Remagen 1945 (Campaign) [Paperback]

Steven Zaloga (Author), Peter Dennis (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Campaign | Publication Date: October 31, 2006

Following the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes, the Allies began steps for the final assault into Germany. The long-delayed US Army thrust over the Roer River, Operation Lumberjack, finally took place in February, placing the US Army along the Rhine. The Rhine represented the last major geographical barrier to the Allied advance into Germany. The plan was for Montgomery's 21st Army Group to leap the Rhine into the Ruhr in a carefully choreographed attack called Operation Plunder. In the event, fortune smiled on the US Army when the 9th Armored unexpectedly found that the Ludendorff bridge at Remagen had not yet been demolished by the Wehrmacht, leaving this one major crossing over the Rhine intact. An armored infantry team supported by the new Pershing tanks stormed the bridge, seized it in fierce fighting and disarmed the charges placed on it. They then held it against numerous counterattacks in which the Germans used conventional tactics and unconventional, including jet bombers, V-2 missiles, and frogmen.

Remagen was not the only impromptu Rhine crossing made by the US Army in central Germany but it was the most dramatic and hardest fought. The irrepressible George Patton, in spite of instructions to stay put, snuck an infantry division across the Rhine in the south, setting the stage for the race into Germany. After reinforcing their two major Rhine crossings, the US Army launched its late-March offensive, encircling Frankfurt, and setting the stage for the defeat of the Wehrmacht in the West. This is a gripping, authoritative account of a crucial battle during the last major set-piece operation of World War II (1939-1945).

Editorial Reviews

Review

One of many "outstanding coverages in-depth military holdings will welcome." -The Bookwatch

"If there is a 'Golden Age' currently in effect within our hobby, it is not limited to model kits. We are also seeing some of the best work being offered by some of the best authors, artists and publishers ever seen. This book is clearly one more reason why we are indeed in the 'Golden Age.'" -Frank De Sisto, missing-lynx.com

"Steven J. Zaloga is well known to most readers of military histories in general and armor in particular. His fluid writing style allows the reader to follow along with the events of the time and produces a most enjoyable reading experience. This is further enhanced by the excellent illustrations of Peter Dennis and a well chosen group of period photographs... I've read quite a few books in this series and to me, this is one of the best. It reads well...and holds one's interest from the first to the last page. An excellent book that I know you will enjoy and one that I highly recommend." -Scott Van Aken, modelingmadness.com

"Remagen 1945 recounts the capture of the bridge in the context of the Allied push to the Rhine and the subsequent encirclement of the Ruhr Pocket. In addition to the well-written text, there are excellent photographs, tables of organization, chronology, color maps, and three-dimensional bird’s-eye views. Of particular interest to readers of this magazine are the many fine photographs of armored vehicles and artillery pieces and the emphasis on armored operations." -Doug Bister, Military Trader Magazine

"In all this is a reference book that is a worthwhile addition to any reference library. Recommended." -Henk Meerdink, Armorama (September 2006)

About the Author

Steven J Zaloga was born in 1952. He received his BA in History from Union College and his MA from Columbia University. He has published numerous books and articles dealing with modern military technology, especially armored vehicle development. His main area of interest is military affairs in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in World War II, and he has also written extensively on American armored forces. Steven lives and works in Maryland. The author lives in Maryland, USA.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (October 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1846030188
• ISBN-13: 978-1846030185
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.2 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #731,762 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Steven Zaloga is a senior analyst for Teal Group Corp., an aerospace consulting firm. His professional specialization is the commercial and technological aspects of the international trade in missiles, precision guided munitions, and unmanned aerial vehicles. He also serves as an adjunct staff member with the Institute for Defense Analyses, a federal think-tank.

Mr. Zaloga has published numerous books and articles on military technology and military history. His books have been translated into Japanese, German, Polish, Czech, Romanian, and Russian. He has been a special correspondent for "Jane's Intelligence Review" and is on the executive board of the "Journal of Slavic Military Studies". From 1987 through 1992, he was the writer/director for Video Ordnance Inc., preparing their TV series "Firepower" that aired on The Discovery Channel in the US.

Mr. Zaloga was born in 1952 and received his BA in history from Union College, Schenectady, NY. He received an MA in history from Columbia University specializing in modern East European history, and did graduate research and language study at Uniwersitet Jagiellonski in Krakow, Poland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Superb Campaign History, November 16, 2006

By 

R. A Forczyk (MD, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Remagen 1945 (Campaign) (Paperback)

Veteran military historian Stephen J Zaloga turns in another fine chapter in Second World War history in Osprey's Campaign series #175, Remagen 1945. In this volume, Zaloga does not only describe the dramatic US capture of the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine River on 7 March 1945, but the sequence of events preceding it that led to this coup and the subsequent results once the Third Reich's last line of defense in the west was breached. Although the Remagen operation has been described before - most famously by Ken Hechler's classic 1953 account - Zaloga still manages to bring fresh perspective and insight to this narrative account.

The opening sections in this volume outline the strategic situation on the western front in late winter 1945, with the Wehrmacht on the point of collapse. As usual, the author does not spend much time discussing the opposing commanders but dives straight into the opposing armies section, which is quite good. Zaloga notes that the Wehrmacht was virtually out of infantry and fuel by this point in the war, but still had quite a lot of artillery and flak left, which gave the Allies trouble as they approached German urban areas. Due to the proximity to the Ruhr's industrial base, there were also a number of heavy panzer units forming in the area that tended to appear out of nowhere to mount last-ditch counterattacks. On the other side, the author notes that the US Army was reaching its pinnacle of wartime efficiency and its units were nearly at full-strength and full-supplied, giving them an enormous edge over depleted German units. In the plans section, the author notes that Hitler's demand to maintain the 15th Army on the Westwall defenses rather than fall back to the Rhine precluded an effective defense at Remagen, while American plans were made in the anticipation that no bridges would be left standing when they reached the Rhine. The result was that the Germans were forced to extemporize a defense at Remagen from odds and ends when the Westwall defenses were overrun, while the Americans had to extemporize the exploitation of a river crossing when fortune handed them a bridge. How armies handle the unexpected in war is an excellent measure of their innate effectiveness and this volume provides much fodder on that question.

Remagen 1945 includes five 2-D maps (closing on the Rhine, 8 Feb - 10 March 1945; bouncing the Rhine, 24-28 March 1945; breakout from Remagen, 24-28 March 1945; encircling the Ruhr, 24 March - 4 April 1945' aftermath of Remagen, 4-18 April 1945) and three 3-D maps (Operation Lumberjack, 1-7 March 1945; Remagen, 7/8 March 1945; Operation Voyage, 29 March - 1 April 1945). The map of Remagen is one of the best 3-D maps that Osprey has made in a long time and clearly shows the value of this type of graphic depiction for small unit actions. Two excellent battle scenes by artist Peter Dennis (Arado 234 jet bomber attack on the Ludendorff Bridge, 9 March 1945; King Tigers vs. Task Force Wellborn near Paderborn, 30 March 1945) are also included. The B/W photographs throughout the volume are good, although many are part of the NARA collection and have appeared frequently in other books.

After covering the US advance to the Rhine and the 9th Armored Division's capture of the Ludendorff Bridge, the author then spends time discussing the rapid expansion of the bridgehead and the final breakout in late March 1945. German efforts to attack the bridge and seal off the foothold are also discussed in detail. The final section of the narrative covers the US advance toward Paderborn (inc. the death of Major General Rose) and the encirclement of the Ruhr. Overall, this volume provides a smooth synthesis of the US official histories, German accounts and other secondary accounts, plus the author's insight, to render a solid and reliable assessment of this critical operation.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forget the Movie...Buy the Book!, June 7, 2007

By 

Mike Miner (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Remagen 1945 (Campaign) (Paperback)

Remagen was always of interest to me, even as a child, as my father had crossed near there. Many years later I the opportunity to correspond with fellow Tennessean Hugh Mott, a hero of Remagen, who disarmed the German charges and earned a place into the U.S. Army Engineer Hall of Fame. Despite reading a number of other books on Remagen, this one remains my favorite. Super informative, accurate, easy reading and well illustrated. Like the other reviewers, I give this one the top rating. Lots of information in a small book!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars small battle - big result, January 15, 2007

By 

Gary E. Binder "Gary from Nebraska" (Waverly, NE USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Remagen 1945 (Campaign) (Paperback)

Many WW2 history buffs are familiar with how the US 9th Armored Division found an undestroyed bridge over the Rhine River, staged a daring attack and how the last physical barrier into the heart of Hitler's Germany was crossed. Mr. Zaloga looks not only at the actions around the small town of Remagen itself, but how this event changed Allied strategy in the final weeks of the war. For the history trivia fan there is good information presented about the terrain around Remagen, about the various units from both sides that were involved in the fighting and about the efforts to protect the bridgehead. By grabbing a foothold on the far side and steadily building up and widening it, the Americans were able to coordinate with the large British crossing operation later and create a huge encirclement of the major German forces protecting their industrial heart. To quote a tag line from a 1969 movie "the Germans lost a bridge, thirty days later they lost a war". Very readable and organized text with good illustrations. An excellent addition to your collection.