I wanted to hike to each of the three Rhine River crossing sites. Milchplatz was on the World War II Rhine Crossing battle map. Milchplatz isn’t a town but a business which mines gravel. I got this far and decided to sketch. I realized That the mining operation was between my position and the Rhine River. I am sure the troops hiked straight through the private property but I wasn’t willing to take the chance.
My father 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken crossed the Rhine River on March 26, 1945. Orders were received which had the 75th infantry Division as part of the 290th Infantry to move with the 8th Armored Division. They crossed the ro[ver in landing craft. Days later pontoon bridges were built to get heavy vehicles and equipment across the river.
Rumors circulated that the men would ride with the tanks half way to Berlin. However the supreme commander Dwight D. Eisenhower decided to let the Russians take Berlin from the east. Americans troops would instead work to cripple the Ruhr Pocket which contained the heart of the industrial German war machine.primarily coal was mined which was being converted into a cheap diesel fuel for the tanks and half tracks.
My father’s C-Company was tasked with clearing out the narrow strip of land between the Lippe a river and the Lippe canal. rather than a fast dash to Berlin the troops would face grueling house to house combat while moving through small hamlets where snipers could easily hide.
Just three days after the Rhine crossings, the isolated bridgeheads at Wesel, Bislich, Rees, Dinslaken and Spellen Germany had been combined into on large bridgehead east of the Rhine.
The following 75th Infantry Division, C-Company soldiers under the command of 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken, from were killed in action at the Rhine River bridgehead…
Staff Sargent James Lowell Steele from Multnomah County, Oregon was killed in action on March 29, 1945 in Hunxe Germany.
Sargent Alexander Stephany from Los Angeles County, California was killed in action on March 29, 1945. At the Rhine River bridgehead. He was 27 years old.