| Original caption: “All this inanimate wreckage around us was little enough compensation for the human wreckage we hauled back and forth, back and forth.” Original caption: “A Third United States Army convoy crosses a treadway bridge built by American engineers to enter the battered village of Lünebach, six miles southwest of the junction town of Prum, during the Third Army drive into Germany east of the Belgian frontier.” During the Ardennes Offensive, Lünebach was heavily bombed because it was the location of a major Nazi German communications center, and air missions aided the ground forces. Medium bombers of the 9th Air Force attacked on December 23, 1944. 35 of 38 dispatched Boeing B-17 flying Fortresses bombed Luncebach on December 29, 1944; 23 were damaged. 101 of 104 North American P-51 Mustangs escorting the bombers returned without loss. Because of heavy cloud cover, most of the hundreds of B-17s dispatched bombed Koblenz instead. Another raid occurred on January 8, 1945, with 29 B-17s over Lünebach. While Luneberg was reported in the American stateside press as capitulating on February 12, the United States Army 90th Infantry Division War Diary reported that the 359th Infantry Regiment relieved the 357th Infantry Regiment and then seized the high ground above Lünebach on February 16, 1945, after taking the road junction at Niederüttfeld and Oberüttfeld and turning east. Attached to the United States Army VIII Corps, 3rd Army, the 90th Infantry Division began sending patrols to the bank of the Prüm River across from Lünebach on February 21, 1945. Nazi German resistance began to crumble as the 359th Infantry Regiment cleared Heer (“Army”) soldiers from their zone and observed that across the Prüm, the bridges to Lünebach were destroyed, and dug-in positions were empty. No enemy activity was heard. While the United States Army 87th Infantry Division faced heavy opposition, VIII Corps attacked before dawn on February 28, 1945, and crossed the Prüm. Combat Command B, 6th Armored Division, captured Lünebach, Lierfeld, and Merlscheid and established outposts at Pronsfeld. A Bailey bridge was erected at Lünebach on March 1, 1945. The 90th Infantry Division War Diary reported, “It would have been difficult to get less suitable space for a unit supposed to get a rest. The area assigned was already crowded with Corps troops, who could not be moved since they were supporting the front, and by the rear elements of the units on line. The ground had been thoroughly fought over in villages laid waste by artillery, tanks, tank destroyers, mortars, and air power. Those pillboxes not burst open by tank and tank destroyer fire were split asunder by explosives. Dead animals were everywhere. In the warming days, their fetid stench was increasingly nauseating. The men of the Division collected and buried the dead animals and improvised shelters. Pyramidal tents were requisitioned and used.” | |
| Image Filename | wwii0999.jpg |
| Image Size | 888.25 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2912 x 2327 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Office of War Information |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | March 1, 1945 |
| Location | |
| City | Lünebach |
| State or Province | Rhineland-Palatinate |
| Country | Germany |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-208-YE-122 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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