During World War II, Operation Plunder was the crossing of the Rhine river at Rees, Wesel and south of the Lippe Canal by the British Second Army, under Lieutenant-General Miles C Dempsey, and the US Ninth Army, under Lieutenant-General William H Simpson. These formations formed part of the 21st Army Group under General Bernard Montgomery. This was part of a co-ordinated set of Rhine crossings. Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II... Loreley At 1,320 kilometres (820 miles) and an average discharge of more than 2,000 cubic meters per second, the Rhine (German Rhein, French Rhin, Dutch Rijn, Romansch: Rein, Italian: Reno) is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe. ... Rees may refer to: Abraham Rees (1743–1825), compiler of Reess Cyclopaedia. ... Wesel is a city (population about 61,689 in 2004) in Germany, located at the point where the Lippe River empties into the Rhine. ... This article is about the district Lippe. ... A number of nations have had a Second Army British Second Army German Second Army Soviet Second Army Turkish Second Army U.S. Second Army This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Miles Dempsey (15th December 1896 - 5th June 1969) was commander of the 2nd British Army during the D-Day landings in World War II. After graduating from Sandhurst Military Academy in 1915 Dempsey joined the Royal Berkshire Regiment. ... Shoulder sleeve insignia of the U.S. Ninth Army. ... Lieutenant General William Hood Simpson was a distinguished U.S. Army officer who commanded the U.S. Ninth Army in northern Europe, during World War II, among other roles. ... (Redirected from 21st Army Group) The British 21st Army Group was an important Allied force in the European Theatre of World War II. Commanded by Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery it initially controlled all ground forces in Operation Overlord. ... Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO, PC (17 November 1887-24 March 1976) was a British Army officer, often referred to as Monty. He successfully commanded Allied forces at the Battle of El Alamein, a major turning point in World War II...

Preparations (accumulation of supplies, road construction and the transport of 36 Royal Navy landing craft) were hidden by a massive smoke screen from 16 March. The operation itself commenced on the night of 23 March 1945. It included the Varsity parachute and glider landings near Wesel and the Archway SAS effort. The landing areas were flooded, deserted farmland rising to woodland. March 23 is the 82nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (83rd in Leap years). ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... Operation Varsity was an airborne operation towards the end of World War II, intended to gain a foothold across the River Rhine. ... During World War II, Operation Archway was a large armed reconnaissance effort launched on 25 March 1945 by about 450 British Special Air Service troopers in support of the Operation Plunder crossing of the Rhine near Wessel. ... It has been suggested that SAS Troops be merged into this article or section. ...

Three Allied formations made the initial assault - the British 30th and 12th Corps and the US 16th Corps. One unit, the British 79th Armoured Division, under Major-General Sir Percy C S Hobart, had spear-headed the Normandy landings. They specialised in providing solutions to all situations with specially adapted armoured vehicles (referred to as Hobart's Funnies). One "funny" was the Buffalo, an armed and armoured amphibious tracked personnel or cargo transporter able to cross soft and flooded ground. These were the transport for the spearhead infantry. The 79th (Experimental) Armoured Division, Royal Engineers was a British Army armoured unit formed as part of the preparations for the Normandy invasion of 6 June 1944. ... Major-General Sir Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart (14 June 1885-19 February 1957) was a British military engineer and commander of the 79th Armoured Division during World War II. He was responsible for many of the specialised armoured vehicles (Hobarts Funnies) that took part in the invasion of Normandy. ... The Battle of Normandy was fought in 1944 between the German forces occupying Western Europe and the invading Allies. ... Badge of the 79th Armoured Division Amphibious DD tanks await blowing of breaches in the sea wall on Utah Beach. ... The Landing Vehicle Tracked (LVT) was an amphibious vehicle used by the United States Navy, Marine Corps and Army during World War II. It was widely known as amphtrack, amtrak, amtrac etc. ...

The first Plunder assault was by the 7th "Black Watch" at 9pm on the 23 March, near Rees, followed by the 7th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. At 2am on the 24th, the 15th Scottish Division landed between Wesel and Rees. At first there was no opposition, but later they ran into determined resistance from machine-gun nests. The British 1st Commando Brigade entered Wesel. The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) (named The Royal Highland Regiment (The Black Watch) before 1931) was an infantry regiment of the British Army. ... March 23 is the 82nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (83rd in Leap years). ... Official name Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louises) Colonel-in-Chief HM Queen Elizabeth II Nicknames Motto Sans Peur Ne Obliviscaris Anniversaries Balaklava (25 October) Marches Quick: The Highland Laddie Quick: The Campbells Are Coming Charge: Monymusk Funerals: Lochaber No More Mascot A Shetland Pony called Cruachan Description Infantry...

The US 30th Division landed south of Wesel, the local resistance had been broken by artillery and air bombardment. Subsequently, the 79th Division also landed. US casualties were minimal.

German resistance to the Scottish landings continued with some effect and there were armoured counter-attacks. Landings continued, however, now including tanks and other heavy equipment. The US forces had a bridge across by the evening of the 24th.

Operation Varsity started at 10am on the 24 March, to disrupt enemy communications. Despite heavy resistance to the airdrops and afterwards, the airborne troops made progress and repelled counter-attacks. The hard lessons of Operation Market Garden were applied. In the afternoon, 15th Scottish Division had linked with both airborne divisions. Operation Varsity was an airborne operation towards the end of World War II, intended to gain a foothold across the River Rhine. ... March 24 is the 83rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (84th in Leap years). ... Combatants XXX Corps First Allied Airborne Army II SS Panzer Corps Army Group B First Parachute Army Commanders Montgomery von Rundstedt Strength 35,000 airborne, XXX Corps 20,000 (start of the battle) Casualties 18,000 casualties 13,000 casualties Operation Market Garden (September 17-September 25, 1944) was an...

Fierce German resistance continued around Speldrop, north of Rees, where the entire 9th Canadian Brigade was needed to relieve the Black Watch. The bridgehead was firmly established, however, and the Allied advantages in numbers and equipment were applied. By the 27 March, the bridgehead was 55 kilometres wide and 30 km deep. March 27 is the 86th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (87th in Leap years). ...

Impact on German forces

The Allied operation was opposed by the German First Parachute Army, commanded by General Schlemm, a part of Army Group H. Although this formation was considered to be the most effective German force in the area, it was severely depleted from its previous action in the Reichswald. Unable to withstand Allied pressure, the First Parachute Army withdrew north-eastwards towards Hamburg and Bremen, leaving a gap between it and the German Fifteenth Army, in the Ruhr. The Reichswald Forest, near the Dutch/ German border, was the scene of a Second World War battle in February, 1945. ... The smaller Alster lake at dusk Hamburg (Low German: Hamborg, [haˑmbɔːχ]) is the second largest city in Germany and with Hamburg Harbour, its principal port, Hamburg is also the second largest port city in the European Union. ... The river Weser flows through Bremen to the estuary at Bremerhaven. ... For the conurbation see Ruhr Area. ...

On 27 March, command of the First Parachute Army was passed to General Günther Blumentritt, urgently because Schlemm had been wounded. Blumentritt and his superior, Colonel General Johannes Blaskowitz, both recognised that the situation was lost. The army's front was incomplete, there were no reserves, weak artillery, no air support and few tanks. Communications were weak, indeed, one corps was never contacted. The reinforcements that were supplied were so poor that they were never used, so as to avoid needless casualties. March 27 is the 86th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (87th in Leap years). ... Günther Blumentritt (February 10, 1897-October 12, 1967) was a German general. ... Johannes Blaskowitz (July 10, 1883 - February 5, 1948) was a German general during World War II. During the Polish September Campaign he commanded the German Eighth Army. ...

Although Blumentritt had strict orders from Supreme Command to hold and fight, he in fact, from 1 April, managed a withdrawal with minimal casualties, eventually beyond the Ems Canal to the Teutoburger Forest. Within a week of the start of Plunder, the Allies had taken 30,000 prisoners of war north of the Ruhr. April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining. ...

Winston Churchill

The British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, was present at General Montgomery's headquarters near Venlo on the eve of Plunder (23 March). Subsequently , Churchill and Montgomery watched the Varsity air landings on the 24th. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British politician and author, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ... Venlo is a municipality and a city in the southeastern Netherlands. ... March 23 is the 82nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (83rd in Leap years). ...

The next day, the 25th, Churchill and Montgomery visited Eisenhower's headquarters. After lunch and a briefing, the party went to a sandbagged house overlooking the Rhine and a quiet, undefended stretch of the "German held" bank. After Eisenhower's departure, Churchill and Montgomery and a party of US commanders and armed guards commandeered a river launch and actually landed for half an hour in enemy territory, without challenge. Dwight David Ike Eisenhower (October 14, 1890–March 28, 1969), American soldier and politician, was the 34th President of the United States (1953–1961) and supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II, with the rank of General of the Army. ...

They then visited the destroyed railway bridge at Wesel, only departing when German artillery appeared to target them.

It's hard to imagine many modern heads of government being allowed to visit the front in this manner.

References

• Defeat in the West; Milton Shulman, first published 1947
• The Second World War; Winston Churchill
• Decisive Battles; various authors, published by Windward, 1986