In Memory of the 9th Armored Division
"Phantom"
World War II
The Ninth Armored Division attained the pinnacle of fame on March 7, 1945 by unexpectedly establishing the first Allied bridgehead over the Rhine. All the United Nations cheered this daring triumph.
By seizing intact the old Ludendorff railroad bridge at Remagen and quickly crossing to the east bank of the Rhine, the Ninth Armored Division opened up immense military possibilities that were realized to the fullest when it came time for the Allied armies to drive farther into Germany.
No other military event in Europe, excepting perhaps the D-Day landings in Normandy, so stirred the popular imagination. An avalanche of news stories and broadcasts poured out of the bridgehead area. The Ninth Armored soon became one of the most highly publicized American divisions in history.
Capture of the Remagen bridge climaxed a swift dash by the Ninth Armored’s combat commands from the Roer River to the Rhine. Combat Command B took off from the Roer on February 28, Combat Command A the following day. Combat Command R was in reserve.
Combat Command B and Combat Command A, advancing in co-ordinated movements, were ready March 6 for the final plunge to the Rhine. At this point the possibility suggested itself that the Ninth Armored might drive swiftly to the south and establish contact on the Rhine with units of the Third Army. A rapid link-up with Third Army forces would mean the trapping of perhaps thousands of Germans on the west bank of the Rhine.
Combat Command B was given the mission of taking the towns of Remagen, Kripp and Sinzig and securing crossings of the Ahr River at Sinzig and Bodendorf. In addition, CCB was to clear the enemy from the zone west of the Rhine. Combat Command A was to seize Bad Neuenahr, famous German resort town not far from the Rhine, and secure crossings over the Ahr in the Bad Neuenahr-Hiemersheim sector.
Maj. Gen. John W. Leonard, commanding general of the Ninth Armored, conferred with Brig. Gen. William M. Hoge, commanding general of Combat Command B, at Stadt Meckenheim on the morning of March 7. They decided that if the Remagen bridge were found intact, COB would send troops across and establish a bridgehead on the east bank of the Rhine.
CCB columns were already on the move toward the Rhine. The North task force was commanded by Lt. Col. Leonard E. Engeman of the 14th Tank Battalion, whose mission was to take Remagen and Kripp. The force was composed of the 14th Tank Battalion, less B Company, the 27th Armored Infantry Battalion commanded by Major Murray Deevers, and one platoon of C Troop of the 89th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron Mechanized.
The South column had the mission of capturing the Ahr bridges at Bodendorf and Sinzig and establishing a bridgehead south of the Ahr at Sinzig. This task force included C Troop of the 89th, less one platoon: the 52nd Armored Infantry Battalion commanded by Lt. Col. William R. Prince; Company B of the 14th Tank Battalion, one platoon of Company B, 9th Armored Engineer Battalion, and one platoon of Company C, 656th Tank Destroyer Battalion.
Combat Command B’s reserve was composed of Headquarters CCB, plus a 78th Infantry Division unit, the 1st Battalion of the 310th Infantry, which was attached to the Ninth Armored Division; Company B of the 9th Armored Engineers, less one platoon, and Company C of the 656th TDs.
Major Ben Cothran carried the instructions about the Remagen bridge to the commander of the North task force, Colonel Engeman. When Colonel Engeman came out on the high hill overlooking the Rhine at Remagen, he saw through his binoculars that German vehicles were still fleeing over the bridge to the east. Colonel Engeman immediately sent a platoon of the new Pershing 90 mm tanks down the winding road into Remagen. The tanks, from Company A of the 14th Tank Battalion, were commanded by First Lt. John Grimball.
Following the tanks were dismounted troops of Company A of the 27th Armored Infantry Battalion. Their empty half tracks brought up the rear. While these forces were fighting their way through Remagen, information was obtained from a prisoner of war taken inside the town and from a civilian questioned by the 52nd Armored Infantry Battalion at Sinzig that the bridge was scheduled to be blown at 1600. These reports were sent to General Hoge. The time was 1515. He immediately sent a message to Colonel Engeman that he had 45 minutes to take the bridge.
The dash to the Rhine was accelerated. Colonel Engeman, wishing to check on the progress of his platoon of tanks, radio-telephoned the following message to Lt. Grimball:
"Get to the bridge as rapidly as possible."
This reply came back from Lt. Grimball, a South Carolinian:
~"Suh, I am already there".
If you know of someone that was in the Ninth Armored Division or have pictures of the Ninth that you would like to see posted, please email me with the specifics.
