EIGHTY YEARS AGO.

A spotter pilot for the U.S. Army noticed that the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine at Remagen, Germany, was still standing.  It was not along the obvious axes of advance for the Allied armies, which might have been why the Germans had not yet destroyed it.

On this day in history, an Army task force secured that bridge before the Germans could destroy it.  Yes, it was in the wrong place relative to the axis of advance, and yet having a Rhine crossing in the wrong place was worth a lot of preparation for a crossing in the right place.

The gods of war sometimes approve of your initiative, doctrine notwithstanding.  An Army task force secured the bridge and enough of the east bank to protect the bridge and bring up bridging equipment to get several pontoon bridges across before the Ludendorff Bridge collapsed.  The Germans used all sorts of ordnance to disrupt the crossing, including floating mines downstream, redirecting a few of their scarce V-2 Urscuds at the bridge, and even a midget submarine or two.

These days the towers of the bridge are home to a peace museum, and doesn't that east end have potential as a layout design element, cross the river directly into a tunnel?