|
|
For a
few days at the end of World War II, the Bridge at Remagen was
the focus of world events. On March 7th, 1945, American
soldiers captured this bridge across the Rhine.
Since
the bridge was still intact, the event has come to be referred
to in history as the “Miracle of Remagen” as it made an unexpected
crossing of the Rhine possible for allied troops.
American
General Dwight D. Eisenhower was quoted as saying the bridge
was worth its weight in gold – Hitler, furious, suspected sabotage
and had five of his officers executed in a kangaroo court. Ten
days later, the heavily damaged bridge collapsed.
The
Bridge at Remagen was built during World War I at the behest
of the German military in order to shorten the supply route
to the western front. Finished in 1918, Kaiser William
II named it after General Erich Ludendorff. German soldiers
returning home from World War I, were among the first to cross
the bridge.
Between the wars, the bridge served the comings
and goings from one bank of the Rhine to the other, for example,
facilitating excursion traffic to the Eifel Mountains and the
Ahr Valley.
Shortly before
its collapse, German POWs were marched across the bridge by
their American captors to enter captivity.
|