Crossing of the Rhine river by Third US Army.

摘要

On 22 March 1945, assault boats carrying men of the 11th Infantry Regiment of the 5th Infantry Division and operated by the 204th Engineer Combat Battalion, silently shoved off from the west bank of the Rhine River at Nierstein, Germany, and the first assault crossing of the Rhine in modern history had begun. Before darkness of the following night, a bridge had spanned the river and such a firm bridgehead had been established on the east bank of the river that there was no longer any question of the success of the operation. Within the next 5 days, three more crossings were successfully executed and all resistance along the Rhine on the Third Army front had collapsed. Thus was successfully concluded the fruits of the most intensive period of Engineer planning that had been engaged in since the D-day operation of Normandy. This historical document presents an account of the preparations and logistics that occurred before the crossing as well as the crossing operation itself.