Lester M. Cohen 148th Combat Engineer

[Walt's Daughter]

Dean Page, son of Lawrence Page, just sent me more info on the Hodges bridge. Lawrence, as Lester, were both in the 148th and both their stories are featured on our main site:

 

Here is some info about the Hodges Bridge I found on a German web site.

 

It was translated from German to English on Google. Dean

 

The Hodges Bridge was in the Second World War one of the most important provisional pontoon bridges of the US-American armed forces over the Rhine. It was in Bad Godesberg (since 1969 a quarter of Bonn) with the current kilometer of 647,7, between the Godesberger Bastei and the Niederdollendorfer ship landing place.

 

The allied ones necessary 1945 for the advance to Berlin a bridge over the Rhine, which could carry also heavy loads and vehicles. The region around the city Bonn offered itself for the bridge construction, roads in the surrounding countryside was sufficiently present and the water level was here low. As exercise for the bridge construction that 148 established. and to 207. Engineer battalion of the US-American armed forces at the end of of 1944 a sample bridge over the Maas with Lüttich in Belgium. The structure of the Hodges Bridge took place then in March 1945. The bridge became after the general Courtney Hicks Hodges, the commander the 1. US army, designated.

 

207. Engineer battalion began on the west bank.148 on the east bank. Freight punts were cheek by jowl stowed for this with Stahlkabeln. Subsequently, a roadway was built over it. When cargo ship traffic began later over the Rhine again, the pontoon bridge was aufgeständert.

 

During the bridge construction five combat floats of the German armed forces tried to destroy the bridge. The action ran unsuccessfully, the floats came into war shank.Starting from that 24. March 1945 rolled the American supply toward the east over this bridge. Starting from that 8. May 1945 (end of war) was used it by the countless streams of refugees, since it was the only intact bridge over the Rhine. In November and December 1945 the bridge was broken off, since it obstructed the navigation over the Rhine.