BNPS.co.uk (01202 558833)<br /> NARA/BNPS<br /> <br /> German born US First Army Lieutenant Karl Timmermann was the first American officer to cross the Rhine on March 7. <br /> <br /> Remarkable rarely seen photos of heroic Allied soldiers fighting their way across Europe before crossing the River Rhine 75 years ago feature in a new book.<br /> <br /> They are published in Images of War, Montgomery's Rhine Crossing, which tells the story of the legendary offensive, nicknamed Operation Plunder, in March 1945.<br /> <br /> On the night of March 23, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery's 21st Army Group launched a massive artillery, amphibious and airborne assault to breach the historic defensive water barrier protecting northern Germany.<br /> <br /> At the same time, the Americans, with the support of the British 6th Airborne Division, set in motion Operation Varsity - involving 16,000 paratroopers - on the east bank of the Rhine. They were dropped here to seize bridges to prevent German reinforcements from contesting the bridgeheads.<br /> <br /> Fierce fighting ensued, with much bloodshed on both sides as the Allies met determined resistance from machine gun nests. But the daring operation proved successful, helping to considerably shorten the war - the Nazis surrendered just six weeks later.
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