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IBTyrone -> New Bridge at Remagen mini-campaign (1/24/2005 4:27:50 PM)
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The Bridge at Remagen
A mini-campaign for SP:WAW 8.3
A three scenario mini-campaign chronicling the attack and capture of the Ludendorff Bridge, near Remagen, Germany, March 7th and 8th, 1945.
Design: Jeff "IBTyrone" Groeling
[image]http://www.geocities.com/tyronevance/bruecke_erpel.jpg[/image]
Historical Background:
On the morning of March 7, 1945, the spearhead of Hoge’s Combat Command B of the 9th Armored Division, Task Force Engemann, led by Lt. Colonel Leonard Engemann was ordered to ordered to reach the Rhine as quick as possible and then turn South to meet up with other elements of the 9th Division. Task Force Engemann was composed of Company A of 27th Armored Infantry Battalion, commanded by 2nd Lt Karl Timmerman, and elements of Company A, 14th Tank Battalion,led by Captain George "The Greek" Soumas which included a platoon of newly arrived M26 Pershing tanks, commanded by Lt. John Grimball. Only four Pershings were available as the fifth was in for repair. Also attached to TF Engemann was one platoon of C Troop of the 89th Calvary Reconnaissance squadron.
Despite sporadic resistance on the way to the Rhine River the morning of the 7th, TF Engemann reached the heights above Remagen near St. Apollinaris church around noon to find the Ludendorff Bridge on the Southeastern edge of town still standing.
Colonel Engemann was faced with a dilemma--call in artillery and aircraft to destroy the bridge and prevent more Germans from retreating across or to make an attempt to capture it. Engemann made a decision to try and capture the bridge intact and sent his troops and tanks into Remagen to secure the town before making an attempt on the bridge. As the Americans approached the bridge, the Germans blew a large crater on the approach to the bridge to stop tanks from crossing. Lt. Timmerman's company fought their way across the bridge under intense enemy fire as the Germans attempted to destroy it with demolition charges. Several explosions damaged part of the bridge, but the main charges failed to fire and the bridge remained standing.
After capturing the bridge, Lt. Timmerman ordered his second platoon, commanded by Lt. Jim Burrows, to capture the heights above the bridge in order to secure the bridgehead. After a hard fight up the 600 foot Eperler Ley with Germans shooting and rolling grenades down on his men, Burrows managed to secure the heights.
By the evening, the engineers were able to fill the crater on the approach to bridge and make enough repairs to the bridge to start moving armor across. However, the Pershings had to stay in Remagen because the engineers were uncertain whether the shaky bridge would be able to hold their weight. The other nine Shermans of company A, 14th Tank Batallion, moved across and took up positions along a 3,000 frontage of the bridgehead. After the Shermans crossed, a tank destroyer from the 656th Batallion began to move across and slipped off the bridge roadway. The tank destroyer was perched precariously on two beams blocking all vehicular traffic across the bridge until it could be cleared at 5:30am on the morning of the 8th. While the engineers were working feverishly to remove the trapped tank destroyer, the Germans launched several determined counterattacks during the night to get close enough to the bridge to blow it up. The Germans engaged in a fierce local struggle with the first Americans to cross the bridge and just before dawn a handful with the explosives actually managed to reach the bridge. American troops from the 78th Infantry Division captured them before they could place the explosive on the bridge from the truck.
On the 17th of March 1945 the Ludendorff Bridge collapsed. 28 American engineers attempting to repair the bridge lost their lives. In the ten days that the bridge had been in American hands, several pontoon bridges across the Rhine had been completed. There was no immediate further need for the Ludendorff span.
The capture of the bridge is known in the annals of the war as the "Miracle of Remagen". General Eisenhower stated that "the bridge is worth its weight in gold". In the days immediately following, the German High Command made desperate attempts to destroy the bridge by bombing runs by the Luftwaffe and even employing frogmen.
There is no doubt that the capture of the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen had a significant effect on the events leading up to the end of WWII. Probably the greatest impact was in respect to the morale of both the German and Allied Forces and the disruption it caused in both the command and subsequent redeployment of the remaining German Forces. The claims that it shortened the war by one or two weeks are difficult to substantiate but are certainly not unreasonable.
Campaign Notes:
With True troop off/Rarity off, there are 1312 points to apply toward the purchase of a mechanized infantry company and a cavalry reconnaissance section. A historically correct version of the mechanized infantry company would include 57mm AT guns, 60mm M2 mortars and jeeps. The calvary recon section can be purchased under the armored area for 131 points. In this version of the crossing of the Rhine, the mini-campaign is far from bloodless and perhaps more challenging than might or should be expected. Part of this is due to limitations in the game engine (German morale was very low by this stage in the war) and optimal cooperation between different segments of German forces possible in the game (The AA units play much more significant a role in this mini-campaign than they did in reality). That being said, I have made a very strong effort to be as historically accurate as possible. Maps and troop strengths are as good as possible given the books and online resources available.
References:
Hechler, Ken. "The Bridge at Remagen: The Amazing Story of March 7, 1945- The Day the Rhine River Was Crossed" Pictorial Histories Publishing Company; Revised edition (January 1, 1994)
"The Bridge." Booklet, n.d. 30 p. D757.9R4B75.
http://www.mindspring.com/~sgasque/army/bridge.htm
"The 9th: The Story of the 9th Armored Division" Booklet text available online:
http://www.lonesentry.com/gi_stories_booklets/9tharmored/
Available for download over at the SPWAW forums:
http://www.spwaw.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4311
And now available at the filedepot over a Wargamer:
http://www.wargamer.com/gamesdepot/details.asp?sid=3883
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