286 - Rhineland, 1944-45

By the autumn of 1944, the Allies had driven across France and Belgium and reached the borders of Germany. Ahead of them lay the Rhine — a vast natural barrier and the last line of defence protecting the heart of the Reich.

What followed was some of the most intense and costly fighting of the war in Western Europe. From the bitter battles around Aachen and the Hürtgen Forest, through the crossing operations of Plunder and Varsity, to the dramatic capture of the bridge at Remagen, the campaign for the Rhineland was brutal, chaotic, and often overshadowed by the more famous Battle of the Bulge.

Yet it was here, on both sides of the Rhine, that the final collapse of Nazi Germany truly began.

To help tell that story, I'm joined by military historian Anthony Tucker-Jones, author of Rhineland, which charts the campaign from the German border battles of late 1944 through to the end of the war in 1945.

Rhineland is also available on Audible and Spotify.

 

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