I am convinced that this is the spot that my father, 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken along with the men of C–Company who he was leading, would have crossed the Rhine River which was the biggest obstacle keeping allies from driving into the heart of Germany.
On March 24, 1945, the 75th Infantry Division crossed the Rhine, this hotel which I am sure is close to their crossing site, became the site of a famous photo shoot. On 25 March, 1945 Prime Minister Winston Churchill first attended a church service that morning at the English headquarters in a village on the west side of the Lower Rhine. He then drove with his chief of staff, and a few war correspondents in armored vehicles to the American headquarters in Rheinberg Germany.
At the American Headquarters, Supreme Commander, Dwight D. Eisenhower, told Churchill about a hotel called Wacht am Rhine, about 10 miles away in Büderich Germany, which offered a good view of the Rhine and the town of Wesel on the opposite bank. Accompanied by a large security force, Churchill, Eisenhower, Montgomery and the journalists were driven to the house. Translated Wacht am Rhine means Watch on the Rhine.
From the balcony on top of the the hotel restaurant they had a beautiful view of the river Rhine and the land behind it. After the men have been extensively filmed and photographed, Eisenhower returned to his headquarters, while Churchill suggested to Montgomery to cross the Rhine in a landing craft.
I considered staying in the hotel but unfortunately they were fully booked. The river runs only 50 yards in front of the hotel and at this point the river is about 2 football fields wide. A small peninsula juts out into the river. A fisherman was using the peninsula to catch fish as I sketched. As I finished sketching he packed up his fishing gear, so I hiked down to where he had been. 1st Lieutenant Joe Colcord of the 75th Infantry Division 3rd Platoon said that there was a tradition among the men that they had to pee onto the Rhine. Now I am not saying I did that but this peninsula was the perfect spot to make that happen.
The crossings at Rees, Bislich, Wesel and Dinslaken were all part of OPERATION PLUNDER.
The hotel Wacht am Rhine was built in 1888 and has been family owned ever since. The day Winston Churchill , Montgomery and Eisenhower over looked the Rhine they also took a trip to see the destroyed Reinbaben Bridge. Churchill also insisted on crossing the river himself although there were still enemy shells being fired in the area. These photos circulated around the world to show that Germany’s impassible Rhine had been breached.