Remagen Bridge Taken - 1995 Mint Imperforate Issue

March 7, 1945 Early in March, the Allied offensive had driven the Nazis back to Germany’s last natural defense, the Rhine River, notable for steep cliffs as high as 600 feet that gave an advantage to Nazi snipers and artillery against the Allied forces now encamped on the river’s western border. Crossing the Rhine was essential to keep the enemy in retreat, but this would not be easy since Hitler had ordered any bridge to be destroyed if the Allies came within 12 miles of its location. Luck was with the Allies as the 1st Army forced the enemy into a hasty retreat near the city of Remagen. Following their exodus, the Germans failed to detonate the Ludendorff railroad bridge on the outskirts of the city. Lieutenant Karl Timmermann and his men scrambled for the bridge and despite repeated attempts by the Germans to blow it up, they managed to move across a sufficient number of troops to secure their position. By the end of March, combat engineers had built 62 more bridges spanning the Rhine and Allied forces began advancing across the German countryside on their push toward Berlin.

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