The Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine River at Remagen, Germany, on March 8, 1945. (AP Photo)
Business Insider: It's been 73 years since the Battle for Remagen — here are 8 photos of the Allies' first toehold in Nazi Germany
Perhaps the most distinguishing feature of the old Roman town of Remagen, about halfway between Dusseldorf and Frankfurt on the Rhine River, at the end of World War II was the 1,000-foot, double-track Ludendorff railroad bridge.
Despite the bridge's presence, Remagen didn't really factor into Allied plans as they stormed across France and Belgium in late 1944. The geography of the town, with narrow roads and imposing cliffs, made it unsuitable for a military crossing.
But the swift Allied advance toward Germany was blunted in autumn 1944 by supply problems and renewed resistance by German forces, themselves invigorated by the prospect of defending of their homeland.
After Allied forces halted and flattened the bulge created by a massive and ferocious German offensive in winter 1944, attention turned to how to cross the Siegfried line at Germany's western border and the Rhine River beyond it.
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