The Bridge at Remagen
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The Bridge at Remagen is a war film released in 1969, directed by John Guillermin and starring George Segal, Ben Gazzara and Robert Vaughn. The film is based on the book by Ken Hechler which describes the capture of the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen on March 7, 1945 by the U.S. 9th Armored Division.
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[edit] Synopsis
In the last months of World War II, elements of the US 1st Army approach the last standing bridge over the Rhine River. The Rhine is the last natural barrier between Allied forces on the western front, and Germany's industrial heartland. While the battle weary Americans reluctantly follow orders to capture the bridge intact, a scratch force of German defenders do their best to defend the bridge without actually destroying it and cutting off the escape route of thousands of their comrades on the far side of the Rhine.
[edit] Plot
The film is a fictionalized version of the real events. The real life officer who led US troops across the bridge, Lieutenant Karl Timmermann, and the first soldier across the bridge, Sergeant Alex Drabik, bore little resemblance to the fictional characters in the film.
George Segal plays Lieutenant Hartman, an experienced mechanized infantry platoon commander who is promoted to command a company ordered to capture the eponymous bridge.
Major Paul Kruger (Robert Vaughn) is a German officer charged with defending the bridge. Official orders have been given to destroy the span, but a gentleman's agreement with his commander has Kruger pledge to keep the bridge open as long as possible, facilitating the withdrawal of thousands of men of the 15th Army, who would otherwise be trapped on the far side of the river.
A company of armored infantry under Hartman liberate the town of Stadt Meckenheim against no resistance, and are ordered to keep going until they make contact with the enemy. Their battalion commander, Major Barnes, is anxious to please his superiors (Hartman acidly remarks to his friend and company commander, Captain Colt, that "Barnes jumps at orders like a dog at a bone").
The company makes contact in the town of Remagen, and after clearing the town finds the bridge intact. General Schiller orders the bridge taken. "It's a crap shoot, Major," he tells Barnes. "You may lose 50 men, but you might save 5,000." He feels the risk of losing Hartman's company is worth the possible gains - a foothold across the Rhine preventing the need for a costly assault crossing elsewhere.
One of Hartman's squad leaders, Sergeant Angelo, highlights the mood of the weary men by striking Major Barnes after being ordered onto the bridge.
Simultaneous to these actions, Major Kruger assumes command at the bridge, assisted by two captains, Hauptmann Baumann, an engineer ordered to blow up the bridge, and Hauptmann Schmidt of the Remagen Bridge Security Command. Kruger finds that the thousands of troops belonging to the local garrison have deserted, and the two battalions of tanks he has been promised as reinforcements have been sent "elsewhere."
Unable to counter-attack, Kruger is forced to blow up the bridge, but the explosives given - "cheap, industrial explosive", as Baumann complains - are unable to drop the span into the river. As Kruger leaves to get reinforcements, the remnants of the bridge force surrenders to the remnants of the US company sent across the bridge.
Hartman and Angelo find themselves survivors, and Kruger is executed for desertion and failure to carry out his orders to blow up the bridge.
[edit] Cast
- George Segal - Lieutenant Phil Hartman
- Robert Vaughn - Major Paul Kruger
- Ben Gazzara - Sergeant Angelo
- Bradford Dillman - Major Barnes
- E. G. Marshall - General Schiller
- Joachim Hansen (actor)
- Bo Hopkins - Corporal Grebs
[edit] Review
The movie is unique in several ways with respect to "war films" produced in the 1960s.
- both the German and the Allied point of view is presented and given approximately equal time on screen
- the equipment used in the film is accurate for the period being portrayed (though not necessarily the specific battle being re-enacted)
- there are no clearcut heroes and villains in the film
[edit] External link
[edit] References
- Hyams, Lee. War Movies
- Hechler, Ken. The Bridge at Remagen (Updated version by Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, Missoula, MT, including chapter on the film.)
