The German town of Wesel was heavily bombed in Allied air raids during World War II. Between this and the attacks in support of the crossing of the Rhine, the town was devastated.
97% of Wesel was destroyed before it was finally taken by Allied troops
Wesel became a target of the Allies, particularly in its strategic position with a depot and the Wesel Railway Bridge over the Rhine. On the 16, 17, 18 and 19 February 1945,[1] the town was attacked by the British Royal Air Force with impact and air-burst weapons and almost entirely destroyed.[2]
The Rhine and Lippe bridges were blown by the Wehrmacht, among others, on 10 March 1945. The 1,950m long railway bridge was the last Rhine bridge remaining in German hands.[3]
On 23 March, Wesel came under the fire of over 3,000 guns when it was bombarded anew, in preparation for Operation Plunder.[4] That day 80 Lancasters from No. 3 Group RAF attacked Wesel.[5] Then that night of 23/24 March, 195 Lancasters and 23 Mosquitos of RAF Bomber CommandNo. 5 Group aided in the softening up of the German defenders. 97% of the town was destroyed before it was finally taken by Allied troops and the population had fallen from almost 25,000 in 1939 to 1,900 in May 1945.[6]
The town was taken quickly. Field MarshalBernard Montgomery, commanding the Anglo-Canadian 21st Army Group, said "the bombing of Wesel was a masterpiece, and was a decisive factor in making possible our entry into the town before midnight."[7]
^"RAF campaign diary March 1945". Archived from the original on 2007-07-06. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
^"Lexikon der Wehrmacht". Archived from the original on 2007-07-06. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
^Grehan, John; Mace, Martin (2014). Bomber Harris: Sir Arthur Harris' Despatches on War Operations 1942–1945. Pen and Sword. p. 13. ISBN978-1-78303-298-3.
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bombing, wesel, world, german, town, wesel, heavily, bombed, allied, raids, during, world, between, this, attacks, support, crossing, rhine, town, devastated, wesel, destroyed, before, finally, taken, allied, troops, wesel, became, target, allies, particularly. The German town of Wesel was heavily bombed in Allied air raids during World War II Between this and the attacks in support of the crossing of the Rhine the town was devastated 97 of Wesel was destroyed before it was finally taken by Allied troops Wesel became a target of the Allies particularly in its strategic position with a depot and the Wesel Railway Bridge over the Rhine On the 16 17 18 and 19 February 1945 1 the town was attacked by the British Royal Air Force with impact and air burst weapons and almost entirely destroyed 2 The Rhine and Lippe bridges were blown by the Wehrmacht among others on 10 March 1945 The 1 950m long railway bridge was the last Rhine bridge remaining in German hands 3 On 23 March Wesel came under the fire of over 3 000 guns when it was bombarded anew in preparation for Operation Plunder 4 That day 80 Lancasters from No 3 Group RAF attacked Wesel 5 Then that night of 23 24 March 195 Lancasters and 23 Mosquitos of RAF Bomber Command No 5 Group aided in the softening up of the German defenders 97 of the town was destroyed before it was finally taken by Allied troops and the population had fallen from almost 25 000 in 1939 to 1 900 in May 1945 6 The town was taken quickly Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery commanding the Anglo Canadian 21st Army Group said the bombing of Wesel was a masterpiece and was a decisive factor in making possible our entry into the town before midnight 7 See also editWesel Railway BridgeReferences edit RAF campaign diary February 1945 Archived 2007 07 06 at the UK Government Web Archive Bombing of Wesel WW2 People s War BBC Lexikon der Wehrmacht see Standort Wesel Chronology of World War II Ken Polsson RAF campaign diary March 1945 Archived from the original on 2007 07 06 Retrieved 2007 06 17 Lexikon der Wehrmacht Archived from the original on 2007 07 06 Retrieved 2007 06 17 Grehan John Mace Martin 2014 Bomber Harris Sir Arthur Harris Despatches on War Operations 1942 1945 Pen and Sword p 13 ISBN 978 1 78303 298 3 nbsp This article about a battle of World War II is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bombing of Wesel in World War II amp oldid 1128508945, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
