Original subtitles

By March of 1945, millions of allied troops

mobilize along the west bank of the river Rhine

ready to deal a death blow to Nazi Germany.

Their plans are epic.

Airborne drops, um, river crossings,

engineers building their own bridges.

It's almost analogous to another amphibious invasion.

But in a surprise turn of events,

rather than a great general...

Caesar or George Patton or somebody like that.

An unlikely warrior

may be the first allied soldier to cross the Rhine.

On June 6th, 1944,

Allied forces finally land troops in Normandy

to open the western front.

But Nazi fanatics and diehards

continue to fight ruthlessly for survival.

D-day was a battle.

The allies still need to win the war.

March 6th, 1945.

Flerzheim, Germany.

American army captain Frederick Kriner

leads 27th armored infantry battalions Able Company

in a mop up operation.

Kriner orders his men to sweep for Nazi defenses

and secure the town as quickly as possible before they move on.

But as they leave...

Aaaah!

Kriner is struck down.

At this point in the war,

it proves difficult to know who the enemy is.

In 1945, the German forces are a mixed bag.

You've got regular units,

you've got SS units, Hitler youth,

and you've got the Volksstrum, so the people's army.

So we don't actually know which unit wounded Captain Kriner.

This confusion does not improve the odds for allied forces

advancing into Germany.

The casualty rates in the US Army, in that spring of 1945,

are almost as high as they had been

the previous summer in the battle of Normandy.

There's still a lot of ways to get killed and wounded

and even captured, at this point in the war.

You just know you have to do more fighting today

and you hope to survive to see next week.

That has not changed.

With Kriner wounded and evacuated...

Platoon leader 2nd lieutenant Karl Timmermann

takes over Able company.

It is the fourth change of command in just six days.

The responsibility of command is with you.

The lives of other people are in your hands.

When your commander was around there was always that layer

between you and that level of responsibility.

Now you see him led away,

things get pretty serious at that point.

OK. Two move forward

Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!

Timmermann is an unlikely candidate for leadership.

NARRATOR Despite serving in the US Army, he speaks German.

Timmermann was born in Frankfurt, not far from here.

Timmermann's father had served in the American occupying force

after World War I,

but deserted to marry Karl's mother who was German.

The family later moves back to the United States.

Karl and his brothers all enlist to redeem the family name

after their father's dishonor.

Now as part of the 9th armored division,

Timmermann has returned to Germany.

He is part of the massive allied advance east,

which is slowed each time they need to ford another of the rivers,

which criss-cross western Europe.

You've moved through some German territory,

you've started to breech the Siegfried line,

which is a belt of fortifications in Western Germany.

And now the main barrier in front of you is the actual Rhine itself.

The Rhine

Stretching 765 miles from the Swiss alps to the north sea.

The Rhine has long served as a moat to protect German states from the west.

It is the last natural barrier

before advancing into the heart of Germany.

So, who has got the Rhine, has got Germany.

Allied planners must now find a way to move 80 divisions,

about four million soldiers to the other side.

It's a challenge as big as D-day.

What makes it even more difficult,

is that as the allies rush towards the 31 bridges

that cross the Rhine deeper into Germany, they drop into the river,

demolished by retreating German forces to slow the allied advance.

To compensate, the allies transport hundreds of boats

and tons of bridge building materials,

to get across in other ways.

But the goal of Timmermann's 9th armored division

is only to occupy the west bank of the Rhine

to cut off the Nazi retreat.

The 9th Armored division is not scheduled to cross the Rhine

and they resent it a little bit.

They feel like, they're a first team unit

that ought to get the first crack at this kind thing.

The next morning, Karl Timmermann briefs his platoon leaders

on the day's mission as the commanding officer.

They lead a task force to occupy the town of Remagen

on the west bank of the Rhine river.

The route will cover about ten miles and take them through small villages.

They have orders to avoid any skirmishes

and to maintain a speed of about 10 miles per hour.

Timmermann points out a rail bridge across the river

from Remagen to the east side

that they expect to be destroyed.

By noon, A-Company approaches a vantage point with a view of Remagen.

Reconnaissance had flown over earlier in the day.

US artillery battalions have little Piper Cubs or Stinsons

and they sent them on ahead and they say,

"Guys we've got a bridge still intact here."

But rumors also fly and the situation is changing fast.

Timmermann and his platoon leaders do not know what to expect.

So as A-company looks down over the town,

they are greeted with a big surprise...

The Nazis have not blown the bridge.

It is still there.

The allies have an opportunity to capture an intact bridge

over the Rhine river.

Remagen had never really figured in a major way

in Allied plans of crossing the Rhine.

The Allies had a major operation plan of airborne drops,

river crossings, engineers building their own bridges.

No one really imagined that the Germans would allow this to happen.

The Ludendorff Bridge spans more than 1,000 feet

and is wide enough for two trains to pass side by side.

Four stone towers overlook the ends,

and a deep tunnel is carved into the hill on the east side.

The bridge was built during World War I

to speed the transport of soldiers and supplies to the western front.

But it became a corridor of retreat for the defeated army.

It once again serves German soldiers, seeking to escape the Allied advance.

Timmermann's men must stifle their initial impulse.

You see Germans retreating across the Ludendorff Bridge,

your first inclination might be to shoot at them,

these were targets of opportunity.

You might pull back from that because maybe

you don't want to give away your position.

The intact bridge is a game changer.

The word goes up the command chain saying,

"You've got a bridge there, what do you want us to do?"

They tell task force Engamen go for it.

Get in as fast as you can.

If they blow it in your face,

fine, it's knocked down but maybe we'll get lucky.

But the Germans still control the Ludendorff Bridge

and could destroy it at any moment,

as they have with every other crossing.

The officers in charge are captain Will Bratge, combat commander.

He's the average German officer.

Commissioned in 1940.

Fought in France in 1940.

Then fought later in Russia.

Captain Karl Friesenhahn,

commands an engineering battalion responsible for bridge explosives.

Karl Friesenhahn is an older solider, a World War I veteran,

member of the Nazi party since 1933.

So he's not called up for frontline duty during the Second World War,

but only in training roles and reserve roles.

Months before, Friesenhahn had been assigned the Remagen Bridge.

So, he's more or less babysitting the bridge.

The two captains know the Americans are coming fast

and Friesenhahn readies the bridge for demolition.

As the men review preparations,

a German army major named Hans Scheller approaches

and announces he has been placed in charge of all forces at the bridge.

It is quite symptomatic for the chaos of these days

that the responsibility for the Ludendorff Bridge

changes three times within 24 hours.

Both captains urge Major Scheller

to issue the order for demolition.

Scheller asks the men about the available forces.

Captain Bratge informs him they have a convalescent battalion

of 36 wounded soldiers.

Along with scattered groups of armed Hitler Youth and Volkssturm troops.

Friesenhahn commands roughly 100 armed engineers.

Bratge asks major Scheller about the reinforcements he requested

but there are none. German forces are busy elsewhere.

The main focus during these days is further up to the north.

It's in the area around Cologne and Bonn.

Remagen is only a side show.

The major hesitates.

Scheller's own Corps is hastily retreating.

They don't want to get trapped and fall into Allied hands on the west bank

of the river Rhine.

Scheller orders the engineers to complete all preparations

for demolition, but not to blow the bridge yet.

As they get to work, the men hear gunfire from the western approach.

The Americans have arrived.

March 7th, 1945. Western Germany.

The American 27th armored infantry battalion has orders to capture the town

of Remagen on the west bank of the Rhine.

But when 2nd lieutenant Karl Timmermann and his platoon arrive,

they are amazed to see that a bridge across the river remains intact.

They expected all the bridges to be down,

because most of the bridges were already down.

The Germans rush to complete preparations

for its destruction.

But major Hans Scheller still hesitates, he must be careful.

Troops in panic blow up bridges.

That was already the case in autumn, 1944.

After the Mulheim bridge was blown up by mistake,

Hitler implemented strict protocols.

You don't want the average guy to blow up the bridge.

It must come from a higher command authority.

If Scheller decides to blow up the bridge too early,

it will leave thousands of German soldiers

trapped on the west side of the river Rhine.

So everything depends that Scheller finds out the right point in time.

As the work to destroy the bridge continues,

American lieutenant Karl Timmermann leads his men into Remagen.

A roadblock has been removed

and white sheets drape from windows as signs of capitulation.

The town appears deserted.

The lack of resistance makes the men wary of a trap.

They didn't know what the reception was going to be

and some cases, the German villagers simply wanted

to surrender their village.

But in some cases there would be Nazi diehards

and they would stage ambushes and so just because it seemed to be quiet

doesn't mean it really was quiet.

They encounter a sign warning the locals of a mine field.

The Germans put up signs everywhere, "Achtung Minen",

which translates into "Caution Mines."

And for the Allies, it's totally unclear whether there are really minefields.

In any case, they have to stop and search for mines

and that is time consuming and slows down their advance.

American combat engineers sweep the road ahead.

German engineers finish the last steps of the demolition prep,

Friesenhahn checks the circuit to ensure it is firing properly.

The bridge is ready to blow.

Friesenhahn again asks major Scheller for the order to detonate

but with the German retreat still steady, Scheller refuses.

Friesenhahn then takes some men across the bridge towards the west bank.

At the approach ramp, he observes the Americans advance with a tank.

Able Company is backed up by M-26 Pershing tanks.

Equipped with 90 millimeter guns

with a wide tread and a low silhouette,

these beasts are brand new to the battlefront,

part of a mechanized fighting unit.

The 27th Armored Infantry Battalion

is just one component of this larger 9th Armor Division,

which would have like tanks, armored infantry,

self-propelled artillery, and armored engineers.

That would operate as like mobile strike forces.

Speed is the key feature.

They're ideal for this point in the war,

so that you've got firepower and combat strength

but also you have that kind of lightening quick mobility too,

as long as your fuel holds out.

With soldiers on foot around the tank...

...the Americans begin to rush forward.

Move forward! Let's go!

German captain, Karl Friesenhahn,

hears the whistle and tank engines and yells "Feuer!"

Feuer! "Fire."

Before the Americans even reach the ramp...

an explosion rocks the ground beneath them,

sending rubble flying over their heads.

Get down!

When the dust and smoke clears,

a 30 foot crater in the approach ramp,

blocks any vehicle from the bridge deck on the western side.

Friesenhahn now joins the retreating Germans,

racing across the bridge to the east bank.

But as he runs, a shell explodes nearby and knocks him out.

Friesenhahn is the only officer who has got the keys to set off the explosives.

And now he's lying unconscious on the bridge.

March 7th, 1945.

2nd lieutenant, Karl Timmermann, leads an American task force

to the banks of the Rhine river,

where incredibly, the Ludendorff Bridge still stands.

Their mission was simply to secure and hold the town of Remagen,

but now, the Americans have a chance to capture a bridge across the Rhine,

that could drive a dagger into the heart of Germany.

- However, as they begin to cross... - Feuer!

...there is a massive explosion.

Every bridge over the river Rhine

has got explosives on its western approaches.

In the case of emergency, these explosions would be fused first,

and by the explosion you will have a crater against enemy tanks.

The Germans clearly are aware of the approaching Americans.

But what Timmermann does not know

is the German officer who has the keys to detonate the explosives,

has been knocked out and lies unconscious on the bridge deck.

While they regroup after the blast,

the Americans must also sort through the intelligence

and other information that is coming in.

As the task force from the 9th Armored Division got into the town

they started picking up a mixture of German soldiers

and Volksstrum militia and local civilians.

And so the rumors started to circulate,

"Oh, yeah, the bridge is going to be blown up.

It's going to be blown up at 1600.

Or it's going to be blown up as soon as American troops stand on it."

Despite the risk,

Timmermann and his men have their orders to seize the bridge.

There were all these rumors circulating,

but most US soldiers figured that the last minute

the Germans were going to blow up the bridge.

But if the Germans are going to wait until 1600 hours,

that gives Able Company 45 minutes.

Let's move!

Go! Go! Go!

The American infantrymen make their way around the crater

and start to approach the bridgehead again.

Once the Americans are on the bridge,

the remaining Germans on the east bank fire down on the bridge

and try to stop the Americans from further advance.

The Americans take cover in the crater

and return fire...

Let 'em have it!

With back up from the Pershing tank's cannons...

...It cannot move past the crater, but it can still provide supporting fire.

Timmermann edges toward the bridge and waves for his men to follow.

But they hesitate. Stay low!

Remagen bridge on the east bank

was faced by a very, very large hill and a tunnel

and so there was suspicion on the part of the American infantrymen

that the Germans were lying in ambush.

And so that once they got out and onto the bridge,

that they would receive very, very heavy fire from the tunnel and from the hill.

And German fire from the stone towers on the east side...

...also keeps Timmermann's men pinned down.

Hey! See that turret?

Roger that!

The American tank gunners take aim

and knock out large chunks of the tower.

The German machine guns are silenced for the moment

and Timmermann takes advantage.

He checks his watch.

If the detonation is on schedule, they have ten minutes.

American engineers from the armored engineering battalion

also have orders.

They must get on the bridge and disarm every explosive they can find.

They know what the demolition charges are apt to look like

and so they're going to go out there and try to remove the explosives

and try to deal with the cabling

that connects the explosives to the detonator back in the tunnel.

The Americans deploy white phosphorous shells as a smoke screen

to shield their advance.

Covering fire!

Now, with some covering fire...

Approach!

Timmermann orders his platoons onto the bridge.

Move it! Move it!

Where the threat seems to be far greater than ordinary,

the main leadership skill is you have to lead from the front.

He doesn't order the men, "You go across the bridge,"

he says, "Follow me".

Keep moving! Keep moving!

Finally, the German captain, Karl Friesenhahn, regains consciousness

and staggers to the east bank.

Major Scheller is located and the order is given to blow the bridge.

Friesenhahn turns the key to set off the detonation.

But there is no explosion.

He tries again, and still nothing.

The circuit has been broken.

Friesenhahn had checked that everything

was in working order to blow up the bridge.

And now as he turns the key, nothing happens.

Must have been quite shocking for him.

He and all the other officers are totally in panic.

The Germans have only one option...

- , - There is an emergency demolition charge 90 yards back on the bridge

but it must be set off by hand.

Friesenhahn asks for a volunteer from the non-commissioned officers.

Of course, in this situation, you couldn't find anybody initially

who wants to do this mission, because it's quite a lethal,

not quite, it's a very lethal mission.

Finally, a young soldier named Anton Faust steps up.

Friesenhahn gives him instructions...

and Faust takes off onto the bridge under heavy fire.

At almost the same time,

American 2nd lieutenant, Karl Timmermann, also charges forward,

to lead his men onto the bridge.

Keep moving!

You have got noise everywhere.

You've got the bridge under smoke.

And somewhere on this bridge you've got Faust trying to detonate the bridge.

The seconds drag by.

Friesehahn cannot wait.

He leaves the tunnel to catch a glimpse of Faust.

And Friesenhahn can't see him.

And suddenly, he emerges from the smoke...

saying, "I've done my job."

As the Americans approach,

the bridge explodes from charges beneath the pier.

As the roar rings in their ears, the men brace for impact.

March 7th, 1945.

Western Germany.

American 2nd lieutenant, Karl Timmermann, of the 27th armored infantry battalion

charges onto the Ludendorff Bridge.

It is an unexpected prize that may unlock the door to the heart of Germany.

But determined to thwart the American advance,

German captain, Karl Friesenhahn,

executes emergency procedures, to blow up the bridge.

When the sheer noise of the explosion goes off,

the troops think that at any second the bridge is going to collapse.

The whole bridge shook.

When the Germans on the east side see the denotation,

or hear the detonation first, they are jubilant.

They think, oh, well, we just made it in time to blow up this bridge.

But miraculously,

the Americans raise their heads to find they are still alive.

They weren't sure what had happened.

Some charge had obviously gone off.

Had part of the bridge gone down in the river?

Their part had not gone down in the river yet.

They cannot see. Everything is shrouded in dust and smoke.

It starts to clear.

Then suddenly they realized the bridge is still intact.

The bridge is damaged, but the bridge is still intact.

So what do you do now?

Well get off that bridge, as soon as you can.

The Germans also wait anxiously for the smoke to clear.

But after a couple of seconds, they just freeze.

The bridge is still standing.

The bridge is ours! Let's move!

Go! Go! Go!

The German attempts to blow the span have failed.

Timmermann sees that many of his men are frozen in fear of another blast.

Move it! Don't stop moving! Go! Go! Go! And he urges them forward.

Move through boys! Move through!

The main thing is get off that bridge,

because maybe the Germans might hit another plunger

and have another explosion.

Hey! We don't have time to stop! Get up! Keep going! Get up! Let's go!

Keep moving! Keep moving! We gotta move! We gotta move!

So in that case the self-interest of the soldiers really coalesces

with what the higher brass would want too.

Around the same time,

lieutenant Hugh Mott, of the 9th armored engineering battalion

leads a group of engineers to disarm the explosives that remain rigged

to the bridge.

No one knows who or what could set them off.

Because the bridge didn't go down

their assumption is that there's another charge there.

So the engineers have this nearly impossible task

of isolating the explosive charges that are designed to take the bridge down.

One of Mott's men runs to the far side of the bridge

to cut a thick cable.

But it is encased and his tools are ineffective.

Stand back boys!

He pulls out his rifle and fires three rounds into the cable,

severing it completely.

Meanwhile, Sergeant Joseph Delisio runs past the engineers

to the base of the towers on the opposite side.

The main source of opposition is coming from two big stone towers

on the eastern side of the bridge.

Set up, up there inside these slits are German machine gun teams.

Covering fire!

The tanks have lobbed shots at the towers,

but they must be captured and cleared.

Delisio muscles his way inside.

As he advances, he hears the machine gun fire above him...

But as he climbs, the firing stops.

Delisio might be headed into a trap.

But without hesitation, he slams open the door.

And bursts in on German soldiers huddled over a jammed machine gun.

Delisio fires his rifle as a warning shot and the Germans surrender.

He then grabs the machine gun and throws it out the window,

in full view of the American soldiers on the bridge.

Men from another platoon clear the second tower.

With the withering machine gun fire silenced from the towers,

Timmermann again urges his men to advance towards the east bank.

Sergeant Alex Drabik leads the charge.

Drabik had been a butcher's boy at home in the US.

His men had provided covering fire from the rear, and now they surge forward.

Could they be the first allied soldiers across the Rhine?

March 7th, 1945.

American soldiers from the 27th armored infantry battalion,

dashed across the Ludendorff Bridge,

under heavy fire from German machine guns and artillery shells...

Keep moving!

In a bid to conquer the Rhine.

Sergeant Alex Drabik,

a squad leader, leads an all-out charge to get to the other side.

Drabik believes if he can keep moving, he will avoid the German bullets

trying to stop them.

Amazingly, it works.

When you think about crossing the Rhine, you think of a great conqueror.

You know, Caesar or George Patton or somebody like that.

Instead it's just this anonymous little American soldier,

who no one would have imagined he would be in this circumstance,

but he ends up as the first guy across the Rhine.

Drabik's entire squad makes it safely to the east bank.

A few seconds later, 2nd lieutenant, Karl Timmermann, joins them,

becoming the first Allied officer to cross the Rhine.

But the euphoria subsides with a profound realization.

At that moment they only have one very understrength

infantry company on the eastern side of the Rhine River.

So they obviously need troops, they need lots of them.

They have no idea of what the Germans have over there.

They're only lucky that the Germans are even more confused than they are.

Timmermann's men spread out to capture the hill

overlooking the bridgehead.

German major, Hans Scheller,

watches as the Ludendorff Bridge falls into enemy hands.

He must send word to his superiors for reinforcements to counter attack.

But none of his radios work and they have lost telephone communication.

In desperation, he commandeers a bicycle to take word personally.

The Americans also know that speedy reinforcement

is essential to hold the bridgehead.

Once the bridge is captured by the Americans

and you start to get people across, the whole thing is a race,

to get as much across as you can and hold the bridge.

By nightfall, the road to Remagen

is jammed for miles with Allied tanks and transport vehicles.

Tanks, in particular, will be critical for self-defense.

The Germans are going to have a pretty furious military response.

Perhaps try to destroy the Ludendorff Bridge

behind the Americans to cut them off.

But even though the bridge was not destroyed,

it has been badly damaged.

No one is sure if it will support the weight of tanks.

The engineers work tirelessly to determine its structural integrity

and make essential repairs.

It's late afternoon, early evening and so the sun is setting.

It's difficult to get down there and physically inspect the bridge.

The engineers come under constant enemy fire.

But with steel resolve and covering fire,

they repair the worst of the damage,

to the bridge itself and the crater on the west side.

By midnight, they are ready for vehicle crossings.

The first Sherman makes it way slowly on to the span.

Over 30 tons of steel and potential deadweight.

I'm fairly certain that the first tank that went across

every single tank crewman had his hatch open.

If that bridge did fall down because the weight of the tank

they wanted to be able to escape.

Engineers have strung white tape as guides

and roped off damaged sections of the deck.

Keep moving! Go! Go! Go! Keep moving!

Finally, the tank rolls onto the solid ground of the east bank.

Allied armor has crossed the Rhine.

Tanks are some of the heaviest vehicles you have.

So it would have indicated to you as an average soldier,

uh, that the bridge is structurally, you know,

well enough that you can be reinforced.

Despite the morale boost,

German counterattacks continue and the night becomes perilous.

You've got the Rhine at your back. And there's nowhere to go.

Covering fire!

So it's a very uneasy situation.

Just wanting to hold on long enough and play for time,

so that others can come across and reinforce and help you.

German engineers remain determined

to complete their mission to destroy the bridge.

Just before dawn, a group evades Allied lookouts.

Cloaked in darkness, the Germans almost make it to the bridge with explosives.

Before they are spotted and captured.

The Americans are relieved when the night passes.

When the sun comes up,

obviously you haven't been thrown back into the Rhine.

That, uh, things are better.

And that if the Germans do attack, you can at least see them, I guess.

That helps, too.

As troops and equipment pour across the bridge,

they are greeted with a sign which reads,

"Cross the Rhine with dry feet, courtesy of the 9th Armored Division."

But the battle to hold the bridge has only just begun.

Hitler's absolutely infuriated when he learns

that one of the Rhine bridges has been captured

and so it is something of a matter of pride just to knock it down.

So for several days the army starts launching V2 missiles against it,

all sorts of heavy artillery.

It becomes a real hot spot.

Shells start to hit the bridge area about once every two minutes

and there are several casualties amongst the engineers.

It is a relentless campaign

to make crossings and repair work extremely hazardous,

but by the next night,

8,000 American soldiers have a bridgehead a mile deep

for two miles along the east bank of the Rhine.

With the constant attacks, the Americans leave nothing to chance.

Engineers also build pontoon bridges

to create additional crossings to the east bank.

Those bridges also become targets.

The Luftwaffe flies nearly 400 sorties against the crossings,

greeted by growing numbers of American anti-aircraft guns.

Remagen Bridge was one of

the heaviest commitments of US army anti-aircraft battalions

during World War II.

It was realized how important it was

and it was realized that the Germans were going to try to destroy it,

and the most likely means was air attack.

The anti-aircraft batteries have a single goal.

Not how many aircraft they shot down but the fact that they

prevented the Luftwaffe from ever hitting the bridge.

Their determination pays off.

In less than a week,

more than three allied divisions occupy 14 miles

along the east bank of the river Rhine.

But on March 17th,

ten days after the capture of Ludendorff Bridge,

tragedy strike...

when the weakened crossing suddenly gives way.

March 17th, 1945. Remagen, Germany.

American forces have protected Ludendorff Bridge.

Covering fire!

Despite countless German attempts to destroy it.

The survival of the Ludendorff Bridge

for 10 days is absolutely vital.

It gives the army the opportunity to move more troops

and equipment across the bridge.

But at the same time ,

it gives that interlude that they need to assemble the new bridges.

The bridgehead on the east side provides protection for the Allies

to construct the first tactical bridges across the Rhine,

which permit a steady stream of men and equipment

to continue crossing

even when engineers close the Ludendorff Bridge itself for repairs.

But with a shocking twist...

...the Ludendorff unexpectedly, collapses.

The bridge has simply suffered so much damage,

it finally just gives up the ghost and falls into the river.

Engineers are thrown into the icy water,

with many men pinned by the falling wreckage.

Rescuers enter the river itself,

to save their comrades and pull them to safety on shore.

For others it is too late.

As many as 28 men are killed, with 63 more injured.

A great sacrifice for the cause of peace.

The action which begins with just two battalions

grows rapidly to a four-division operation.

The Allies have got now a crossing, a secure crossing over the river Rhine.

For the first time, since almost 150 years,

since the time of Napoleon,

a foreign army has crossed the river Rhine in war

and now the gate to Berlin and the Ruhr area is open.

Tens of thousands of vehicles cross the Ludendorff

and the floating bridges...

and by mid-March, the Allies reach the autobahn

and begin cutting off the industrial Ruhr pocket.

Hitler orders a court martial for the men responsible for the bridge's capture.

Major Hans Scheller shares the fate

of thousands of German soldiers in the last months of the war.

He's been court martialed and sentenced to death,

and subsequently shot by a firing squad.

Captain Will Bratge is also sentenced to death.

But he's lucky that he had been taken prisoner by the Americans

and so he survived the war.

Captain Karl Friesenhahn is cleared by the same Court Martial,

but and has been taken prisoner by the Americans.

Second lieutenant, Karl Timmermann,

Sergeant Alex Drabik, Sergeant Joseph Delisio,

Lieutenant Hugh Mott,

all receive the distinguished service cross

for their actions at Ludendorff Bridge.

The story is front page news stateside and they become household names.

It's what many American soldiers dreamed of, in World War II.

That your name would be in headlines and everybody back home would read it.

So, this definitely captured the imagination

and of course it would foster hopes to among the home front, uh,

that the war was about to be over.

But even with the Allies across the Rhine,

the horrors of the Nazi campaign have not yet been revealed,

and the war in Europe will still continue for nearly two more months.

Captioned by Visual Data Media Services