Three-Castle Bridge WTO (id:#59315)

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Dreiburg, between Mannheim and Karlsruhe, Germany 1945-03-31 (3 others)

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Overview:

--Caution, this is a fictional scenario!-- The Rhine was by far the most formidable of the rivers the GIs had to cross. It rises in the Alps and flows generally north to Arnhem, where it makes a sharp turn to the west. The Germans on the far bank seemed disorganized and demoralized, but the Allies call for unconditional surrender rose the Germans will to fight. And they had the natural advantages of the Rhine to defend their country. Those advantages included the scarcity of suitable crossing sites. There were only two or three places south of Cologne that were even possible. Thus making any remaining bridge quite crucial. To the north, Montgomery was closing to the Rhine and planning for Operation Plunder (by boat) and Operation Varsity (an airborne attack) with a force of more than 320,000 men. To the south Seventh Army was also moving to the river, with the intention to free some divisions as SHAEFs mobile reserve. To free up those divisions, Seventh Army had to close to the river along the entire sector and crush any German resistance. There would then be no danger of a German counterattack, and large numbers of Americans could be pulled back and put in reserve. On the other side of the River, Army Group G, under command of Blaskowitz, had gathered every retreating straggler and any remnant of the various shattered units in its sector. Blaskowitz utilized his remaining resources to the fullest to built a strong cohesive fighting force. Including Volksgrenadiers, Hitler Youth, and even some strong SS companies. His plan was simple: attack across the Rhine, between the French First and the US Seventh Army and thus force the Allies into a peace treaty rather than unconditional surrender. It was a cold morning, when a Piper Cub of the 419th FAB flew ahead looking for targets of opportunity. At around 1030 it was approaching Dreiburg, when to the astonishment of Lt. Harold Shilles, the massive superstructure of the Bismarck Bridge loomed out of the fog. Shilles radioed the news to General Patch, who immediately sent orders to the nearest units to take the bridge. By a twist of fate Dreiburg was only lightly defended by some Luftwaffe units this morning, as the main German assault force was just assembling east of Dreiburg.

Defender: German / German (SS) (No more details)  

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