By early March 1945, the Allied armies stood along the west bank of the Rhine River, the last major natural barrier protecting the German heartland. Every bridge had been destroyed by retreating German forces—or so it was believed.
On March 7, 1945, soldiers of the U.S. 9th Armored Division approached the town of Remagen and were stunned to see that the Ludendorff Bridge was still standing. The Germans had set demolition charges but were under orders to hold the bridge as long as possible to allow retreating troops to cross.
What followed was one of the most dramatic episodes of the war. As American soldiers rushed toward the bridge under fire, the Germans detonated their charges. The bridge heaved upward, soldiers were thrown off their feet—but when the smoke cleared, the bridge was still standing. The main demolition charge had failed to detonate, possibly due to the electrical wire being severed by a lucky artillery hit.
Sergeant Alexander Drabik became the first American soldier to cross the Rhine, sprinting through gunfire across the damaged bridge. Within 24 hours, 8,000 troops had crossed. Hitler was furious—he ordered V-2 rockets aimed at the bridge and sent frogmen to destroy it with explosives. Five German officers were court-martialed and executed for allowing the bridge to be captured.
The bridge finally collapsed from battle damage on March 17, killing 28 American engineers working on it. But by then, pontoon bridges had been erected and the bridgehead was secure. Eisenhower called the capture "worth its weight in gold," and historians estimate it shortened the war by weeks, potentially saving thousands of lives on both sides.