April 2005
The Bridge at Remagen
On March 7th, 1945 elements of the 9th Armored Division successfully captured the Bridge at Remagen (officially named the Ludendorf Bridge), then the last remaining bridge across the Rhein. Over the following weeks, the primary push of the U.S. Army into Germany was pushed across at this bridgehead. Although the bridge itself collapsed some time after its capture, the bridgehead was maintained by pontoon bridges set up nearby. The Allies successfully broke out of the Remagen Bridgehead by the end of the month.
The bridge was originally built during World War I, but was only just being completed in 1918 when the war ended. The bridge was guarded by a special “bridge guard detail” for the duration of the war. Despite this, they were unable to successfully destroy the bridge when the time came. The 9th AD captured the bridge in early 1945, allowing US Forces to cross the Rhein on dry land.
In 1975, a photographer was doing much of what I'm doing now — retracing historic sites and compiling a then-and-now comparison. In early November, 1989, my family and I took a trip up from where we were living in Heidelberg (very nearly where I live now), and we visited the bridge about on the 11th of November. Today, I made a similar trip from Mannheim up to Remagen.
This page is primarily a photo comparison of the bridge approach and east side across the years: 1918, 1944/1945, 1975, 1989, and 2005.