"English subtitles by SirGawen (2015)." "In World War II some of the most astonishing special forces operations changed the tide of history." "Now we retell these stories in a way that has never been possible before." "Using state-of-the-art graphics, expert analysis, live weapons and explosives demos, and first-person accounts from the men who made history, we forensically examine exactly how these actions unfolded minute by minute." "We can now reveal whether it was skill, clever tactics, or just luck that carried the day." "In this episode a brave band of regular GIs take the last significant bridge standing over the river Rhine and open the gateway into the heartland of the third Reich, as told by their commanding officer 2nd Lieutenant Karl Timmermann" "and three of his men critical to the action." "They must storm a bridge bristling with machine guns and laced with explosives primed to blow them and the huge structure to smithereens." "By the end of this day they will all hasten the end of the war." "Remagen, Germany." "A company of men of 27th Armoured Infantry Batallion, the foot soldiers of 9th Armoured Division emerges from dense woods." "They are just outside a picture-postcard town that sits on the banks of the river Rhine." "At the bend of the road the GIs are met with an awesome sight   the Ludendorff railroad bridge." "And it's still standing." "For five years Hitler's forces occupied Europe and dominated the world." "But in the nine long months since the mass allied landings on D-Day his army has been relentlessly battered back through northern France and into Germany, but now that push has been stopped dead at the river Rhine." "Every significant bridge along 800 miles of this mighty natural obstacle has been blown." "Just a thousand yards of water presents the allies with the hardest task of all   to strike at the heart of the 3rd Reich and finish the war, but first they must cross this river." "The Rhine is the last great obstacle before Germany itself." "Once the allies got over the Rhine, there's nothing to stop them on their way to Berlin." "Leading the company of men from the 27th is 2nd Lieutenant Karl Timmermann." "This 22-year-old took command of Company A on March 6, 1945." "The night before this operation." "It was a massive irony that he was born in Germany, less than a 100 miles from Remagen." "His father served in US Army occupation forces in WW I, but had deserted his post in 1919." "Following a childhood of thorns about his father's desertion, young Karl had a point to prove when he entered the military service." ""I told them I'm gonna make it right again"." "And now, the rookie lieutenent had been given a perfect opportunity to prove himself." "Timmermann orders to map up the German forces remaining on the west side of the river." "First, he must clean enemy's resistance out of the town of Remagen." "Then, he is to secure and hold the bridge head, so that the armoured division can be brought up to take the crossing." "Timmermann and his men will have to face the fact that the Germans will have almost certainly packed the bridge full of demolition charges, ready to blow it up in the face of capture." "He orders his men to move out." "In a half-truck behind him is 2nd lieutenant Jim Burrows." "The first man from Jersey city to volunteer to serve in WW II." "A former clerk, he was calm and unflappable when it mattered most, under fire." "As the three plattoons of Company A enter Remagen, they brace themselves for the bloody fight needed to take in another town." "Burrow's men spearhead the assault." ""I told them:" "I predict a quick reaction to this, so hold on to your helmets"." "Fighting in a built-up area - or FIBUA - is a dangerous procedure and the enemy are waiting for you." "In training GI's were issued with a field manual entitled:" ""Attack on on a fortified position and combat in towns"" "It told the basic facts of an urban warfare, based on a bitter learning curve for fighting highly skilled German troops already experienced in FIBUA tactics." "The GI's learnt how booby traps were often placed in doorways." "When crossing streets under fire, spread out and keep tight to buildings." "Different methods of entry, how to clear houses by coming in through the roof and working systematically downwards." "Working with tanks, sending them forward to take up enemy's positions and provide fire support." "Scots were trained how to fight with variety of weapons in a confined area." "Combining small arms with machine guns, mortars, bazookas and artillery." "One of the biggest fears for soldiers operating in an urban environment was sniper fire." "The rubbly town of Remagen is perfect for German snipers." "They can just dig in and wait for allied soldiers to walk into their kill-zone." "Armed with a well-made riffle, even ordinary German foot soldiers can be sure of shots." "This is a KAR98 Mauser." "It was a German infantry weapon." "It was based on WWI technology, but used in WWII." "Noted for sniper capabilities, it was robust, resilient and easy to use." "It was bolt action, that would fire a 7.92 round and had great stopping power." "Taking Remagen would be slow, painful and extremely dangerous." "As Burrow's 2nd Plattoon work their way through the center of town, all seems quiet." "Many people had white flags out already, none of them seemed happy." "Many of them wept." "The men are pushing deeper and deeper into town." "On the right flank is a maverick veteran, Sergeant Mike Chinchar's plattoon." ""We were supposed to go down into the town on foot." "One plattoon at a time"." "To confuse, bypass and isolate German positions, squads of GI's each take a different route through the narrow streets." "But the hunters are being hunted." "Chinchar, the battle-hardened street fighter, is now within a German sniper's sight." ""I think I got him, I think I got him"." "I said: 'Who?" "'" "I was told: "A German." "He was gonna shoot you"." "In the city square Burrows's men spearheading the assault, suddenly find themselves pinned down." "One German machine gun across the square, is holding up the whole advance." "From this position he dominates any Americans down in the square." "His machine gun is in a perfect fire position and is able to spit out 900 rounds a minute." "The MG34, the German general-purpose machine gun, the Allies simply knew it as the Spandau." "It really was a super piece of kit." "It fired this - a 7.92 mm round, at a pretty reasonable rate." "The MG34 had a distinctive, circular, perforated, air-cooled barrel." "It's one of these weapons that now compromises Company A's advance through Remagen." "Using a classic urban warfare tactic, the Americans send for armour." "Ten brand-new Pershing M26 heavy tanks have just been assigned to the 9th Armoured Division." "The M26 General Pershing was the first and greatest US heavy tank to be introduced to the WWII theatre." "At 90 mm it had the largest American tank gun in the field." "It not only superseded the best German tanks fire power - it was more agile." "It had a top speed of 20 miles an hour and in addition to its 90 mm cannon it was also equipped with one 50-caliber and two 30-caliber Browning machine guns." "The 9th received ten of these special tanks just before the attack on Remagen." "Burrows's men are still pinned down by a German with MG34, when two Pershings turn the corner into the main square, setting up their business." "With a well placed round from the 90-mm gun, the position is obliterated." "Backed by the tanks' enormous fire power resistance in Remagen quickly melts away, and the path to the Ludendorff is now clear." "The tanks move up to secure the bridgehead." "As the Americans approach, the Germans are in a frantic rush to blow the bridge." "Adding to their pressure a new commander has just arrived." "As the 9th Armoured rolled into town on the morning of March 7th, maj." "Hans Scheller takes command of the German defences." "The German commander was in a no-win situation." "He was faced with two conflicting orders." "A massive pressure to keep Ludendorff open to allow the retreat of 67th Corp who was still on the west bank of the Rhine." "But he also needed to blow the bridge to stop the Allies from taking it." "When the Americans appear on the doorstep, major Scheller's subordinate, captain Friesenhahn, hits the panic button " " and blows a hole 30 feet wide on the western approach to the bridge." "It stops the American tanks dead in their tracks." "The allied army is denied the bridge and will have to find another way across the Rhine." "Second Lt Timmermann and the men from A-Company have taken the town of Remagen and secured the bridgehead." "Both their mission and their day's work is done." "I told the men: "We'll get some hot meals and shack up here for a couple of days." "Until Timmermann and his men found the bridge intact, the commanders had originally planned for the 27th Armoured Infantry to make their way south over the next few days, and hooked up with Gen. Patton's army near Koblenz." "They're just tiny points in a big picture of a global war." "After months of winter stalemate and German counter attack a renewed allied effort to take the war to the Reich bagan in earnest in the Spring of 1945." "The question that Eisenhower and the rest of the allied commanders had to figure out was where were they going to focus their efforts on crossing the Rhine river." "And what Eisenhower decided was that it was going to be the British led by General Bernard Montgomery, who were to cross the Rhine up in the north." "In the south the American army carrying out the operation "Lumberjack"" "would make its way up to the west bank of the Rine and then stop." "They were tasked with mopping up the German Army still trapped on the west bank." "As all the German bridges had been wired with explosives, the idea was to build the pontoon bridges and push thousands of men over the river that way." "Once the British forces had gotten a foothold in Germany, the rest of the American forces would cross the Rhine and swing north-east to follow the British path to victory." "But the construction of floating bridges would take time, and likely to happen under enemy fire." "Therefore heavy casualties were expected." "So, when in the midst of battle the Ludendorff Bridge presented itself intact," "General Hoge of 9th Armoured Division seized an opportunity to get Americans over the Rhine ahead of schedule." "Furthermore, Gen. Hoge has just got some intell, a gleam from a POW." "It tells them that the Germans plan to blow the bridge at 16.00 in just 45 minutes time." "Hoge issues a new set of orders:" "his men must take the bridge immediately." "But how?" "The Germans have blown a massive hole in the road that tanks can't cross." "It would be down to Timmermann and his GI's to take it on foot." "I told them: "What if the bridge blows up in my face?"" "The cold calculation of High Command is that taking the bridge is worth risking a Company of Men 4." "Timmermann's men happen to be in the wrong place at the right time." "They were actually an ordinary army unit, they weren't a special force, they weren't an elite group, they were just an ordinary group of soldiers, who were sent to capture the bridge because they were there." "Timmermann receives a rudimentary plan of attack:" ""Put white phosphorous smoke around the area, cover the advance with tanks and machine guns"." "The stranded tanks pound on the defences on the far side." "A barrage of smoke would blind the enemy while Company A storms the structure." "They have to neutralize the defences before the Germans blow the main explosives." "There's an old saying in the army:" "If all else fails, throw bags of smoke and head straight up the middle." "Timmermann's men had no other option." "This was an incredibly gutsy move." "What Gen.Hoge doesn't know is that the Germans on the other side of the river want to blow the bridge NOW, and don't intend to wait until 16.00." "In order to set up the main charges they required written authority from their new commander." "But maj." "Scheller, still hoping to keep the bridge open for retreating German troops, refuses." "Until they get that order, the Germans need to keep Timmermann and his men off the bridge." "Besides multiple anti-aircraft positions around its base, there are further batteries on top of the Erpeler Ley   the 600 ft tall cliffs that give the Germans a commanding view over the battlefield below." "The bridge itself is a fortress." "Four heavy stone towers, effectively castled turrets, dominate either end." "Each is 3 storeys high, with gun embrasures on every level, providing deadly fields of fire down the whole length of the structure." "In theory, the 160 Germans dug in to defend the Ludendorff have an almost impregnable defensive position." "In military doctrine it's easier to defend rather than attack." "As a rule of thumb, you need twice as many troops to take up a position than to hold it." "Crossing the bridge was unseemly dangerous." "The Germans who wired it to blow up, there were explosives everywhere, there were defenders on the other side of the river shooting at the Americans." "They could be in the middle of the bridge when the entire thing blew up underneath them." "The bridge was designed with self-destruction in mind." "The brainwave of General Erich Ludendorff - it was built in the middle of 1st WW to supply men, supplies and ammunition to the western front." "But should the front lines collapse, it had to be kept from falling into enemy hands." "The Ludendorff - a 1069 foot long steel bridge - consisted of a central steel arch flanked by two trusses." "Two circuits were designed to take up the bridge." "The primary circuit consisted of 60 demolition charges, each containing up to 80 lbs of explosives, strung underneath the railroad track." "The secondary, linked to 440 lbs of explosives, crammed into an inspection shaft under the main west pier," "And two similar, 660-lb packages, under the eastern pier." "If the explosives detonated according to plan, the entire bridge would crash down into the river below." "Should these main circuits fail, there was a backup." "The primary cord attached to the massive charges under the eastern pier could be triggered by manually lighting a fuse." "The US tanks approach the bridge and immediately come under fire from the Flac positions." "The tanks' big guns take in." "The Pershing's 90 mm gun is designed to kill enemy tanks well over a mile away." "The German battery on the other side of the river is just half this distance." "The Pershings get to work at what is effectively point blank range." "Maj. Scheller decides that he must blow the bridge early." "He reluctantly gives the order, effectively abandoning any German forces still left on Remagen side of the river." "German captain Friesenhahn turns the key to trigger the charges." "...nothing happens." "He tries again." "...and again." "The main circuits have failed." "But there's still the backup system." "At the same time Timmermann prepares to cross the bridge." "At his side there is Sergeant Joseph A. Delisio." "Hailing from the Bronx, New York, the scrappy, tenacious 26-year-old citizen soldier commanded the 3rd Platoon." ""I believe I had the best men in the army, and the best fighting platoon within any army at that time"." "On the other side of the river a German corporal volunteers to return to the bridge and set off the backup system for the demolition charges." "Unaware, Company A are now committed to the assault." "I said: "All right." "We'll go across this bridge before..."" "A huge explosion engulfs the bridge." "We actually saw the bridge lift off its foundations." "There was dust and debris blown over and after a while you couldn't see the bridge any more." "It wasn't too long and the dust cleared." "I said, look, she's still standing." "The backup system has fired but the consequent explosion has failed to bring down the eastern tower." "We asked the explosives expert to investigate why the bridge failed to collapse." "It looks like what happened is that Germans when they were going to blow up Remagen Bridge were supplied with explosives called Tannerite, which is ammonium nitrate-based fuel, which is quite a low velocity explosive, not really ideal for attacking steel targets." "With German supplies running short and the bulk of their forces in retreat, resources were running low." "Instead of military-grade munitions the defenders of the Ludendorff Bridge were lumbered with inferior, industrial-grade explosives." "So what we've got here is a sample, a near representation... of Tannerite." "What we will do is just fire a quantity of it against this steel plate, being a representation of Remagen Bridge." "And after that we might do an experiment with a military-grade explosive to see how that would affect the steel." "This is a military-grade explosive so we'll do an exactly the same experiment, with approximately the same quantity on a similar steel plate, put a detonator in it, fire it off and see what effect that has." "Well, you see the first Tannerite made a dent in the plate, then you can have a look at the military explosive which has done a hole straight through it." "... it absolutely murdered it." "But despite the inferior quality of the explosives there are still hundreds of pounds of unexploded charges strung along the length of the bridge." "They may not be so lucky next time." "If the Germans can repair the main electric circuit, or if shrapnel or even a stray round hits one of the charges, the whole bridge can still come down." "Despite knowing the terrific dangers that lay ahead," "Timmermann urges his men on again." "I told the men, 'All right." "We'll go in across ordered and march:" "First Platoon, Third Platoon and then Second Platoon." "Chinchar and his men check each of the towers on the near side of the bridge." "Satisfied they are clear, they continue their advance." "I don't remember touching the boards." "I thought I flew across there." "Timmermann knowing that speed is the key to their success, leads by example and drives the men on." "Follow me!" "Luck plays a big part in war." "But luck does not win battles alone." "It takes tactics and courage." "When rushing a bridge, it's virtually impossible to zigzag." "So you have to keep to the sides, using the structure itself to provide cover." "Above all, avoid the middle and just keep moving." "You stop - and you die!" "The next men on the bridge are Delisio and his platoon." ""As we started across, the only thing that was in my mind was to get off that bridge." "The Germans had attempted once to blow it, and it failed." "We felt sure, or I felt sure, that the bridge would go"." "Looking for mor explosive charges, engineers follow Timmermann onto the bridge." "First, lieutenant Hught Mott and his trusty sergeant Eugene Dorland and John Reynolds must rely on Timmermann's men for cover as they attempt to reach and defuse all the explosives on the bridge." "Just as the men reach the point of 'no return', the machine guns in the towers open up a deadly hell of fire." "Then they are ambushed by a hidden threat" " German snipers in a sunken barge 200 yards upstream." "The head machine gun fire coming straight down the bridge, and sniper fire coming across it." "The GIs are now caught in a deadly cross-fire   from in front and enfilade from behind, on the right flank." "They were all exposed." "Timmermann's men are pinned down." "The haven't even made it half way across." "At any moment the Germans could try and blow the bridge." "The expression 'enfilade' fire from a 'defilade' position basically means you're fireing at someone's flanks, from a position of cover." "Their only option is to eliminate each German position one by one." "Through the use of close fire support from the tanks, the MG positions in the towers would be reduced by the Pershings." "Then the infantry could advance and clear the towers one by one." "But first, they have to eliminate the deadly sniper threat." "In this instance the snipers were open, they were on a barge, and had no cover whatsoever." "So Timmermann calls on a Sherman tank position on the approach ramp ant tells them to take out the snipers on the barge." "Its standard 75mm gun was lethally efficient against infantry and light armour." "And it had an effective range of up to 2000 yards." "The Shermans guns rip into the barge and ensure that threat is ended." "As they cross the half-way point of the bridge, the German machine gunners in the towers have a cleaner line of fire." "The GIs are now prey to the German MG42 and its fearsome fire power." "The men are pinned down and still have 500 ft left to go." "If the GIs are to get across the Ludendorff Bridge, they would need the Pershings' big guns to suppress the MGs in the towers ahead." "One tank takes careful aim." "Its first shell smashes into the left-hand tower on the far side." "The tank has silenced the threat." "Back on the bridge, the engineers get to work on the remaining explosives." "They are in a desperate race against time to dump them to the Rhine before the bridge and and everything on it is obliterated." "It was a close-run thing." "As the American forces work their way across the bridge, the were trying to find and disarm explosives." "And one of the Americans remembers seeing the lieutenant of the engineers cutting the wires and dropping explosives into the river below him." "As the men try to advance, Germans in the towers regroup and open up again." "But equipped mostly with the standard carbine rifle, the GI's can offer little effective reply." "The M1 carbine United States semi-automatic rifle." "The advantage of this weapon is its lightness." "It feels really well-balanced in your hands and if one's going on a long trek across muddy fields, this is the weapon I'd want." "It takes a specialized 7.62 cartridge and carries 15 in its magazine." "On the downside, the 7.62 cartridge has an effective range about a hundred yards." "And that really isn't very good for infantry on a front line." "Now, that the Germans are just within the range of the GI's rifles, they can provide their own cover and advance more rapidly." "I said: 'Joe, get your plattoon up there and get these men off their tail'." "I told my men: 'If this bridge blows up, we've got a whole batallion on it." "Let's get off." "Come on, guys'." "We tried to move as fast as we possibly could." "Joe Delisio took the responsibility and led the charge in the front of the turrets." "Somebody yelled: 'Who has the right tower?" "'" "I looked over my shoulder and I didn't see anybody move." "So I moved over to the right tower." "I pushed the door then - and there were five Germans, crowded around the machine gun and apparently they got a jam." "And they were trying to unjam it." "I fired a couple of shots..." "I yelled 'Hande hoch!" "', which in English means 'hands up'." "That was the only German I know." "They spun around and threw up their hands up in the air." "I took the machine gun and I threw it out the aperture of the tower." "Delisio then takes the Germans prisoner." "At the same time Chinchar's plattoon storms the tower on the left-hand side." "Upstairs they capture one German machine gunner." "The threat from the tower is over." "As the Germans begin to mount their attack, 1st Lt Mott of the engineers finds a piece of metal tubing." "They believe it carries the cable that leads to the primary charges designed to demolish the bridge." "With men still on the bridge, Mott acts fast." "He aims his M1 carbine at the cable and with three rounds renders it   and the charge is useless." "Despite the massive fire power raining down on them, no GI so far has been killed trying to take the bridge." "But as they storm the east bank, they are not out of danger yet." "Now, they must clear the railroad tunnel." "No one knows how many Germans are hiding in there and what weapons they might be holding." "Timmermann once again sends in Delisio who uses bunker-clearing tactics." "Sgt Cribbs and I advanced towards it." "And we each took a hand grenade and threw it into the tunnel." "After the shock comes the awe." "They advance into the tunnel firing their weapons into the dark corners." "There was a curve in the tunnel and we heard many voices talking and yelling and everything else." "We didn't know that they weren't German soldiers but German civillians." "The tactics produced the desired result." "German troops and terrified civilians start to stream out of the tunnel." "Appointed that morning to command the Remagen defences," "Major Hans Scheller, had mounted a bicycle as the Americans cross the Rhine, and slipped out at the back of the railroad tunnel." "The bridge has been taken, and their official defenders have surrendered." "But now the GIs must hang on to their vulnerable bridgehead." "The Germans' layered defence means they can still mount a counter-attack from the flat positions on the heights above." "The men from Company B are first up the 600-ft north-west slope of Erpeler Ley." "Then, 2nd Lt Burrows and the men from 2nd Plattoon follow and begin their ascent under fire." "Taking Remagen and crossing the bridge were a breeze compared with climbing that hill." "Half way up they were pounded by 20 mm anti-aircraft shells and casualties quickly mounted." "Sgt Bill Schultz is hit through the leg and Frank Marreck is struck by shrapnel." "They scramble for cover." "But as the men try to make their way to the top, they come across a grisly sight." "An entire squad of men from Company B had been wiped out by canon fire." "Burrows' Platoon know they would be next." "They must get out of the arc of fire and fast!" "Either by finding dead ground or cover   but none is available." "Instead, they have just one option   to rush the heights." "When they get there, the risk is rewarded." "The enemy has abandoned the fight." "The news reaches delighted General Dwight D. Eisenhower." "It leased the Supreme Allied Commander to changes in entire battle plan." "Eisenhower directs his commanders to drive at least five divisions across the captured bridge as soon as posible." "But for his new plan to succeed the men on the ground must secure the bridgehead against anything the enemy might throw at them." "If the Americans can create a defensive perimeter, they can gradually expand their bridgehead and then use it as a jumping-off point for the push into Germany." "In Berlin Hitler hears about the loss of the bridge and is incandescent." "He personally orders all available troops to the Remagen bridgehead to annihilate the Americans." "Just there for midnight the first German tanks cross the Rhine." "All roads led to Remagen on those few days, when a quick end to the war was inbound." "Every type of vehicle crowded the roads and the fields were thick with pounding artillery, ready tanks and anti-aircraft guns, most of them waiting to get on the small bridgehead." "Eight thousand men cross the bridge in the first 24 hours." "Once across, they push north and by nightfall on the 8th of March the German town of Unkel had been captured." "The Germans rush hundreds of artillery pieces in." "Together, between March 8th and 9th, they fire an estimated 3 000 shells at the bridgehead." "They send in one of the biggest guns they have, the concrete-busting Karl - 540 mm super heavy mortar." "It reportedly fires eleven rounds, but they all miss the bridge." "And then, it breaks down." "The Germans also shoot 'nebelwerfers' at the masses of men trying to cross the bridge." "It is now an arms race." "The Allies rush five batallions to defend the Remagen bridgehead." "672 anti-aircraft guns are positioned around the bridge." "It's the densest concentration of allied artillery ever amassed." "But they need every gun available, because the Germans are throwing their whole arsenal at the bridge." "The first Luftwaffe attack comes at 16:45 hours on March 8th." "Three Stuka dive-bombers and one Focke-Wulf 190 are mere trailblazers for relentless wave of German air attacks, that will follow over the next two days." ""Jerry" planes of all types made pass after pass at the bridge in an effort to hold the troops moving into the bridgehead." "But the German pilots make a big mistake." "They were coming up the river, which made it a smaller target, and that's why all the anti-aircraft guns were on either side." "So they nailed them before they can hit the bridge." "Then suddenly the anti-aircraft crew sight something unusual." "I looked up and I saw German airplanes flying over, trying to attack the Remagen bridge." "And suddenly, one airplane was going about two or three times as fast as any of the others." "Hitler had sent one of his top secret new deadly wonder-weapons to take the bridge down." "The world's first jet bomber, the "Arado" 234 B-2 screams in to attack the Ludendorff railway bridge." "Mounted on bomb racks beneath the wings and fuselage of the plane, it could carry one 3 000-lb bomb or three 1 100-lb bombs." "But it also tries and fails." "As the Allies pour more and more men and resources into the Remagen bridgehead, retaking the bridge is now looking like a lost cause for the Germans." "Hitler has one more card to play." "On the Führer's personal orders, they launch the ultimate super weapon at the men defending the bridge   the V-2 rocket, or Vengeance Weapon Two" "The first ever ballistic missile was on its way to Remagen bridge." "It was capable of delivering 1 tonne payload 5 and a half minutes later on targets 200 miles away." "And it could blow a crater about 33 ft deep and 50 ft wide." "Hitler's new weapons of mass-destruction really were the stuff of science-fiction." "I can imagine what it was like to see that thing come spiralling in nearly from the outer space towards the Rhine River." "Between March 11th and 17th eleven V-2's ale launched from the bases in Holland and aimed at the bridge across the Rhine." "The V-2 wasn't accurate enough and it actually ended up completely missing, but it's a remarkable statement about how desperate they were." "For ten days the Americans successfully pushed tens of thousands of troops across the bridge." "Hundreds of US Army engineers under constant enemy attack have swarmed over the crippled structure desperately applying running repairs to keep it open." "Lt Colonel Clayton A. Rust is on the bridge when the structure starts to groan." ""I heard the rivets shearing off, followed by a trembling sensation of the whole deck." "Quickly glancing down the deck, the whole deck seemed to be vibrating, and dust was coming off the surface." "I knew instantly that the bridge was collapsing"." "Sadly, 32 engineers were killed and 63 men were injured by the bridge collapse." "Despite the tragedy, the fact that the bridge was held open for ten days, allowed some 25 000 troops to cross the Rhine, and push into Germany from the ever-expanding bridgehead." "And Company A of the 27th Infantry took the bridge without suffering a single fatality." "Major Scheller, the German officer, who abandoned the bridge and escaped by bicycle, was by Hitler's order shot by firing squad." "I think the capture of the bridge was really when both sides realized that the end of the war was near." "It meant there was nothing left guarding the Germans against the allied attack." "Six weeks later Hitler commits suicide in his bunker in Berlin and victory in Europe is won." "I do think the most impressive part of capturing the bridge was not the actual capture of the bridge, it was who did it." "27th Armoured Infantry Batallion were ordinary soldiers in an ordinary unit, part of an ordinary division, part of a regular army." "They only got the job because they were the closest ones and the only ones who could do it." "But these ordinary soldiers, these ordinary men did an amazing thing." "After the war president Dwight D. Eisenhower thanked the 27th publicly." ""The action of the people was beyond praise." "Every man in the whole command approaching that bridge knew that it was mined." "Yet, without a moment's hesitation, they rushed the bridge." "We had losses, true, but they were minors compared to the great prize that we won"." "2nd Lt Karl Timmermann would more than make up for the tragic legacy of his father, who had deserted the US army." "He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his gallant deeds at Remagen." "Karl Timmermann went on to serve in Korea and survived combat in both wars." "The plucky Sergeant Joe Delisio, who single-handedly took out the machine gun nest in the far tower, was also awarded the Distinguished Service Cross." ""It was at the time, it was just another job." "It was an objective that had to be taken, and we went ahead and took it to the best of our ability." "Maybe the higher-ups figured it had importance, it was just a job that had to be done and we've done it!"" "English subtitles by SirGawen (2015)."