D-day to Berlin: The Americans Cross the Rhine

Dan Snow's History Hit

History Hit

History

4.7 • 12.9K Ratings

🗓️ 5 March 2025

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

80 years ago this week, American forces unexpectedly discovered an intact bridge across the river Rhine - the last natural defence of the crumbling Third Reich. They mounted a ferocious assault and after a bloody battle with the determined German defenders, were able to capture it, and push into the German heartland.

In the latest episode of our 'D-Day to Berlin' series, Dan is joined again by John C. McManus. John explains how the American assault played out, and how it helped to hasten the end of the war.

Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.

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0:43.8	ISO rules apply. Hi everybody, welcome to Dan Snow's history hit. 80 years ago, there's a chapter
0:52.9	of Second World War history, which is not as well known as it
0:56.4	deserves to be. There was the most extraordinary moment when Allied troops, American troops,
1:03.2	arrived at the Rhine to discover a precious bridge still standing. This is the story of what came next. By the beginning of March, Allied troops
1:14.6	had advanced into Germany itself. The Rhine presented a major obstacle. It was a big river with
1:21.4	steep banks, hilly ground. This was where Hitler hoped against hope that he could somehow
1:26.5	hold back the Allies indefinitely,
1:29.8	indefinitely. That was always impossible, but it was a very, very serious geological obstacle for the
1:36.2	Allies to try and negotiate. Don't forget, crossing the Rhine had been uppermost in the mind of
1:40.4	Montgomery during his attack towards Arnhem in the previous autumn, the previous fall.
1:46.1	And so this issue of crossing the Rhine, bouncing the Rhine, was still dominating the thinking
1:50.7	of Allied generals. There were only four remaining intact bridges at the beginning of March,
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