Royal Air Force – Analog Artist Digital World

On April 1, 1945, the 290th infantry Division which includes the 75th Infantry Division attacked with the 289th Infantry Division through the pinned down 8th Armored Group to reach Dortmund-Ems Canal near Datteln Germany. On the same day, the American 9th Army and American 1st Army met at Lippistadt Germany enclosing the Ruhr Pocket. About 350,000 German soldiers were surrounded.

On April 3 to 5, 1945 the canal was crossed as infantry scaled up and over ladders. Bulldozers worked slowly to bridge the canal. Thr 75th Infantry crossed 0n April 4, 1945.

I hiked along a section of the canal that was cut off and isolated from the main canal. That is where I found these Historical Barrier Gates.The barrier gates were needed during World War II because the Royal Air Force kept bombing critical German supply routes. These gates offered quick deployment as a safety measue to prevent catastrophic water loss and flooding from the damaged canal structures. These wartime gates, along with permanent lock gates, protected vital railway tunnels and controlled water flow, making them key tactical elements in canal defense and operation. They are no longer in use today.

This isolated section of the canal was about a quarter mile long. One of the hiking paths was completely covered with bright orange leaves which had dropped off the trees. This isolated section of canal might have been cut off when the Americans used bulldozers to fill in to create a soil bridge for Infantry and tanks.

The 75th Infantry reinforced the 320th Regiment, and the 35th Infantry Division. Two slave labor camps were liberated in the area with 3,000 inmates. An estimated 30,000 forced laborers were deployed in the city of Dortmund alone. Dealing with so many displaced persons became a logistical problem.

Cub planes flew supplies over to the far side of the canal and brought back wounded.

My father, 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken was in charge of C-Company. C-Company soldiers who were killed in action at the Dortmund-Elms Canal…

Private Howard Hall. Died April 2, 1945. Age 20. From Lynchburg, Moore County Tennessee.

Private First Class Chester W. Novonski, Age 33, Died April 2, 1945. Toward Dortmund-Ems Canal.

Private William R. Speaker. Toward Dortmund-Ems_ Canal.

Recklinghausen Germany was known as the fortress city. It also had the nickname of the waffle because of the shape of the city walls as seen from the sky. Recklinghausen’s oil facilities made it a key target for Allied bombing, particularly by the Royal Air Force. The Allies launched a major bomb attack on the city on March 23, 1945 killing 173 people.

On April 1, 1945 (Easter Sunday) the 134th US Infantry Division American troops captured the city which was strongly fortified by Germans. The Germans knew that this fortified city was needed to stop Americans from crossing Rhine-Herne Canal. My father, 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken with his C-Company troops were moving south with the goal of cutting the trapped German troops in the Ruhr Pocket in half.

By the end of the day on April 2, 1945, the 134th Infantry Division had cleared Recklinghausen and was being relieved by elements of the 290th Infantry, 75th Infantry Division, and elements were heading to an assembly area in the vicinity of Westerholt Germany. Remaining elements of the 134th Infantry in positions along the Zweig Canal were relieved by the 290th Infantry. The 75th Infantry Division assumed responsibility for the sector.

The German flanks were secured by Lippe Canal to the north and Rhine-Hern Canal to the south. The final artillery battle was fought in the Recklinghausen Market square.

After Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945, an Interment camp was stablished in Recklinhausen for German civilians in a former forced labor camp in the Hillerheide district. This Civilian Interment Enclosure 91 held 20,000 prisoners. It was used by the Allies to question German prisoners about war crimes and mistreatment of forced laborers. The 44th Infantry Division was involved in involved in investigating potential war crimes around May 3, 1945, where local people were forced to bury bodies from mass graves near Recklinghausen (Suttrop). The camp closed on April 15, 1948.

I decided to sketch a remnant of the medieval city wall. Only a few short sections remain of this wall.