I know its a bit specific but can anyone tell me anything of interest to see in the dusseldorf/duisburg area as I am going there in a few weeks
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Dusseldorf/Duisburg area
If you are going to the Dusseldorf/Duisburg area you may want to read up on Operation Varsity and the Battle of the Ruhr Pocket. My Grand Dad was a paratrooper in the 17th Airborne and participated in both operations. It looks like Grampa went from Wesel, through Duisburg and was the first American to enter the City of Essen. He was part of an Engineer recon team. Among the things that he brought back were some tinnies from Duisburg and Dusseldorf
If you look around the Jump Zones at Wesel maybe you can find something.
Here are some links and maps on Varsity and the Ruhr Pocket. As you know, the Ruhr was the industrial heart of Germany. Duisburg and Dusseldorf are in the Ruhr
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._the_Rhine.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...f_the_Ruhr.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%BCsseldorf_(region)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duisburg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%BCsseldorf
Here is some brief info off the net,
"Operation Varsity (24 March 1945) was a joint American-British airborne operation that took place toward the end of World War II. Involving more than 16,000 paratroopers and several thousand aircraft, it was the largest single airborne operation in history to be conducted on a single day and in one location. [Note 4]
Part of Operation Plunder, the effort by the British 21st Army Group under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery to cross the Rhine River and from there enter Northern Germany, Varsity was meant to help the 21st Army Group to secure a foothold across the Rhine River in western Germany by landing two airborne divisions on the eastern bank of the Rhine near the towns of Hamminkeln and Wesel.
The plans called for dropping two airborne divisions by parachute and glider behind German lines near Wesel. Drawn from US XVIII Airborne Corps, they were instructed to capture key territory and to generally disrupt German defenses to aid the advance of Allied ground forces.
The British 6th Airborne Division was ordered to capture the towns of Schnappenberg and Hamminkeln, clear part of the Diersfordter Wald (Diersfordt Forest) of German forces, and secure three bridges over the River Issel. The U.S. 17th Airborne Division was to capture the town of Diersfordt and clear the rest of the Diersfordter Wald of any remaining German forces. The two divisions would then hold the territory they had captured until relieved by advancing units of 21st Army Group, and then join in the general advance into northern Germany.
Varsity was followed by the Battle of the Ruhr Pocket,
The Ruhr Pocket was a battle of encirclement that took place in late March and early April 1945, near the end of World War II, in the Ruhr Area of Germany. It was, for all intents and purposes, the final dagger in Nazi Germany's war effort, as more than 300,000 troops were taken prisoner.
[edit] Background
In March 1945, Allied Forces crossed the Rhine river. South of the Ruhr, General Omar Bradley's U.S. 12th Army Group's pursuit of the disintegrating German army resulted in the capture of the Ludendorff Bridge across the Rhine at Remagen by the U.S. First Army. Bradley and his subordinates quickly exploited the crossing made on March 7, 1945, and expanded the bridge head until the bridge collapsed 10 days later.
North of the Ruhr on March 23, 1945, Field Marshal Montgomery's British 21st Army Group launched Operation Plunder and crossed the Rhine at Rees and Wesel.
[edit] The battle
Having crossed the Rhine, both Army Groups fanned out. In the south, the First Army headed northeast and formed the southern pincer of the Ruhr envelopment. In the north, the U.S. Ninth Army, which since the Battle of the Bulge had been assigned to Montgomery's 21st Army Group, headed southeast, forming the northern pincer.
Facing the Allied armies were the remnants of a shattered Wehrmacht, a few SS training units, and large numbers Volkssturm (militia units for aging men, including some World War I veterans) and Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth) units, composed of boys as young as 12.
Lead elements of the two Allied pincers met on April 1, 1945, near Lippstadt. By April 4, the encirclement was completed and the Ninth Army reverted to the command of Bradley's 12th Army Group. Within the Ruhr Pocket about 430,000 German soldiers of Army Group B, which was 21 divisions of the Wehrmacht, and millions of civilians were trapped in cities heavily damaged by numerous bombings.
While the main operations headed further toward central and northern Germany, US forces concentrated on the pocket, taking it section by section. On April 12, 1945, the US First and Ninth armies divided the area coming from the south; the smaller, eastern part surrendered the next day. The western part continued to resist until April 18 and April 21, 1945. Rather than surrender and violate his personal oath to Adolf Hitler that he would fight to the death, the commander, Field Marshal Walther Model, committed suicide in a forest south of the city of Duisburg."
Cassidy, Airborne -
Thanks for that, very helpfulComment
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While the main operations headed further toward central and northern Germany, US forces concentrated on the pocket, taking it section by section. On April 12, 1945, the US First and Ninth armies divided the area coming from the south; the smaller, eastern part surrendered the next day. The western part continued to resist until April 18 and April 21, 1945. Rather than surrender and violate his personal oath to Adolf Hitler that he would fight to the death, the commander, Field Marshal Walther Model, committed suicide in a forest south of the city of Duisburg."
Cassidy, Airborne[/QUOTE]
Ratingen I believe!
I bet your Grandad had a few tales to tell!
NickComment
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