Storming The Rhine in WW2 Caught on Film! (WW2 Documentary)
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- Опубліковано 6 тра 2024
- 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.
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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,...
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
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.
Thanks very much, glad you found it interesting!
😮.@@BattleGuideVT
999999999999999999999999999999999999999 4:05 @@BattleGuideVT
@BattleGuideVT War has only winners and benefactors whom risk little.
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.
This is by far the best documentary I have ever seen about the bridge at Remagen.
I completely agree. It's not even close.
Thanks so much!
@@rodsdmba1571 Thank you!
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.
Thanks for the comment Ralf, some really interesting thoughts.
And the earlier decision to attack through the Hurtgen Forest etc swallowed up vast amounts of men and material and lengthened the war.
The capture of Berlin ended the War. The Bridge was a rather minor incident
@@larryzigler6812
If the western Allies hadn't crossed the Rhine, the Germans who surrendered to them would have been sent to defend Berlin. How many MORE Soviet soldiers would have been killed or wounded then?
@@larryzigler6812 go back to trolling kiddie videos and let the adults have meaningful discourse. You have zero clue what you're talking about.
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.
oh no, what a tratedy that would have been for the worlds gayest sport
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.
We're the Rhine bridges mined during the Cold War?
@@fazole I honestly don’t know if that was planned, as it was far behind our area of responsibility. That being said, no bridge had explosive charges on them in peacetime.
@@bob_the_bomb4508 i am not sure about swiss bridges
@@M-I-K-E the Swiss are a law unto themselves. Literally… :(
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.
Similar comment made by myself about my second cousin twice removed as he crossed just north of the bridge with the 104th ID, he was KIA on 24 March 1945, unfortunately.
Damn, that was brillant! Well done all involved.
Thanks General!
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.
How interesting... and sneaky!
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.
My father was there with the 376th AAA battalion.
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.
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.
Yet part of your country was taken over by that other dictator: Stalin. Has Germany recovered from that? I hear the east is still poorer than the west.
Thank you Wolf, my dad was there on top of that hill ,with his anti-aircraft (4x.50 cal.) halftrack .
I appreciate your anti-dictator sentiment here in 2024 .
There's no kidding around about it at the level of national politics.
@@brianmcsorley3229 some time ago I walked with a British friend across the battlefields at Verdun. His grandfather and mine were fighting against each another. We can be so happy that nowadays we have had so long period of piece in Europe, and that we can be friends .
" liberating us from a dictatorship" nothing like a new mythology. the allies were fighting with german state which then was nazi
Crap yt app cuts in a sudden ad and the comment I was reading is gone! That's what I get for using their shit app! No more!
My grandfather was at the Battle of the Bulge and Remagen Bridge. He was lucky to have survived.
Very lucky greatest generation. My dad said he could hear bullets hitting bridge railing when he ran across
Absolutely completely amazing! Why on earth can't big budget documentaries hold a candle to this!? You guys should really think about submitting this stuff for archival or TV or something! ❤
Wow, high praise indeed, thanks for the kind words!
No. They would be held to DEI standards, the dialogue inspected for hurtful comments or content, then they would have to hire about 200 union members. By the time this crew would have been remade, the quality and unique perspectives would be lost.
Keep up the wonderful work. You guys are craftsmen of the highest order.
Great video of an important chapter of WW II. My dad was in Big Red One, 639th AAA battalion. He was on 40mm anti aircraft gun battling Luftwaffe planes desperately trying to destroy the bridge. He was very proud of how his unit helped protect that bridge and shorten the war.
Glad you enjoyed it.
My father crossed the Rhine with the Big Red One, 26th Regiment, 2nd Battalion at Remagen. He said he they crossed in boats under fire. He said he pitied the men who manned the boats because, while he only crossed once, those men crossed over and over again shuttling the troops across the river. He mention the spectacular show when the AAA put a massive cone of fire over the bridge and how it was almost impossible for aircraft to penetrate it. Dad also said that once they got across, it was rough. The Germans had the high ground and the US forces were stalled. It was difficult to get supplies to the troops who had crossed and dad said that they were down to eating the one C ration that nobody liked.
It was when the paratroopers landed behind the Germans, that the pressure was taken off them and then they could move forward. Dad said it was no walk in the park.
My Uncle, Kenneth Whitcher was there as a tank driver. I've heard of this all my life and have seen the movie several times. This documentary is great.
Thank you.
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.
Thanks for this very detailed and interesting documentary! My father (82nd Airborne) crossed the Rhine n that bridge and now I live in Germany, near Cologne, not far from Remagen. I've visited the town many times and biked past the bridge regularly in summer.
You've done a fantastic job, the attention to detail is incredible! The perspectives from both sides, the strategic context vs on the ground action, overlays of historic photographs and contemporary footage make this a masterclass in storytelling!
My Dad Jack Sheppard was at the Bridge during the Battle and collapse. He passed away last Jan 2 nd. US Army.
It's the English language. The Americans and Canadians pronounce them wrong. :)
I’ve been to Remagen and the sight of the structures at the former ends of the Ludendorff Bridge is heart-stopping for a person who knows the history. You’ve told the story very well indeed.
As ex Royal Engineer sapper I really enjoyed the story of the Remagen bridge. There was a movie made in the 1969 about the capture of the bridge. Might be a film worth watching again. However you brought the story of the capture of the bridge to life. Well done! 😊
Thanks Paul, glad you enjoyed it!
It was on British tv only the other week. I watched the first half hour before I had to go out. Seen it before a few times though.
The movie infantry events were largely fiction.
@@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935 The historical events don't make for a traditional warmovie. The initial capture of the bridge was almost by accident. Although those few US infantry running across the bridge must have felt every gun in Germany was firing at them, there were very few German defenders at the time.
Apart from the platoon that ran across the bridge, there were two small teams of about four men each that stormed the two towers defending the bridge. However, the machinegunners in the towers weren't expecting any problems so were taken by surprise. As one assault team broke into a tower, the team leader, Sgt. DeLisio, immediately kicked the German machinegun out of the window, the German gun crew surrendered, and that was it.
Only in the following days and weeks did the actual battle break out, as the Germans tried to recapture/destroy the bridge with the Americans defending it and sending more and more men across the river every day.
My father was there with the 51st Engineer Combat Batallion, who built the heavy pontoon bridge downstream. Saw jet aircraft for the first time.
Hi Dan & Team, thanks for another top notch presentation
Our pleasure!
VERY well done! No phony sound effects or background noise. Perfect!
Can't get enough of these. Thanks for doing them, and keep them coming!
Very good video!!! Capturing the Ludendorff Bridge was unexpected and the Allies exploited it immediately. It shortened the war and saved lives.
Superb essay, really well edited and narrated, thank you.
These uploads bring it all to life. Names, antics, details of opposing armies.
So good...thank you.
Thanks for watching.
*Re: Lieutenant Karl Heinrich Timmermann*
His father was a German immigrant who joined the US Army and was stationed in Frankfurt, Germany in 1919.
He went AWOL and met his future wife, they got a son, Karl.
The family returned to the USA in 1922. Because of his father's desertion, Karl and his brothers decided to join the US Army when it joined WW1 to redeem their family name.
By extraordinary coincidence, Lieutenant Timmermann ended up at Remagen, a place he knew from his father's stories when he was AWOL in Germany.
Timmermann informed his superiors that although Remagen was rather isolated, a few miles from the river was the Autobahn (German highways) that led to Frankfurt.
In 1969, the warmovie 'The Bridge at Remagen' was released. Although dramatized, it does have great visuals of the landscape and the bridge itself. Or rather, a similar bridge built by the same company in what was Czechoslovakia at the time. The Czech bridge and town in the movie bore a great resemblance to the WW2 town of Remagen (a bit like the movie 'A Bridge Too Far' was shot in the Dutch town of Deventer because they had a similar bridge like at Arnhem).
The movie's production was cut short in August 1968, when the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact forces invaded to repress the Prague Spring with force.
Film crew and actors were hastily evacuated including the WW2 vintage vehicles. The final scenes were finished in Hollywood but when you watch the movie, it's hard to tell the difference.
Great story, well told. Enjoyed that!
Much appreciated!
You guys are making some of the best docs out there!
Thanks for that Scott
My grandfather helped build one of the pontoon bridges under heavy fire, there were 3 bridges able to be out of 33 that were able to be constructed.
Excellent production and images...
Incredible video, thank you for your work 👏
Glad you enjoyed it!
I was fortunate enough to visit Remagen in the 80's. I was able to see the remains. When I visited, the footings in the river were still there. They had not been demolished yet. It was awe-inspiring. Knowing that that 1 bridge, was a turning point in the war against Nazi Germany. Great documentary. Thanks for those memories!
The crossing at Remagen was likely the nail in Montgomery’s coffin as regards a major role in the conquest of the German homeland. For much of the thrust across France the plan was for Montgomery to cross the Rhine in the North and utilize the relatively open countryside to drive towards Berlin. Monty had sequentially lost Eisenhower’s favour with the failure in the Netherlands, his resistance to Eisenhower’s superior rank and finally a seriously self aggrandizing news conference after the Bulge. By crossing the Rhine 3 weeks before Operation Plunder/Varsity the calculation favouring 21st Army Group as the main offensive element had changed. The British and Canadians were diverted northward toward Denmark as the Americans headed into central Germany and the Elbe.
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 .
Your editing and story like narration is truly impressive
Oh yay! New battle guide vid, this is a treat
Hope you enjoy it!
Very well documented and presented, thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Incredible video! I've never seen most of the footage shown, I'm not sure how you don't have millions of subs!
Wow, thanks very much. We are still quite new here one YT, so hopefully one day if we keep doing what we enjoy, but very glad you found it interesting!
I’m just so impressed by the quality and detail you put into these little docs. You really do your homework on this channel.
Thanks very much Joey!
@@BattleGuideVT you’re welcome. It’s very deserved. You’re gonna be at a million subscribers in no time
My grandfather was a Marine in WW1 and crossed the Remagen Bridge when his outfit entered Germany. Fast forward to WW2 and my father was in the US Army and witnessed the Remagen Bridge when it collapsed. Can't make this stuff up...
Informative and superb video! Great narration, Dan. I also like the shots of today compared to footage taken in 1945. The maps were helpful as usual and it was great getting to see the footage.
Kudos!
Keep up the great work.
Many thanks Alex, really appreciate that
@@BattleGuideVT You're very welcome. I learn a lot from each video. Kudos.
I've never read or heard about this event.
Thank you for the enlightenment!
You have earned yourself a new subscriber.
I remember thinking when I watched Mark Felton’s video on the subject how remarkably historically accurate the film adaptation The Bridge At Remagen was, and this video just exemplifies that thought even further
Love Mark's work!
What a great video, I just couldn't stop watching, thank you.
Great video-Bought tears to my eyes as I watched the bravery of those soldiers who perished whilst attempting to save the bridge
Splendid video ! Kudos 👏👏👏
Glad you liked it!
Wonderfully told story! Salute to you from a retired U.S. Navy chief petty officer in the Pacific Northwest of the USA!
My dad's former boss wrote the book and was at Remagen bridge. Ken Hechler.
Sgt. Alex Drabik lived only a few miles from me , as I lived just across the road from Holland Township in the 1960s and 1970s. I know two of his cousins. Had I known it back in the late '70s and into the '80s when I had taken great interest in WW2, I'd have looked him up. Some of the fellows I knew in the area used to go to his house with beer in hand, where he would then talk about his wartime experiences.
The information embedded in this video is absolutely wild. You’ve got yourself a new subscriber!…can’t wait to binge the rest of your videos. Great work!
Awesome! Thank you!
I was in 9th Engr USAER during the 70s. We had a stone from the Remagen Bridge on our Parrade grounds next to the Flag pole. We were all well versed in the story of the Remagen Bridge head!
Brilliant vid! Thanks.
A family friend of ours, Paul Robinson, was the commander of one of those half tracks that shot down planes attacking the bridge. He was an amazing man with a hundred stories about his generation. The Greatest Generation.
They were. My uncle was on second wave on Omaha. My Dad was with 101 gliders. Made two jumps behind nazi lines. But those who serve are the greatest of EVERY generation.
Vietnam vet.
What a production! Well done!
I really enjoyed your documentary. It was impressive and succinct.
A very good documentary, great footage and informative storyline, thank you
Very well done narration. Your storytelling is spot on.
Thank you kindly!
Excellent Episode…..First one I have watched …look forward to others
Good narration. Made good viewing. 👍
Fascinating video, thanks
Glad you enjoyed it!
A very well done Documentary no loud noise you guys should have gotten an Emmy Award for this.
Great video! Great narration! Well done! Thank you so much.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for this. It was very well presented.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Yet another fantastic and informative video. Thank you 🙏
Thanks very much.
Remagen is also where Julius Caesar bridged the Rhine.
Well done. Love Hell Let Loose. Loved the history behind the Remagen map.
great video thank you
Glad you enjoyed it
AN excellent documentary. One of the best I have seen on the events of World War II.
Great Video, Great Tribute.
Thanks for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it
Amazing! Thank you. 👏
My favorite ww2 movie is called the Bridge at Remagen. Idk how accurate the film is and all but to me it really shows how important the bridge was and how crazy the last few months of the war were.
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.
Very well done. Thank you. 🇨🇦
As always, great content.
Much appreciated!
I remember watching the movie this was way better. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Never knew about this bridge until I played HLL, great video!
Glad you enjoyed!
Thanks for sharing! Nice, and too the point!
Glad it was helpful!
A simply brilliant documentary, thank you for the amazing history lesson!
You are welcome thanks for tuning in.
Superb documentary 👏
Great video and history lesson.
Great info, thanks for doing this
Glad it was helpful!
So well done, thank you.
Our pleasure!
Good vid indeed! Well done
Karl Timmerman was from West Point, NE. He died in aurora, CO. There are memorials all over West Point and there are still a lot of Timmermans in the area and multiple memorials to him. Get it right because the town of West Point is really proud of him (rightfully so)!
Lieutenant Karl Heinrich Timmermann was originally born in Frankfurt am Main in 1922, about 160 kilometers from Remagen.
The family moved back to the USA two years later but Timmermann remembered from his father that Remagen, while isolated, was only a few kilometers away from the Autobahn (highway) to Frankfurt.
With that knowledge, Timmermann was able to convince his superiors of the importance of the Remagen crossing.
Imagine his superior, asking Timmermann, 'are you sure?'
And him replying 'Yes sir, I was born in Frankfurt, my father told me the Autobahn is close to Remagen.'
Your channel is top notch.
Excellent details. Not hurried over like many other documentaries,
Much appreciated!
The Arado AR 234 was a jet used by the Germans in an attempt to bomb the bridge. Not sure if the ME 262 was also used but if you say so. Not in any way meant take away from your great video. Thanks
Excellent documentaries
Really excellent presentation.
great production!
Superb production!
Glad you like it!
Nicely done; you have a subscriber.
Well done ! 👍🏽
Been checking every day for the past week to see if you'd uploaded 🤣
Ha, sorry, this one turned out to be a bit of a beast, hope you think its worth the wait!
That was an amazing part of history well documented, thankyou
Glad you enjoyed it
As the Norm, Outstanding Presentation !
Thanks John!