| Original caption: “German Prisoners of War – Desolate wounded Nazi captured near Körrenzig by United States Ninth Army Sector.” Operation Grenade began early on February 23, 1945, when, at 0245 Hours, a tremendous artillery barrage lit up the dark skies. The guns of United States 1st and 9th Armies, together with those of the United Kingdom Royal 2nd Army, laid down a massive bombardment on known and suspected German strong points across the River Roer. Over 1,500 guns hammered out all along the front for 45 intensive minutes. Then, as the barrage died away, the infantry of 6 divisions dragged their assault boats across muddy foreshores and into the river. The most northerly of all the as assault divisions was the 84th Infantry Division. It attacked from the centre of Linnich across a relatively narrow section of the river below the smashed road bridge at 0330 Hours. The leading troops of the 1st Battalion, 334th Regiment, paddled their way over in 15-man assault craft through the swollen and violent river. The current was swift and merciless. Sweeping aside any boat that had the misfortune to catch it broadside on. The 1st waves made it across with few casualties, but successive waves caught the force of the German defenders as they came up from of their shelters at the end of the artillery barrage. German small arms and mortar fire peppered tJ1e tiny craft as they made for the far side, but still the casualties were relatively light. The orderly initial assault was followed by complete chaos. Many of 1he 1st waves of landing craft were still stuck on the far shore or had drifted downstream. When it came time for the 3rd Battalion to cross, the footbridge the troops were supposed to have used were all out of action. 1 was not able to anchor on the far bank because of enemy fire, 1 was knocked out by a direct hit and the other was demolished by assault boats drifting down the river from the crossing site of the 102nd Division upstream of Linnich. As a result of these delays with the bridges, the 3rd Battalion was not able to start across the Roer until 0645 Hours. All was not lost, however, for the 1st Battalion had seized the initiative. The men over the river had not stopped to clear the enemy from the far side, but had wheeled to the left and immediately moved downstream towards the village of Körrenzig. They pressed on regardless, taking the enemy by surprise, and were able to cover 2,000 yards (1,820 meters) and get into Körrenzig by 0610 Hours, well before the follow-up battalion had even started to cross. The 3rd Battalion completed its crossing using a shuttle service of boats at about 1035 Hours. German artillery fire now homed in on the crossing site and pounded the area. The strong points and pockets of isolated German infantry, bypassed by the 1st Battalion, were now cleared by the 3rd Battalion, and then it too moved off towards Körrenzig. By 1450 Hours the whole of 334th Regiment was over the river. The river crossings by units of the 84th Infantry Division and the subsequent exploitation of their bridgehead was a far more impromptu affair, particularly the assault on Körrenzig village by the 1st Battalion, 334th Regiment. Those Nazi German defenders who had not made it over Rhine bridges were taken prisoner. The most ambitious effort in the XIII Corps sector was the construction of a Class 70 Bailey bridge across the Roer at the former autobahn crossing north of Linnich near Koerrenzig. Having repaired and strengthened an existing 120 foot (36.5 meter) trestle bridge over a creek west of the river to accommodate Class 70 loads, the 292nd Combat Engineer Battalion began work on February 25 to bridge the 220 foot (67 meter) gap over the Roer. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0845.jpg |
| Image Size | 759.25 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2928 x 2357 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Army Signal Corps |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | February 24, 1945 |
| Location | |
| City | Körrenzig |
| State or Province | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Country | Germany |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NLR-PHOCO-A-6654(55) |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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