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Operation Plunder was a military operation to cross the Rhine on the night of 23 March 1945, launched by the 21st Army Group under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery.The crossing of the river was at Rees, Wesel, and south of the river Lippe by the British Second Army under Lieutenant General Miles Dempsey, and the United States Ninth Army under Lieutenant General William H. Simpson.
The Rhineland Offensive was a series of allied offensive operations by 21st Army Group commanded by Bernard Montgomery from 8 February 1945 to 25 March 1945, at the end of the Second World War. The operations were aimed at occupying the Rhineland and securing a passage over the Rhine river.
Operation Plunder started at 1800 hours on 23 March with a barrage of 5,500 guns along the 35 km front and a bomber raid on the city of Wesel. The 51st (Highland) Infantry Division led the river crossing at 2300 hours with the Canadians crossing later 6.5 km south of Rees, then the 1st Commando Brigade, 1.5 km north of Wesel.
The final troop movements for Operation Plunder involved 662 tanks, over 4,000 tank transporters and 32,000 other vehicles. [91] Vehicles crossing the Rhine did so with full fuel tanks and a reserve of filled jerricans. Additional fuel supplies were loaded on DUKWs, to be ferried across the river until bridges were opened.
Created Date: 8/30/2012 4:52:52 PM
The US Ninth Army remained part of 21st Army Group during the drive to the Rhine (Operations Veritable and Grenade), the Rhine crossings (Operation Plunder) and the battle of the Ruhr Pocket until April 1945. The US 17th Airborne Division also took part in the Rhine crossings as part of Operation Varsity in March 1945.
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The Allied disposition in western Europe by March 1945. By March 1945, the Allied armies had advanced into Germany and had reached the River Rhine.The Rhine was a formidable natural obstacle to the Allied advance, [12] but if breached would allow the Allies to access the North German Plain and ultimately advance on Berlin and other major cities in Northern Germany.