Confluence of the Wesel-Datteln and Dortmund-Ems Canals

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The Wesel-Datteln Canal (Lippe Canal) runs west and east and it joins the Dortmund-Ems Canal which runs north and south. The 75th Infantry Division was moving from west to east following the Wesel-Datteln Canal which is known as the Lippe Canal on the World War II history books I have been referring to. The two canals meet at the city of Dattlen Germany. The troops would have crossed the Lippe Canal to attack Dorsten, Marl and the Die Haard Forest in Germany but they kept moving along the southern bank of the Lippe Canal until they reached this confluence. Every factory, village and crossroad was a potential strongpoint for snipers and anti-tank guns. Each strongpoint had to be reduced. 50 or more bridges had been blown ip by the retreating Germans. American engineers had to repair each bridge to make it passable for huge Quartermaster trucks. Quartermaster (QM) trucks in WWII were the vital supplyline, delivering fuel, ammo, and food to the front lines, often under enemy fire.

The 2nd Battalion of the 75th Infantry Division closed in on Datteln On April 2l 1945. They fought until their ammunition was gone. Germans surrendered in droves. Lieutenant Stephen H. Lax from L-Company reported that, As we closed on the town, two German 40mm guns fired point blank.”

Despite 6 casualties, the 1st and 2nd platoons rushed into the town. Two other platoon were pinned down for over an hour before they could rush in for support. A flushing party scoured the north east section of town for snipers and they rounded up 1200 Germans, all in civilian clothes. The 75th Infantry Division was now 0n the western bank 0f the Dortmund-Ems Canal. which was rhe last water barrier it had to cross in Europe.

Teo days later the stage was set for an assault crossing of the Dortmund-Ems Canal. The 9th and 1st Armies had met ay Lippestadt thus encircling the Germans in the Ruhr. If the Germans learned they were trapped they might try and break through. The area surrounding the 300,000 or so trapped Germans had to be expanded. The push to the west was complete. The next phase would have the 75th Infantry push south to the banks of the Ruhr River and final victory.

Patrols pushed across the Dortmund-Ems Canal to locate possible crossing sights. Staff Sargent Alfred J. William calmly walked to the water’s edge in full view of the Germans on the opposite shore who were sunning themselves. He broke off a branch and stuck it in the water to measure the water’s depth. He then wiped off the stick and repeated the procedure to be sure of his gauge reading. The Germans must have been too surprised to shoot at him.

My father 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken lead the soldiers of C-Company of the u5th Infantry Division. Solders from C-Company who died at the Dortmund-Ems Canal were…

Private Ernie J. Guiger died at Datteln, Dortmund-Ems Canal

Private Howard Hall, died at Datteln, Dortmund-Ems Canal

Private Chester W. Novinski, age 33, died near the Dortmund-Ems Canal

Private William R. Speaker, died near Dortmund-Ems Canal

Private Clifton H. Veretto, died at Dattelin Dortmund-Ems Cana

March 26, 1945: Lippe Canal

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My father 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken was leading the 75th Infantry Division, 1st Platoon, C-Company after crossing the Rhine River as they cleared the gap between the Lippe Canal and the Lippe River. The Lippe Canal is a made waterway with long straight stretches which is ideal for large barges to transport coal and other war time materials. The more natural winding Lippe River runs just to the north of the canal. I decided my first task should be to sketch the canal. I had already drawn the canal when I drew the Frederichfeld Lock, but I wanted to see what the distance was like between the canal and the river, so I decided to sketch each on the same day.

I am certain that this bridge near Gahlen Germany, southeast of Wesel,  had been destroyed by the retreating Germans. At some point as my father’s Division got closer to Dorsten Germany, moving east between the Lippe C1anal and River they would have appreciated having a bridge to get south across the canal. The water is certainly too deep to fjord across while holding a rifle over your head.

The Lippe Canal, was a significant barrier and objective for the advancing Allied forces in March of 1945. The 9th Army was moving east on the south of the Lippe a river while the British forces were advancing to the north of the Lippe River as part of OPERATION PLUNDER and OPERATION VARSITY.  Swift construction of temporary bridges both Bailey & Tread way by engineers was needed to overcome the destroyed German bridges, allowing a rapid advance into Germany.

Operation Plunder had allied forces including my fathers 75th Infantry Division crossing the  River in landing craft as well as temporary bridges build by engineers. Operation Varsity involved more than 16,000 paratroopers and several thousand aircraft, it is the largest airborne operation ever conducted on a single day and in one location. The parachute forces dropped north of Wesel on the eastern side of the Rhine River. They attacked south into the demolished city of Wesel and met up with the British forces crossing the Rhine in landing craft and then bridges.

Ninty seven percent of Wesel buildings were destroyed by Alied bombings and artillery fire. Despite this, German forces cut down the paratroopers who were dropped in broad daylight as part of Operation Varsity. The 6th Airborne Division had suffered around 1,400 casualties killed, wounded or missing in action out of the 7,220 personnel who were landed in the operation. The 17th Airborne Division suffered a similar casualty rate, reporting around 1,300 casualties out of 9,650 personnel who took part in the operation between March 24th and 29th. 56 aircraft were lost on March 24, 1945.

March 26, 1945: Expansion of the Rhine Bridgehead

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After crossing the Rhine River, on the evening of March 26, 1945, my father 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken and the men of C-Company of the 75th Infantry Division would have passed the Friedrickfeld Lock as they cleared the strip of land between the Lippe River and the Lippe Canal (the actual name today is the Wesel-Datteln Canal). The Lippe Canal empties into the Rhine River and just to the north of the canal is the winding Lippe River. The lock first began operating on 1930.

Large steel panels can be lowered into place and the lock filled so the water level rises and then the barges can rise to the upper water level and sail onward. Getting through the canal takes 30 minutes. I watched the gates rise and fall several times as I sketched.

The locks are very important in transporting coal and other war time supplies so this was an important military target. In March 1945, as American troops advanced, German soldiers were taken prisoner near the village of Friedrichsfeld and held in a temporary enclosure.

The Friedrichfeld Lock was destroyed by Allied bombings during World War II. Wesel Germany which is a short distance to the north was absolutely flattened by the Allies. Allied bombing campaigns targeting German industry and infrastructure. The Wesel town center and industrial targets in similar nearby areas were subject to heavy high-explosive and incendiary bombs, leading to widespread destruction.

I drove into Wesel Germany hoping to renew my car rental agreement. There were no old historic buildings. There was non of the old world charm I had seen west of the Ruhr River. Wesel resembles the boring and sprawling strip malls of Florida. There was a Subway Sandwich Shop next to the car rental place, so I ordered a good old American sub for lunch.

The guy in the car rental shop said he could not renew the rental and I would have to drive back to France to re-rent the car. He just didn’t want to do his job, because I ultimately did renew the rental in the next city as I pressed deeper into Germany. This happens often where I am told things just can’t be done, I pressed on and got it done anyway.

The 75th Infantry Division passed through this area along with the 8th Armored Division. The three battalions of the 75th Infantry Division fought with the armored division through March 31, 1945. They moved towards Dorsten Germany as their objective.

Attached to the XVI Corps, the ultimate goal of the 75th Infantry Division was to destroy the important Ruhr Industrial area which supplied coal, steel, iron, synthetic rubber and chemicals for the German war machine. With the Ruhr crippled the German war effort would grind to a halt.

Major General Ray E. Porter said of the 75th, “Crossing the Rhine you attacked successfully for fourteen successive days against the determined resistance of four German divisions, two of them being among the enemy’s best remaining divisions.” After crossing the Rhine River the 75th engaged with remnants of German resistance after the 79th and 30th Divisions had broken through the German lines. Battles happened from city to city as the 75th Infantry Division moved east between the Lippe River and Lippe Canal. They pushed in the direction of Dorsten which is just south of the Lippe Canal.

By March 27, 1945 , the 75th Infantry and 8th Armored Divisions had advanced as far as an assembly area near Hunxe Germany.

 

March 8, 1945: Kaldenkirchen Germany

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The 8th Armored Division passing through Kaldenkirchen Germany on March 3rd with little resistance. March 6, 1945 the 75th Infantry was ordered to move to an assembly area south of Kaldenkirchen Germany. That troop movement was completed by March 7, 1945. On March 7th there was small arms fire near the 75th Infantry Command Post. The Headquarters and Service Companies were alerted but no enemy troops were found in the area.

On March 9, 1945, a jeep patrol from the 75th Infantry division hit an anti-tank mine just east of Kaldenkirchen in farm country, resulting in several casualties, including one killed in action. The night of 10 March 1945, the 75th Infantry Division relieved Task Force Murray of the 35th Infantry Division working with the 8th Armored Division. The bridges to Wesel across the Rhine River had been blown by retreating Germans and the movement across the Rhine, halted.

From March 8-11 1945 the 75th Infantry Division was involved in clearing the area around Kaldenkirchen Germany as well as Venlo and Roermund Netherlands. The 35th Infantry Division had accomplished a breakthrough in this area but did not have time to completely eliminate all the enemy installations in the area. It fell to the 75th Infantry Division to take out each installation one at a time. German prisoners were taken, suspected were processed, mine fields were marked to keep troops from injury and for future clearing and large quantities of weapons and ammunition were confiscated.

From March 13 to March 23, the 75th patrolled a sector along the west bank of the Rhine from Wesel to Homburg.

 

Rheinberg Germany: Suicide Corner

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Before walking to the Rhine River, I had to stop and sketch the downtown architecture of Rhineberg Germany. These buildings likely stood here 80 years ago if they were not destroyed by allied bombings. I was seated in front of a Pizza-Donner shop that was just opening. The proprietor was getting the oven fired up and he came out on occasion to check and see my progress.

On March 5, 1945, just before the 75th Infantry Division arrived, the 36 Tank Battalion, Company D rolled in to capture the town, which was an escape route for the Germans to get across the Rhine River to Wesel Germany.

Every American officer of Company D, was killed or severely wounded in the action at Rheinberg. The company lost one soldier to sniper fire as they moved north of Kamp-Lintford Germany towards Rheinberg. The Germans were well dug in in the woods outside of the town with anti tank guns. They defended the town fiercely. In an open field to the east, there were two German 88’s entirely un camouflaged, and one very well camouflaged began firing. The American tanks backing away while firing desperately at very few visible targets. Besides the 88s there was heavy small arms fire coming from many directions. The American tank Battalion rallied at a factory which offered cover before once again advancing toward Rheinberg.

B Company knocked out four 88s and six 20mm guns protecting the larger weapons. These guns were in addition to a half -track, a tank and a truck also knocked out by the company.

The capture of Rhineberg came at a heavy cost. The 36th Tank Battalion, Company D, which had been ordered to attack from the southwest, left 17 of its 18 tanks in flames along the road and the remaining tank had to be withdrawn. The 49th Armored Infantry Battalion suffered 68 casualties, while the 36th had 131 either wounded or killed in action. From the German ranks, 512 prisoners were taken and 350 killed. The 36th Tank Battalion lost a total of 41 tanks. Company B had lost all but six tanks. Company A fared somewhat better, but a final count showed 11 of its tanks knocked out.

The next day, Rheinberg, though cleared of the enemy, also remained under heavy mortar, tank and artillery fire with the Germans concentrating their fire on the area near the town’s church. This area was soon dubbed “Suicide Corner” and those who were wise, went through it on the double, ready to hit the dirt as soon as they heard the ominous whistle of an inbound shell.

March 10-13 1945: Kamp-Lintfort Germany

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On March 10, 1945 the 75th Infantry Division Command Post was at Kamp-Lintford Germany. The 75th Infantry troops were also moved to an assembly area near Kamp-Lintford to replace elements of the 35th Infantry Division. The replacemts happened under the cover of darkness, because the Germans were so close on the opposite side of the Rhine River. The 75th then took up positions on the western side of the Rhine River waiting for the opportunity to cross. They were positioned along the Rhine River from Buderich in the north to Rheinberg Germany in the south. Positions were established by March 13, 1945. The Canadian 156th Brigade occupied a position just to the left of the 75th Infantry Division.

After sketching and studying maps of the area, I decided that C-Company likely would have been in a position to cross the Rhine at Buderich Germany. Outposts were established and patrols sent out to secure the West Bank of the Rhine. Engineers and mine platoons set about defusing the many mines buried by the retreating German Army.

An 11 man 75th Infantry patrol crossed the Rhine River on March 16, 1945 but encountered enemy resistance and had to retreat, gaining no  information about the far shore. Another 11 man patrol from the 75th Infantry 2nd battalion crossed the same night and they succeeded to advance some distance into the enemy territory. They found several abandoned enemy positions.

1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken was leading C-Company which was part of the 1st Battalion. I do not know yet if they were on one of these dangerous recon Rhine River crossing missions.

Another objective of the 75th Infantry was to veil American operations and objective’s of XVI Corps. As far as is known no German assault boat squad was successful in gaining information about the American positions. The planned Rhine crossing near Wesel Germany, on the northern part of the Rhine, was to be the largest amphibious and airborne operation mounted since D-Day. It’s success depended on absolute secrecy.

Positions remained static with occasional rounds of artillery fire. “On March 10, 1945, the XVI Corps successfully completed its mission in Ninth Army’s Operation “Grenade.” From 23 February until the completion of this operation, this Corps has undergone many types of combat, including a river crossing, rapid pursuit of the fleeing enemy, and tough, slow fighting against a determined enemy who, by every form of defensive fighting, was attempting to protect his last escape routes across the Rhine in the Wesel Area.’” – JOHN B. ANDERSON
Major General, U. S. Army, Commanding

The Rheinberg War Cemetery which I sketched is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The majority of the servicemen who died are buried in the countries where they fell. There are 3335 English and American casualties buried in this cemetery. The cemetery was first opened in 1946. Most of the casualties are air men who died in air raids over Germany. Their bodies were often buried where the planes crashed, by a roadside, riverbank or in a forest. There are also 400 soldiers buried here who died on the advance from the Rhine River into Germany,

March 5, 1945: Crossing the Roer River into Germany

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The 75th Infantry Division had to wait on the western side of the Roer River for several weeks because the Germans had destroyed a dam up river and flooded the entire river valley. The river ain’t that wide in peace time, maybe about 25 to 50 yards.

OPERATION GRENADE which was a push from the Rowe River to the Rhine River began on February 6, 1945, once the waters had subsided a bit. The 75th Infantry likely crossed the Roer south of Heinsberg and north of Geilenkirchen Germany. After studying maps of the area, I decided Hilfarth Germany fits in the sweet spot where the troops might have crossed the river.

A historical sign at Hilfarth pointed out that American troops used the bridge to advance over the Roer River. The bridge was partially destroyed but perhaps only passable by foot. The bridge was repaired and reopened to car traffic on May 18, 1949.

The 75th Infantry was part of the 9th Army Group under General William Hood Simpson. On March 1, 1945 the 75th Infantry was assigned to the XVI Corps as they advanced into Germany. by March 5, 1945 the 75th had advanced as far as Rheinberg Germany. C-Company commanded by 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken was among the most northerly of the American Troops with the British to their left in the north. The British push to the Rhine River from the Roer was known as OPERATION VERITABLE  The 75th took up a defensive position on the Rhine just south of Wesel Germany on the opposite side of the Rhine.

All of these movements seemed so abstract when I read them at first but once I followed the route and sat to sketch the Roer River, things fell into place and made sense to me. Once C-Company of the 7th Infantry got to the Rhine, they stayed behind the levies during the day and patrolled along the rivers edge at night. The goal of C-Company was to keep the Germans in the dark about when and where the 9th army would cross the Rhine River. If the Germans found any intelligence about the next crossing, then many American lives would be lost.

Heinsberg Germany Jewish Memorial

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just to the south east of Roermond Netherlands, across the border is Heinsberg Germany. This memorial was placed in a quiet park setting next to a busy intersection. When I started to sketch, school children were making their way home from school, shouting and playing along the fence that borders the memorial space. The memorial was placed in honor of the Jewish citizens of Heinsberg who are victims of the holocaust.

When Hitler came into power, the Jewish citizens of Heinsberg Germany suffered. Anti Jewish leaflets circulated in the town stated: “Whoever still has honor and pride, does not buy from Jews”. All Jewish goods were boycotted. A tannery in Heisenberg was used to supply food to Jewish residents after krystalnacht (night of broken glass), when Jewish businesses had store windows broken and stores destroyed. The Heisenberg Synagogue was burned on krystalnacht. The Jewish cemetery was desecrated and destroyed. It is not possible to establish how many Heisenberg citizens helped Jews escape across the border into the Netherlands. One midwife paid for her efforts to help with her life. Despite a few citizens trying to help, the Jews were deported east where they  disappeared. Few Jewish residents ever returned home.

Heinsberg was heavily damaged during World War II particularly during the Battle of the Bulge and then OPERATION BLACKCOCK,  which cleared Germans from the area around the Netherlands border. The fighting involved fierce combat between German and British troops. The 75th Infantry Division was not involved in these battles but did operate along the Rhine River near the area in February-March 1945 after crossing from the west bank. The division’s combat actions included a patrol of the Rhine from Wesel to Homburg, a rest period in Luneville, and then moving to patrol a defensive front along the Maas River near Roermond, Netherlands, which was just west of the German border. 

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