Operation Lumberjack

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 in Europe. 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.

Operation Lumberjack
Part of the Western Allied invasion of Germany in the Western Front of the European theatre of World War II

American forces cross the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen
Date1–25 March 1945
Location
Remagen, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
50°34′45″N 7°14′39″E
Result Allied victory
Belligerents
 United States
 United Kingdom
 Belgium		  Germany
Commanders and leaders
Courtney Hodges Walter Model
Strength
1st Army 15th Army
5th Panzer Army
Volkssturm
Casualties and losses

7,400

  • 1,700 killed
 5,700+ killed & wounded
19,000 captured
Total:
24,700 casualties

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 along with pontoon and treadway bridges to establish a bridgehead. The bridge finally collapsed at 3:00 PM on 17 March 1945 after ten days of aircraft bombing, direct artillery hits, near misses, and demolition attempts.

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