Plague Cross of Frohlinde Germany

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Frohlinde means Joyful in German. The plague cross, known locally as the Bookenkreuz, dates back to the time of the Thirty Years’ War, when the plague raged (1618 and 1648). The farming communities of Frohlind95h e, Obercastrop, and Rauxel, as well as other surrounding villages, erected plague crosses and obligated themselves to hold annual processions to these crosses and distribute alms, bread, money, and other donations to the local poor.

While the 291st Infantry Division was attacking Castrop-Rauxel Germany, my father, 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken, was leading his C-Company of the 290th Infantry, 75th Infantry Division, into Frohlinde. Heavy 75th Infantry artillery and air bombing was aimed at the city before the attack, effectively leveling the city.

All Allied units had been ordered by XVI Corps to attack south to the Ruhr River as quickly as possible. What resulted was that all the allied units raced against one another in their dash to the objective. This race to the objective resulted in some chaos as units surged forward without being aware of the progress of units to their left and right. The result could be units separated and isolated behind enemy lines.

On entering a city and seeing the type of fighting needed, the Company Commander should have given his platoons very definite zones of operation. That platoon zone should have then been broken down into individual squad areas. Only then could mopping up operations be successful in a Company zone. In the heat of battle, however, such strategic planning can fall apart.

A definite front line can evaporate, with some units pushing forward quickly while others might be stopped or delayed by heavy enemy resistance. Communication between companies could be problematic, with radios down or a messenger delayed in delivering a message.

The overall objective of General Ray Porter’s 9th Army Group was to drive east after crossing the Rhine River, and then attack south to defeat the estimated 370,000 German defenders trapped in the Ruhr Pocket. Dortmund Germany was the largest industrial City in the area of attack and Frolinde was on the north West outskirts of Dortmund.

According to the XVICorps estimate, the 75th Infantry would face the veteran 116th Panzer Division’s 16th Panzer Grenadier Regiment. The Germans could convert the villages, cities, and industrial plants into strong points to delay the advance.

Useful information was gained from prisoner of war interrogations. Interrogation teams faced a torrent of German prisoners with more than 3,600 passing through the division’s cages. From this flow came a large amount of all kinds of information, including the insight that the Germans planned to continue delaying actions, withdrawing after the first significant contact.

Major General John B. Anderson, the XVI Corps commander, commended the 75th Infantry Division for its “aggressive patrolling, constant observation, and the activities of [its] intelligence agencies.”

March 1945: Lippe River

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From the Lippe Canal I made my way straight north to the Lippe River. The distance is less than half a mile. I took the car but couldn’t find a parking spot near this ferry crossing. The ferry crossing has been closed for a long time. I ended up going back to park the car and then hiked to the Lippe River. It is on long quiet hikes like this that I truly feel like I am walking in the footsteps of my father 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken. It is a dirt road that leads through fields got me to the Lippe River. There were signs warning that cars were not allowed and that I was proceeding at my own risk.

The 75th Infantry Division hiked east in this narrow strip of land between the two water bodies so I definitely was in the spot that they once hiked. German resistance grew heavier as the 75th moved deeper into Germany towards adoration which is right on the Lippe Canal. The Lippe River is much narrower than the canal winding its way west like a snake. The water is muddy and still compared to the canal.

The Lippe River was a crucial obstinate and then a key avenue for the final allied push into Germany in March 1945 as part of OPERATION PLUNDER. The British had to cross the Lippe River as they pushed south into the Rhur Pocket of Germany. The 75th Infantry was already south of the Lippe River but would have to cross the Lippe Canal at some point before getting to Dorsten Germany. After action reports would be helpful in finding out where that crossing took place but I believe they were destroyed in a for at the National Archives.

At noon on March 25, 1945, the 290th Infantry Division recieved a 4 hour alert to move forward with the 8th Armored Division. Troops were sure they were on the road to Berlin Germany. On March 26, 1945 the 290th Infantry Division was attached to the 30th Infantry Division. They got across the Rhine River in landing craft and landed in the narrow strip of land between the Lippe Canal and the Lippe River to clear the area of any enemy troops. The 290th Infantry division worked along side the 8th Armored Division through March 31, 1945.

While overall German resistance crumbled, pockets of fierce house-to-house fighting occurred in towns along the Lippe river and canal. General Simpson of the American 9th Army Group  coordinated with the 17th Airborne Division to seize crossing sites and build bridges over the Lippe River and Lippe Canal near Dorsten. This would allow elements of the 2nd and 8th Armored Divisions to cross to the north of these water obstacles on the March 30, 1045.

On March 30, Simpson’s gamble paid off. XVI Corps armor supported by motorized infantry (Including the 75th Infantry Division) crossed the Lippe Canal and headed east, advancing 80 miles in just 36 hours. Just as the advance hit top speed, Eisenhower decided on April 1, 1945 that getting to Berlin before the Soviets was not his objective. He wanted to leave Berlin to be captured by the Soviets to mitigate the bloodshed. Instead he decided American troops would turn south and cripple the industrial Ruhr Pocket.

Margraten Netherlands: Prelude to the Rhine Crossing

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Margraten Netherlands is the burial site for all the American soldiers who died crossing the Rhine River and encircling the Ruhr Industrial Pocket. Margraten is the only American cemetery in the Netherlands.  8,301 American soldiers are buried here. This is where the soldiers who died under the command of 1st Lieutenant  Arthur Thorspecken would be buried. So Margraten was not on the route of the 75th Infantry as they pressed forward into Germany but it became the final resting place for many. The names of 1722 Americans whose remains were never recovered or not identified are listed 0n two long walls on either side of the Court of Honor. There are 106 graves marked “unknown”.

At the entrance to the cemetery are two large stone murals that depict the movements of all the allied troops as they attacked Germany in 1945. The maps were protected by waste high glass partitions that discouraged visitors from touching the wall. I was surprised at how many people visit this cemetery even on a cold morning in September.

There was one very large map that depicted the entire history of all the troop movements. Then there was the second tall mural which depicted the movement to cross the Rhine River into a Germany. On this map, I could find the movements of the 75th Infantry Division. The 75th wasn’t specifically identified, but they had been assigned to the US XVI Corps as part of the 9th Army and that division was on the map. I recognized the cities I had already sketched and the cities I was about to sketch.

Depicted on the cemetery map was OPERATION GRENADE in which the 75th infantry as part of the 9th Army advanced from the Ruhr River to the Rhine River which was the final water barrier before advancing towards Berlin Germany. I only drew the movements of the 75th infantry and ignored everything else. Operation Grenade began February 5, 1945 and went through March 5, 1945. The Germans had blown up a dam up river which flooded the entire Roer River valley which delayed the beginning of the campaign. The German General Field Marshall Gerd von Rinstedt wanted to withdraw behind the Rhine, but Hitler would not allow him, saying that it would only delay the inevitable fight.

Engraved in the granite walls was the description of the Allied advance. “In the early morning hours of 23 February, following an intense artillery bombardment, the leading units of the 9th Army lowered their boats into the swirling waters of the still flooded Roer River. The swift currents and enemy artillery fire at the crossing sites made passage across the river hazardous. Once across the river the US 9th Army offensive rapidly gathered momentum. On 25  February, the XVI Corps crossed on the left flank. Armored units were committed as the direction of the advance turned northward and broke through enemy lines.”

The 75th Infantry Division, C-Company would cross the Rhine on March 24, 1945 late in the afternoon.