Saunders, Tim Operation Plunder

The British & Canadian: Rhine Crossing

Towards the end of March 1945, the British Second Army and the US Ninth Army were poised to launch an assault crossing of the Rhine. Montgomerys most powerful assault divisions had been assembled for the British sector of the operations to carry out the British-Canadian offensive between Emmerich and Wesel. On the evening of March 23, a commando brigade and two Scottish divisions launched the initial assault under the cover of darkness, accompanied by a massive artillery barrage. Despite fierce resistance from the German First Parachute Army, they had established a bridgehead by dawn. The following morning, the British 6th Airborne Division dropped near Hamminkeln as part of Operation "Varsity"directly behind German lines. After heavy fighting, the Allies were ready by March 27 to launch their decisive advance toward the Baltic Sea. Although the Rhine crossing was by no means the final battle of the war, it sealed Germany's fate.