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Crossing the Rhine

The double tow -- two CG-4A gliders for each C-47. (U.S. Air Force photo)

The double tow -- two CG-4A gliders for each C-47. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Ruins of Wesel, Germany, devastated by Allied bombing in preparation for the crossing of the Rhine on March 22-23, 1945. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Ruins of Wesel, Germany, devastated by Allied bombing in preparation for the crossing of the Rhine on March 22-23, 1945. (U.S. Air Force photo)

In February 1945 the Allies forged eastward toward the Rhine River, and on March 7 made the first crossing via the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen.

To the north, ground troops crossed the Rhine at Wesel on the night of March 23-24, supported the following morning by an aerial invasion of more than 2,800 U.S. and British gliders and paratroop transports. By afternoon, the Allies had a firm bridge-head across the lower Rhine, ready to drive eastward around the Ruhr.

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