Operation Lumberjack

Operation Lumberjack
Part of the Invasion of Germany in World War II
American forces cross the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen
Date 7 – 25 March 1945 Location Remagen, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany 50°34′45″N 7°14′39″E / 50.57917°N 7.24417°E / 50.57917; 7.24417Coordinates: 50°34′45″N 7°14′39″E / 50.57917°N 7.24417°E / 50.57917; 7.24417 Result Allied victory
Belligerents
United States  Belgium	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Courtney Hodges	Erich Brandenberger
Strength
1st Army	7th Army

Operation Lumberjack was a military operation with the goal of capturing the west bank of the Rhine River and seizing key German cities, near the end of World War II. The First United States Army launched the operation in March 1945 to capture strategic cities in Nazi Germany and to give the Allies a foothold along the Rhine.

One unexpected outcome was the capture of the Ludendorff bridge, a strategic railroad bridge across the Rhine, in the Battle of Remagen. Despite German attempts to destroy the bridge, Allied forces captured it intact and were able to use it for ten days to establish a beachhead on the far side, before it finally collapsed at 3:00 PM on 17 March 1945 after months of aircraft bombing, direct artillery hits, near misses, and demolition attempts.

The Germans had repeatedly frustrated Allied efforts to cross the Rhine. With the 21st Army Group firmly established along the Rhine, Bradley's 12th Army Group prepared to execute Operation Lumberjack. General Omar Bradley's plan called for the U.S. First Army to attack southeastward toward the juncture of the Ahr and Rhine Rivers and then swing south to meet Patton, whose U. S. Third Army would simultaneously drive northeastward through the Eifel. If successful, Lumberjack would capture Cologne, secure the Koblenz sector, and bring the 12th Army Group to the Rhine in the entire area north of the Moselle River. The 12th Army Group also hoped to capture a large number of Germans.

Following Lumberjack, the Allies had planned for a pause along the Rhine while Montgomery's 21st Army Group began Operation Plunder, a large, carefully planned movement across the Rhine near Düsseldorf and the Dutch border. Montgomery would then capture the Ruhr, the industrial heartland of Germany.

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