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From D-Day to V-Day

March 1945

March 9, 1945 - D-Day + 276

The Day Bonn Fell

The British 43rd Infantry and 2nd Canadian Infantry Divisions under the First Canadian Army’s II Canadian Corps eliminated the final resistance in Xanten and the immediate vicinity. Tank units from the 4th Canadian Armored Division were able to penetrate through a mine field in front of Veen as well as eventually take the village. The British 52nd Infantry Division slowly advanced to the northeast towards the Rhine.

The 35th Infantry Division’s Task Force Byrne under the XVI Corps advanced to Drupt as the 8th Armored Division’s Task Force Murray finished occupying Ossenberg and started to advance to the north beyond Borth and Wallach.

It was 1600 hrs on March 9, 1945 when, after heavy fighting, assault battalions from the 1st Infantry Division’s 16th and 18th Infantry Regiments under the US First Army’s VII Corps conquered the city of Bonn. This concluded the German resistance west of the Rhine in the sector of the US First Army. The 99th Infantry Division, which moved to the Meckenheim area, was reassigned and placed under the command of the III Corps. In the course of the day, the 9th Infantry Division took over responsibility for the bridgehead at Remagen. To reinforce the defense of this strategically important site, three infantry regiments from the 78th Infantry Division were attached to the 9th Division. Even though the enemy had not yet recovered from the surprise crossing of the river, its pressure intensified as US troops expanded the bridgehead towards Bad Honnef. Attacking US units ran up against fierce enemy resistance in Rheinbreitbach, Scheuren, Bruchhausen as well as other sites. In the central sector of the Remagen bridgehead, the Germans carried out a strong counterattack and forced American units to make a partial withdrawal. For that moment, the Ludendorf Bridge became the main target of German air raids and artillery. It had to be destroyed at any cost. When it couldn’t be leveled from the air and artillery also fell short, the Germans sent frogmen out to try to down the bridge – but even that failed. The legendary bridge at Remagen finally ended the Germans’ torment all by itself, collapsing into the river ten days after it was occupied as a result of the damage it had sustained in battle. Nevertheless, the bridge served its purpose. The legend of the bridge lives on, even though there are now only columns where the bridge once stood.

The 7th Armored Division took over the defense of the west bank of the Rhine between Bonn and Remagen. The 9th Armored Division’s Combat Command A, which was operating on the line formed by the Ahr River at the time, took over the zone of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions under the 78th Infantry Division’s 310th Infantry Regiment; both battalions had been reassigned to the 9th Infantry Division for a mission on the east bank of the Rhine. The 2nd Infantry Division’s 23rd Infantry Regiment advanced to the Rhine along the Bruck – Sinzig axis. Battalions from the Indianhead Division’s 9th Infantry Regiment followed behind, while the 38th Infantry Regiment moved along the main road connecting Bad Neuenahr and Königsfeld to the outskirts of Königsfeld in the area south of the Ahr River.

The 11th Armored Division’s Combat Command B under the US Third Army’s VIII Corps conquered the hills near Brohl-Lützing, located within sight of the Rhine River. At the same time, Combat Command A advanced to the river in Andernach, mopping up most of the town. The 6th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) rode through the positions of the 4th and 87th Infantry Divisions, later swiftly advancing eastward without resistance in order to make contact with units from the 11th Armored Division. Units from the 4th Infantry Division mopped up Honerath, Adenau, Rodder, and Reifferscheid. The 87th Infantry Division started to withdraw to the rear to rest, replenish, and train. The 90th Infantry Division, which was relocated to the Kelberg area, sent part of its units to Mayen. The 4th Armored Division under the XII Corps, which secured the bridge over the Mosel in Treis-Karden, regrouped during the day.

Combat Command B, composed of the 51st Armored Infantry Battalion and the 35th Tank Battalion, moved to Karden while CCA and CCR continued mopping up operations on the west bank of the Rhine. In the zone between Andernach and Koblenz, the combat commands eventually advanced all the way to the river. The 5th Infantry Division’s 2nd Infantry Regiment mopped up Bleckhausen, Manderscheid, Bettenfeld, and Pantenburg. At the same time, the 76th Infantry Division’s 385th Infantry Regiment took Grosslittgen and battalions from the division’s 304th Infantry Regiment occupied Musweiler. The 42nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron crossed the Salm River in the Dreis – Bruch sector and attacked in the direction of Dreis and Bergweiler. The 89th Infantry Division started to assemble in the rear of the 76th Division. Under the XX Corps, the 10th Armored Division’s Combat Command A, located in positions along the Salm River, mopped up Hetzerath, Rivenich, and Sehlem. CCA later rotated northwards and headed to the Dörbach area. In the meantime, CCB advanced to the northeast and occupied Föhren and Bekond while CCR mopped up the hills located east of Schweich. The 76th Infantry Division’s 417th Infantry Regiment deflected an enemy counterattack against the bridgehead over the Ruwer River. The 94th Infantry Division finished regrouping its units. The 94th Division’s 376th Infantry Regiment relieved the 3rd Cavalry Group (Mechanized) from its positions; together with the 16th Cavalry Group (Mechanized), the 3rd Cavalry Group formed the 316th Provisional Cavalry Brigade. The 65th Infantry Division completely took over responsibility for defending the bridgehead in Saarlautern. In the zone of the Seventh Army, the 71st Infantry Division was attached to the XV Corps.

Mines once again claimed lives at the French port of Dunkirk when a truck from the Artillery Regiment ran over a mine in the area west of Loon Plage. The huge explosion entirely destroyed the truck, killing two soldiers riding in the cab: Sgt Robert Nedvěd (b. 1910), a native of Bakov nad Jizerou; and the barely 19-year-old Karel Pščolka, who came from Oldřichovice in the district of Frýdek-Místek.

In the course of the day, Czechoslovak fighters from the No. 310 and 312 Squadrons RAF participated in escorting 159 Lancasters from the No. 3 Group headed for the northern and southern sections of the Emscher Lippe benzole plant near Datteln, Germany. Because the target area was shrouded by cloud cover as was almost always the case this time of year, bombing was carried out with the assistance of smoke signal bombs. Bomber Command intelligence found the raid was successful, even though none of the crews had seen land. One of the Lancasters was lost in the raid.