Operation Lumberjack

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
Location50°34′45″N 7°14′39″E / 50.57917°N 7.24417°E / 50.57917; 7.24417
Result Allied victory
Belligerents
 United States
 United Kingdom
 Belgium[1]
 Germany
Commanders and leaders
United States Courtney Hodges Nazi Germany Walter Model
Strength
United States 1st Army Nazi Germany 15th Army
Nazi Germany 5th Panzer Army
Nazi Germany Volkssturm
Nazi Germany 7th Army
Casualties and losses

7,400

  • 1,700 killed[2]
5,700+ killed & wounded
19,000 captured[3][4]
Total:
24,700 casualties

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.

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.

  1. ^ Thomas, text by Nigel (1991). Foreign volunteers of the allied forces : 1939-45. London: Osprey. p. 16. ISBN 9781855321366.
  2. ^ “Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492-2015, 4th Ed.” page 479
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference zabecki was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Harding, Andrew S. "Two General Apart: Patton and Eisenhower". Retrieved 17 March 2016.