Oct 23, 1969  'Bridge at Remagen' tells the true story of the battle for this last bridgehead, from both the German and American perspective. Written by Anthony Hughes Plot Summary Add Synopsis.

During the First World War, several German officers pushed for the bridge to be built so that it could supply forces on the Western Front. Work on the bridge began in 1916 and was completed in 1919, after the end of the war.The bridge was named after General Erich Ludendorff, one of the highest profile advocates for its construction.The bridge was built by Russian prisoners captured on the Eastern Front. Despite the cost saving of forced labor, construction cost 2.1 million marks.The bridge was 398 meters long and consisted of three spans. At the eastern end was a 383-meter tunnel through the steep hill of Erpeler Ley. Stone towers guarded each end of the bridge, large enough to house a battalion of soldiers. The Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen from the west bank of the Rhine after it was captured by U.S.

Troops Plans for DestructionThe Ludendorff Bridge originally included cavities to hold demolition charges, so that the bridge could be destroyed before falling into enemy hands. After World War One the French occupied the Rhineland. During this time they filled the cavities with cement.In 1938, Germany retook the bridge along with the rest of the Rhineland.

They attached 60 boxes of explosives to the bridge’s girders, each holding 3.66 kilos of explosives.By March 1945, these charges had been removed and stored nearby. Instead, 2,000 kilograms of explosives were placed in the west pier and two 300 kilo charges attached to girders linked to the east pier.Attached to these charges was an electrical fuse controlled from the mouth of the Erpeler Ley tunnel. There was also a backup – a cord attached to the eastern explosives that could be lit manually. Taking the Bridge First U.S. Army men and equipment pour across the Remagen Bridge; two knocked out jeeps in the foreground. 11 March 1945At 12:56 on 7 March 1945, scouts of the US 9 th Armored Division arrived on a hill overlooking Remagen.

They were part of the Allied advance on Germany. The division’s role was to capture the town and continue south. No-one expected to find an intact bridge.The Ludendorff Bridge was still standing, the Germans using it to retreat across the Rhine. It was only lightly defended due to confusion among the retreating Germans.Brigadier General William M. Hoge, commander of Combat Command B, 9th Armored Division, was the senior American officer present. He ordered his troops to seize the bridge. He did not know the strength of the Germans on the other side, or whether this might be a trap, but could not risk missing an opportunity to capture the only intact bridge across the Rhine.The Germans were led by Captain Bratge.

Under his command were about 1000 men. Some were men recovering from injuries.

Others included engineers. Half were local Volksturm militia. Most lacked adequate training and equipment to defend the bridge.Bratge wanted to destroy the bridge, but could not do so without written authorisation. Following an accident the previous year, Hitler had promised severe punishment on anyone who destroyed a bridge without permission. Captain Karl Friesenhahn, the engineering officer responsible for carrying out the demolition, received inadequate quantities of civilian grade explosives, rather than the military grade explosives meant to do the job. A Pershing T26E3 of A Company, 14th Tank Battalion, is transported aboard a pontoon ferry across the Rhine on 12 March 1945At 1.50pm American infantry advanced on Remagen, followed half an hour later by tanks.

They arrived in Remagen at the same time. The town’s defense relied on local conscripts. Most of the static defenses were too weak to withstand the tanks. The only serious problem was a machine gun stationed above the town square, which the American tanks quickly took out.At 2 pm, Friesenhahn blew up a section of the approach to the bridge, to slow the Americans down. Bratge ran to find a superior officer and received the written demolition order he needed.

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