Klassen
3D Model: With thanks to WOWbuildings.net
Music & Sound Effects: Epidemic Sounds

コメント (21)
  • @lizobrien1826
    My late father was there. He was RNZAF attached to a specialised RAF unit AMES 9432. This unit was traversing across France Belgium and into Germany from September 1944 until May 1945. I have in photo to verify. He told us five kids he was the first NZer there but never any details at all.
  • @JS-gf6uc
    My Dad Jack Sheppard was at the Bridge during the Battle and collapse. He passed away last Jan 2 nd. US Army.
  • This is by far the best documentary I have ever seen about the bridge at Remagen.
  • @HO-bndk
    Remagen is also where Julius Caesar bridged the Rhine.
  • My mother lived in Ariendorf just south of Remagen at that time. She told me that there had been a group of german engineers stationed there to repair the bridge. As the Americans approached they got marching order to the eastfront and was replaced with the aengineer with the task to blow the bridge. The reparing engineers then sabotaged the explosivs so they would be captured by the americans, a fate preferable to the east front.
  • @GregALang
    Timmermann was from West Point, Nebraska. He was born in Frankfurt, Germany but was raised by his mother in Nebraska. Timmermann himself was raising his family in Nebraska. He died in Aurora, Colorado because that's where he was hospitalized for the cancer that ended his life.
  • @schuletrip
    You out together the most impressive, thoughtful and respectful videos of these European wars. All sides and all soldier’s stories respectfully told. Tremendous stuff.
  • A friend of my dad Tony Romeo was one of the guys that helped captured the bridge. Tony was a very nice and kind man. Someone who I will never forget.
  • As a former Sapper this bridge was still being used to teach the management of bridge demolitions in the 1980’s. I was lucky to visit the site on a battlefield tour whilst at RMAS in 1982. Indeed the entire NATO protocol for demolitions had been developed to ensure that, in any future conflict, such command and control failures would be avoided.
  • @youdaman5069
    My grandfather was at the Battle of the Bulge and Remagen Bridge. He was lucky to have survived.
  • @piobmhor8529
    In 2011, I was working in Cologne and took the opportunity to visit Remagen. It’s a beautiful, peaceful Rhein valley town surrounded with vineyards. The twin towers on the Remagen side of the river are a museum today and we’ll worth visiting. Great pizza at the Cafe Venezia on Marktplatz.
  • @ralfanton62
    The team did a fantastic job producing this documentary. General Hoge's decision to take the Ludendorff Bridge and form a bridgehead on the east bank of the Rhine instead of advancing south as ordered permanently changed the course of World War II. When the bridge was taken, the Rhine defenses collapsed and the war was shortened by several weeks. Hoges decision led to the fighting for the Remagen bridgehead and enabled the 1st and 9th US armies to encircle the entire Army Group B with around 325,000 men in the Ruhr pocket.
  • Great story. My father was in the 127th AAA gun battalion, one of the antiaircraft units rushed to the area to defend the bridge. My father said that he was watching as the bridge collapsed. He said that the sound of the metal bridge girders giving way was terrifying, as well as seeing those on the bridge running for their lives before it collapsed.
  • Great episode! Personally, this was a very meaningful watch as my dad crossed the Ludendorff Bridge with the 99th Infantry Division. If I’m not mistaken, the 99th Division was the first full US division over the Rhine. The 99th continued attacking east into Germany and participating in the closing of the Ruhr Pocket. While Karl Timmermann was born in Colorado, he grew up in West Point, located in Cuming County, Nebraska. There is a memorial in Timmerman Park located in West Point in honor of Lieutenant Timmerman. There is also a bridge over the Elkhorn River just west of West Point named after Lieutenant Timmerman. Thank you for reminding Americans that WWII didn’t end in Normandy.
  • A very well done Documentary no loud noise you guys should have gotten an Emmy Award for this.
  • @davidturk6170
    Famous Major League baseball player, Warren Spahn Milwaukee Braves, was stationed there as a combat engineer. Was almost killed when the bridge collapsed. Would have lost the winningest left handed in baseball history.
  • My father was there with the 51st Engineer Combat Batallion, who built the heavy pontoon bridge downstream. Saw jet aircraft for the first time.
  • @ron4hunting
    my uncle was one of the men who tried get off the bridge when the bridge collapsed and he spent the night in the river hanging onto one of the barges . sadly he passed in 69 .
  • thanks for this excellent video. As a German I'm very happy of the efforts of the allies liberating us from a dictatorship. Went first time to the bridge in my youth time, in the mid seventies, when living in Bonn. Impressive, what was achieved in 45.