The Battle of Wallendar occurred on 24 March 1945 when the US 2nd Ranger Battalion crossed the Rhine River at Wallendar, Germany (2.5 miles northeast of Koblenz) and cleared the pockets of Wehrmacht resistance in the town. The US Army Rangers crossed the river in LVT armored vehicles, and the rangers came under heavy fire from German Flak 88 artillery pieces and machine guns as they headed across the mined river; several of the landing craft were destroyed by German fire. Because of German mines being laid on the riverbank, the Rangers were forced to disembark and proceed into town on foot, taking out the four Flak emplacements in the town. The Rangers cleared the town of German troops in house-by-house and street-by-street fighting, and several German Tiger I tanks and panzergrenadiers attempted to counterattack against the Americans. The Americans destroyed several German panzers and secured the battered town, and Colonel William D. Blake himself arrived at the town's cemetery to congratulate Dog Company on their success; he had Sergeant Leonard Randall promoted to Lieutenant. The US Army Corps of Engineers was able to build a pontoon bridge near Wallendar as a result of the battle, assisting in the invasion of Germany.
Advertisement