| Original caption: “Third Armored Division troops approach undamaged Cologne cathedral.” Armored infantry with the United States Army 3rd Infantry Division move down the Gereonstraße just past the intersection with Klingelpütz; the Cologne Cathedral in the background. The Gereonshaus, damaged but still standing, is on the left. Designed in 1909 by architect Carl Moritz (April 27, 1863 – August 23, 1944), it originally had 3 gabled roofs, but they were removed when the building was renovated in 1952. This is just before the famous tank duel between the T26E3 Pershing “Eagle Seven” and a Panzerkampfwagen V “Panther” Aufstellung A that was waiting in ambush at Komödienstraße near the Cathedral. The Panther knocked out a M4 Sherman tank and killed several members of its crew before the crew of Eagle 7 destroyed it. The 3rd Armored Division, with other American units, invaded and captured Cologne during a 3-day battle from March 5-7, 1945. all of Cologne west of the Rhine was captured by the Allies; the boroughs on the right bank remained under German control until mid-April 1945. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0857.jpg |
| Image Size | 1.07 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 3150 x 2452 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Army Signal Corps |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | March 6, 1945 |
| Location | |
| City | Cologne |
| State or Province | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Country | Germany |
| Archive | National World War II Museum |
| Record Number | 2013.495.1234 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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