“Operation Plunder was a campaign involving logistics, forces and supplies only slightly less considerable than the Normandy landings.”
The Rhine was the last major natural obstacle to the Allied advances in Germany. Although the American’s had already crossed further south the mountainous country there was be difficult for a fast large scale advance. Montgomery’s 21st Army Group was heading for the North German Plain.
At 6.00 pm on 23rd March 1945 Operation Plunder, the crossing of the Rhine by Monty’s 21st Army, went into action with a thunderous artillery barrage along the Rhine from Nijmegen to the Ruhr. This was the largest bombardment undertaken by the Royal Artillery during the war involving more than 4,000 pieces of artillery.
Preparations for the crossing (over 250,000 tons of supplies were amassed near the front) had been obscured by the largest smoke screen ever laid and German airfields were heavily bombed from 21st to 24th March to prevent interference from the Luftwaffe.
The guns of 52nd Lowland Division, trained on the bank near Wesel, had a particularly important part to play for VII Corps, clearing the German defences for the main crossing - Operation Torchlight. They were “in the front row of the grandstand at one of the most imposing spectacles ever staged.” For a while General Eisenhower himself watched the operation from within the Division’s beat.
At nightfall the RAF saturated Wesel with 1,000 tons of high explosive.
At 8.30 pm Operation Turnscrew commenced. 51st Highland Division, spearheaded the northern attack across the river near Rees for General Horrocks’ XXX Corps, who held a 12 mile front between Wesel and Rees. Turnscrew was primarily a diversion for the main attack to the south. However, the 51st met with fierce resistance and Rees was not taken until 36 hours after their crossing.
At 10.00 pm 1st Commando Brigade, consisting of 3, 6, 45 and 46 Commando and ‘A’ Squadron of 52nd Recce, stealthily set off across the 300 yard wide river near Wesel in Operation Widgeon. They crossed in Buffalos (amphibious LVTs – tracked Landing Vehicles), DUKWs and small assault boats.
‘A’ Squadron’s task was to provide beach control parties for the Commandos, keeping up communications from the right bank with the left during the battle for Wesel. They also had to paddle back and forth across the Rhine in their canvas assault boats picking up any survivors from boats hit by enemy fire.
The Commandos made their way in single file toward Wesel until they were only one kilometre outside the town. There they waited as at 10.20 am the RAF again attacked Wesel, lighting the town with flares and following up with bombs. The Commando sent one message “Noisy blighters aren’t they? We have taken position so-and-so and have met no trouble” before resuming radio silence.
By late morning on 24th March the Commandos had secured most of what remained of Wesel. Of the 1,600 men who crossed the Rhine with 1st Commando Brigade 11 were killed, 17 missing and 68 wounded.
At 2.00 am on Saturday 24th March the 15th (Scottish) Division landed on the east bank of the Rhine, north of Wesel, commencing Operation Torchlight. They made good progress and by nightfall had linked up with Airborne forces dropped behind the German lines – the 6th Airborne.
To the south the US 30th Division (‘Old Hickory’) of Lt-General William Simpson’s 9th Army, crossed the Rhine between Wesel and Rheinberg. One hour later, at 3.00 am, the US 79th Division (‘the Cross of Lorraine’) from 9th Army set off from south of Rheinberg for the east bank of the river. These attacks over an 11 mile front south of Wesel (Operation Flashpoint) guarded the right flank of the main Rhine crossings.
(From ‘Time Spent or The History of the 52nd-Lowland-Divisional Reconnaissance Regiment January 1941-October 1945’ by Trevor D.W.Whitfield, published by Mountain 1946; 'Mountain and Flood: the History of the 52nd (Lowland) Division by George Blake; Jackson, Son and Company 1950; ‘Only the Enemy in Front Every other beggar behind…’ The Recce Corps at War 1940-1946’ by Richard Doherty, Tom Donovan Publishing Ltd 1994 and ‘The Fighting Fifty-Second Recce’ by Carl Shilleto, Eskdale Publishing 2001)
Sandy Handley had a ringside seat for the Rhine crossing:
“On the 23rd March ’45 our Troop Leader informed us that an artillery barrage was about to start. Guns of the artillery were wheel to wheel, as they said, along the Rhine. Some figure was given us of 5,000 pieces of artillery, rocket launchers, 25 pounders, 105 mm, the lot. By now we were on the banks of the Rhine opposite the town of Wesel. The river at this point was 400 yards across. An Army bulldozer had scooped out a big ditch for our Daimler so we were well down with our turret just peeping over the Rhine, although through the dense smoke screen we couldn’t see much. All the time the canon and rockets were being fired - the noise was deafening.
Our Officer came to our car and had to shout above the noise. He told us this barrage was only the beginning; he said at 11 o’clock pm ALL THE LOT was going to open up. At 11 o’clock we found out what he meant! The noise was terrible, my nerves were getting a bit jaded. There we were, in front of all these guns, yards from the actual river. I suggested to the other chap we go under the Daimler, which we did, scooping ourselves a little dugout. We thought the deeper we dug the more safe we were (I felt like a mole).
This barrage had begun at 6pm and went on to the early hours the next day. Now and again we were required to send back a radio message. It was supposed to have been in special code. This code was pretty complicated (to me anyway). I’d never had to use it at any time since we landed 9 months previously with the 61st recce in June ’44. The code arrangement consisted of a card with various words of the message, each with an alternative word. Well, working that out with all the noise I thought “No way!”. So I just relayed my message in general phonetic terms. I didn’t even confirm the message with the Officer and the Officer didn’t bother to confirm with me after. I couldn’t have been so top priority. At times like these certain things didn’t go text book fashion.”
At 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning I dropped off to sleep exhausted. I had experienced these artillery barrages since we landed but this was the Daddy of them all. “
(From Ex Trooper S Handley’s ‘61 Recce - Memories of Normandy etc 1944 – 1945’, unpublished)
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