The Ludendorff Bridge

[StraightEight]

Stole a rental car early Tuesday morning from our film shoot at the Nurburgring and dashed up to Remagen. It was a spectacular June morning for a visit to the remains of the Ludendorff Bridge.

Old Glory still flies over the west towers.

It's more than 65 years after Able Company of the 27th Armored Infantry Battalion of the 9th Armored Division seized the bridge on March 7, 1945, company commander Karl Timmermann leading the first foreign invaders to cross the Rhine since Napoleon's time.

The imposing Erpler Lay rises above the east towers, the rail tunnel hidden by trees. A cross on the ridge marks where German defenders fired on U.S. infantry trying to cross.

The Americans tried to bomb it and the Germans tried unsuccessfully to blow the bridge prior to the crossing and then shell it afterward. They fired 11 V-2 rockets at it, two of which landed in the village of Remagen. The bridge finally collapsed on March 17, 1945, killing 28 U.S. combat engineers who were working to repair it.

The west towers contain the Friedensmuseum Brucke von Remagen, which opens at 10am, too late for me as I had to get back.

 

[too much coffee]

Pity you didn't see the museum in the west tower, quite interesting. I was stationed in Bad Kreuznach and used to go there all the time.
Glad you got to see the remains of the bridge, very historic.
What did you think of the movie starring Robert Vaughn?

 

[StraightEight]

Pity you didn't see the museum in the west tower, quite interesting. I was stationed in Bad Kreuznach and used to go there all the time.
Glad you got to see the remains of the bridge, very historic.
What did you think of the movie starring Robert Vaughn?

Terrible. If you've read the Ken Hechler book, the movie is a travesty and pretty awful on a cinematic level. Made with way too much late '60s anti-war sentiment to be accurate. And why did they change all the names? Karl Timmermann was an instant celebrity. He made the front page of US newspapers on March 9 and was cited by name in the House of Representatives. Plus, he was born less than a hundred miles from the actual bridge, was the son of a US soldier who deserted in WWI, was snubbed by his home town of West Point, Nebraska upon his return. Talk about a great story! I guess Hollywood didn't think so.

 

[SkullCowboy]

A friend that I worked with way back when had a big photo album his father had given him. His father was in the US Army during WWII and had been in one of the units that helped take the bridge. The album had pictures he had taken and a lot of them were of the Ludendorff Bridge, both before and after it collapsed, and of a pontoon bridge next to it.

 

[Paul M.]

Wonderful photos. A friend of mine was in the 27th Armored Infantry Battaltion, Company A, and was in the first element that charged across the bridge. His name was Ralph Shackelford. He had returned to Remagen twice after the war to pay his respects to fallen comrades and retrace his steps. Sadly, He passed on Dec. 18th, 2015, at the age of 97. It was fascinating to hear about March 7th, 1945 from the lips of someone who was there. A Patriot and gentleman to the last. I will be presenting a memorial tribute display for him this September 10th, in Platte City, MO for their yearly "Salute to Veterans", at the Mid-Continent Public Library. For those interested in the subject, I recommend the book The Bridge at Remagen, by Ken Hechler.