The Ludendorff Bridge was a bridge across the river Rhine in Germany which was captured by United States Army forces in early March 1945 during the Battle of Remagen, in the closing weeks of World War II, when it was one of the few remaining bridges in the region and therefore a critical strategic point. Built during World War I to help deliver reinforcements and supplies to German troops on the Western Front, it connected Remagen on the west bank and the village of Erpel on the east bank between two hills flanking the river.
The bridge seen from the bank of the Rhine before its March 1945 collapse
American troops on the Ludendorff Bridge in 1918
The piers which had supported the Ludendorff Bridge were a navigation hazard and were removed in 1976.
The Ludendorff Bridge between 8 and 11 March 1945
The Battle of Remagen was an 18-day battle during the Allied invasion of Germany in World War II. It lasted from 7 to 25 March 1945 when American forces unexpectedly captured the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine intact. They were able to hold it against German opposition and build additional temporary crossings. The presence of a bridgehead across the Rhine advanced by three weeks the Western Allies' planned crossing of the Rhine into the German interior.
American forces cross the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen on 8 March 1945
American troops cross the Ludendorff Bridge on 13 December 1918.
British tanks moving through the German town of Kevelaer on 4 March 1945
The Hohenzollern Bridge (center) in Cologne was destroyed after 1 March by German engineers before the Americans could capture it.