| Original caption: “A First United States Army observer squats on ‘Flak Hill’ south of Erpel, on the East bank of the Rhine River, Germany. Below in ‘Purple Heart Valley,’ the famous Railroad Bridge over which the first Rhine crossing was made is shown.” Staff Sergeant Howard D. “Don” Feltner (May 4, 1924 – October 11, 2013), 3rd Platoon, A Company, 656th Tank Destroyer Battalion, views the Ludendorff Bridge from the Erpeler Ley. Feltner worked for Interstate Tool Company in Detroit before enlisting in October 1943 at Fort Custer, Battle Creek, Michigan. He was wounded during the Ruhr Campaign. In mid-February, 1945, the following anti-aircraft units were in or near Remagen: 2 platoons with 20 millimeter quad guns on the bridge, atop the Erpeler Ley — the 600-foot height across the river — and in the town of Remagen. 1 battery of a heavy and 2 batteries of a light railroad flak battalion with 20-, 37- and 105-millimeter guns; 1 battery of a light flak battalion. The troops had rifles, bazookas, and light machine guns for ground use. There was also a chemical company attached to the anti-aircraft, which had the mission of releasing smoke generators to set up a smoke screen. This company was of dubious value in combat, since it consisted largely of Russian prisoners of war, guarded by about 20 German soldiers. There was also 1 battery armed with rocket launchers which could not be used in ground combat, and which were so secret that the troops carrying them were under orders to withdraw to the east bank of the Rhine or destroy the equipment in the face of enemy attack. This battery was commanded by Lieutenant Karl Heinz Peters (July 6, 1915 – March 14, 1945). By the end of February, the bridgehead was seriously weakened by the withdrawal of all the railroad flak batteries. The command complex was further confused and weakened by the withdrawal of the local flak officer, and the transfer of his function to an unsympathetic anti-aircraft Major who moved in with his battalion across the river from Remagen. Major Halbach, whose battalion was operating mainly outside the bridgehead area, suggested that he assign a lieutenant as a deputy local flak officer, but Captain Willi Bratge (1904 – 1975) rejected the idea as unfeasible. He also turned down the suggestion that the duties of local flak officer could be exercised from the major’s command post, thinking it totally unrealistic, because it would leave the 2 officers 6 miles apart without adequate means of communication. Less than a week before the capture of the Remagen Bridge, these vital arrangements were still not concluded because Major Halbach had terminated his conversation with Captain Bratge with the observation that the issue was not urgent. By early March, Captain Bratge had available in his own bridge security company a total of 36 men. Captain Friesenhahn’s engineer company consisted of 120 men. About 180 Hitlerjugend members of varying qualities were scattered around. There were a 120 Eastern “volunteers” of uncertain loyalty. The anti-aircraft units could muster about 200 men, and there were 20 men from the Luftwaffe rocket battery. The total paper strength of the Volkssturm in the villages on both sides of the river near the bridge amounted to some 500; but its commanders admitted that only a 10th of this number could be counted on to appear, and fewer still would fight. All in all, the number of men available for the defense of the whole Remagen area was well under a 1,000. It varied considerably from day to day, and an accurate count of the combat effectives was never possible. The picture was a sorry 1 for Captain Bratge, accustomed to discipline and veteran of the crack units that had blitzed through Poland. During early March, the officers and men in Remagen had an inescapable sense of impending doom. They did not talk about it, but they did not have to be told that they were in a tight spot. On top of the Erpeler Ley 2 multiple, 4-barreled 20-millimeter antiaircraft guns and their crews had been stationed for several days. There was no better point in the entire Remagen area from which to observe the approach of troops from the west. Unknown to Captain Bratge or to any of the troops in the Remagen area, there had been a shift in the antiaircraft guns and their crews on the afternoon of March 6. The unit on the Erpeler Ley was ordered to Koblenz. Its place was to be taken by a similar unit that had been on the eastern outskirts of Remagen until then. The latter unit, unfortunately, had no prime movers to tow the guns, so that the crews had to drag their weapons by hand. That night 14 of the gunners went absent without leave. Some gave themselves up to the Americans; others simply changed into civilian clothes and disappeared into anonymity. On the morning of March 7, Captain Bratge’s eyes fell on the strange sight of the crews tugging and sweating as they manhandled their antiaircraft guns across the bridge. He immediately went onto the bridge. Only after close questioning of the crews and their commander did he discover that the guns on the Erpeler Ley had been moved. Bratge angrily ordered the gun commander to get his guns up to the Erpelen Ley as quickly as possible so that they could cover the bridge and its approaches, and to report to him the minute the guns got into position. Perhaps the angry command by an infantry commander to a lordly Luftwaffe officer affected the speed of its execution. At any rate, the report never came: the best point of observation was unmanned when the Americans arrived. On March 8, the 1st of over 600 German artillery shells whistled in and exploded near the bridge. The enemy artillery barrages continued in rising crescendo. The height of the Erpeler Ley made it difficult for shells coming from the east to hit the bridge, but their explosions near the structure shook the ground and literally shivered the timbers. When larger projectiles from German railway guns boomed in, the bridge swayed precariously. Signal Corps Photographer John R. Driza (November 22, 1920 – August 7, 1967) worked with DuPont after the war before dying after a short illness. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0865.jpg |
| Image Size | 406.26 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1999 x 1470 |
| Photographer | John R. Driza |
| Photographer Title | United States Army Signal Corps |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | March 15, 1945 |
| Location | |
| City | Remagen |
| State or Province | Rhineland-Palatinate |
| Country | Germany |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | 111-SC-202694 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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