Crossing the Rhine (Episode 8)

March 1945 – The Allies have reached the River Rhine, which Hitler is counting on to stall their advance. Field Marshal Montgomery plans a giant operation to cross the river in the north, but luck hands the Americans an intact bridge over the Rhine at Remagen. We hear from the first US troops to cross it. Monty’s great amphibious and airborne crossings are described by those who took part. As the fighting ends, we hear the emotional stories of those lucky enough to return home.

June 1944 – The combined American, British and Canadian armies make up the most powerful invasion force ever assembled. They plan to establish a bridgehead in Normandy, storming beaches along a 50…

June 1944 - The Allies are bogged down in bitter fighting amid the hedgerows of Normandy. The British and Canadians are still short of the objective they planned to capture on D-Day: the city of Caen…

July 1944 – American forces plan a major offensive codenamed Operation Cobra. They would attack near St. Lo, achieve a breakthrough, then unleash General Patton and US Third Army to exploit the…

September 1944 – Montgomery proposes a bold plan to cross the Rhine and encircle Germany’s industrial heartland. Operation Market Garden begins as thousands of Allied paratroopers seize key bridges,…

October 1944 – The Allies face a major supply crisis. Vital fuel and ammunition still has to be landed at the D-Day beaches 300 miles to the rear. When the Belgian port of Antwerp falls into Allied…

November 1944 – As the Allies advance into Germany they run into formidable concrete bunkers, pillboxes, minefields, and tank traps. German soldiers fight tenaciously to defend their homeland. We…

December 1944 – Hitler has picked the Ardennes sector for a major offensive – a last gamble to turn the tide of the war. The surprise attack, spearheaded by elite divisions, initially sends American…

March 1945 – The Allies have reached the River Rhine, which Hitler is counting on to stall their advance. Field Marshal Montgomery plans a giant operation to cross the river in the north, but luck…