Bridge at Remagen in World War II

The capture of the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen occurred on March 7-8, 1945, during the closing stages of World War II  (1939-1945). In early 1945, American forces pressed towards the west bank of the Rhine River during Operation Lumberjack. In response, German forces were ordered to destroy the bridges over the river. As the lead elements of the US 9th Armored Division approached Remagen, they found that the Ludendorff Bridge over the river was still standing. In a sharp fight, American forces succeeded in securing the span. The capture of the bridge gave the Allies a foothold on the eastern bank of the river and opened Germany to invasion. Fast Facts: Bridge at Remagen Conflict: World War II  (1939-1945)Dates: March 7-8, 1945Armies Commanders:AlliesLieutenant General Courtney HodgesMajor General John W. LeonardBrigadier General William M. HogeCombat Command B, 9th Armored DivisionGermansGeneral Edwin Graf von Rothkirch und TrachGeneral Otto HitzfeldLXVII Corps A Surprise Find In March 1945, with the bulge caused by the German Ardennes offensive effectively reduced, the US 1st Army launched Operation Lumberjack. Designed to reach the west bank of the Rhine, US troops quickly advanced on the cities of Cologne, Bonn, and Remagen. Unable to halt the Allied offensive, German troops began falling back as the fortifications in the region were penetrated. Though a withdrawal over the Rhine would have been prudent to allow German forces to regroup, Hitler demanded that every foot of territory be contested and that counterattacks be launched to regain what had been lost. This demand led to confusion along the front which was worsened by a series of changes in command an unit areas of responsibility. Aware that the Rhine posed the last major geographic obstacle to Allied troops as fighting moved east, Hitler ordered the bridges over the river destroyed (Map). On the morning of March 7, lead elements of the 27th Armored Infantry Battalion, Combat Command B, US 9th Armored Division reached the heights overlooking the town of Remagen. Looking down at the Rhine, they were stunned to find that the Ludendorff Bridge was still standing. Built during World War I, the railroad bridge remained intact with German forces retreating across its span. Initially, officers in the 27th began calling for artillery to drop the bridge and trap German forces on the west bank. Unable to secure artillery support, the 27th continued to observe the bridge. When word of the bridges status reached Brigadier General William Hoge, commanding Combat Command B, he issued orders for the 27th to advance into Remagen with support from the 14th Tank Battalion. Racing to the River As American troops entered into the town, they found little meaningful resistance as German doctrine called for rear areas to be defended by Volkssturm militia. Moving ahead, they found no major obstacles other than a machine gun nest overlooking the town square.  Quickly eliminating this with fire from M26 Pershing tanks, American forces raced forward as they expected the bridge to be blown by the Germans before it could be captured. These thoughts were reinforced when prisoners indicated that it was scheduled to be demolished at 4:00 PM. Already 3:15 PM, the 27th charged ahead to secure the bridge. As elements of Company A, led by Lieutenant Karl Timmermann, moved onto the bridges approaches, the Germans, led by Captain Willi Bratge, blew a 30-foot crater in the roadway with the goal of slowing the American advance. Reacting swiftly, engineers using tank dozers began filling the hole. Possessing around 500 poorly-trained and equipped men and 500  Volkssturm, Bratge had desired to blow the bridge earlier but had been unable to secure permission. With the Americans approaching, the majority of his  Volkssturm melted away leaving his remaining men largely clustered on the east bank of the river. Ludendorff Bridge and Erpeler Ley tunnel at Erpel (eastern side of the Rhine) – First U.S. Army men and equipment pour across the Remagen Bridge; two knocked out jeeps in foreground. Germany, March 11, 1945.   National Archives and Records Administration Storming the Bridge As Timmerman and his men began pressing forward, Bratge attempted to destroy the bridge. A massive explosion rocked the span, lifting it from its foundations. When the smoke settled, the bridge remained standing, though it had suffered some damage. Though many of the charges had detonated, others had not due to the actions of two Polish conscripts who had tampered with the fuses. As Timmermans men charged onto the span, Lieutenant Hugh Mott and Sergeants Eugene Dorland and John Reynolds climbed under the bridge to begin cutting the wires leading to the remaining German demolition charges. Reaching the bridge towers on the west bank, platoons stormed inside overwhelming the defenders. Having taken these vantage points, they provided covering fire for Timmerman and his men as they fought across the span. The first American to reach the east bank was Sergeant Alexander A. Drabik. As more men arrived, they moved to clear the tunnel and cliffs near the bridges eastern approaches. Securing a perimeter, they were reinforced during the evening. Pushing men and tanks across the Rhine, Hoge was able to secure the bridgehead giving the Allies a foothold on the east bank. The Ludendorff Bridge on March 17, 1945, approximately four hours before its collapse. National Archives and Records Administration Aftermath Dubbed the Miracle of Remagen, the capture of the Ludendorff Bridge opened the way for Allied troops to drive into the heart of Germany. Over 8,000 men crossed the bridge in the first twenty-four hours after its capture as engineers frantically worked to repair the span. Infuriated by its capture, Hitler swiftly ordered the trial and execution of the five officers assigned to its defense and destruction. Only Bratge survived as he had been captured by American forces before he could be arrested. Desperate to destroy the bridge, the Germans conducted air raids, V-2 rocket attacks, and frogman assaults against it. In addition, German forces launched a massive counterattack against the bridgehead with no success. As the Germans were attempting to strike the bridge, the 51st and 291st Engineer Battalions built pontoon and treadway bridges adjacent to the span. On March 17th, the bridge suddenly collapsed killing 28 and wounding 93 American engineers. Though it was lost, a substantial bridgehead had been built up which was supported by the pontoon bridges. The capture of the Ludendorff Bridge, along with Operation Varsity later that month, removed the Rhine as an obstacle to the Allied advance.

Petrarch and Machiavelli Essay - 809 Words

Thoughts on Ruling: Machiavelli VS. Petrarch In the fourteenth century, the humanist philosopher Francesco Petrarch wrote a letter entitled How a Ruler Ought to Govern His Sate. Nearly a century later, another philosopher by the name of Niccolo Machiavelli wrote a book about governing, The Prince. The two documents show many similarities in content and theme. While the two wrote in similar subject matter, it is clear that these philosophers possess distinctly different viewpoints on how a ruler should govern. In Petrarch’s How a Ruler Ought to Govern His Sate and Machiavelli’s The Prince, both philosophers possess different opinions on how a ruler ought to govern. In particular Machiavelli pays specific attention to the importance of†¦show more content†¦In The Prince, Machiavelli repeatedly brings up the theme of importance of appearing like a virtuous ruler. In chapter XV Machiavelli discusses how it is important to appear as a virtuous ruler, but to not actually possess these qualities. He states, â⠂¬Å" one is considered a giver, the other rapacious; one cruel, another merciful; one treacherous, another faithful; one effeminate and cowardly, another bold and courageous; one humane, another haughty; one lascivious, another chaste; one trustworthy, another cunning; one harsh another lenient; one serious another frivolous; one religious another unbelieving; and the like. And I know that everyone will admit that it would be a very praiseworthy thing to find in a prince, of the qualities mentioned above, those that are held to be good; but since it is neither possible to have them nor observe them all completely, because human nature does not permit it, a prince must be prudent enough to know how to escape the bad reputation of those vices that would lose the state for him† (The Portable Machiavelli 127). In this chapter Machiavelli is suggesting that a good ruler can’t be virtuous at all times because it would not be in the best interest of the people. Machiavelli rec eived much criticism from this suggestion, but he saw nothing wrong with it. To Machiavelli, the definition of virtue was anything that receives praise from othersShow MoreRelatedThe Rise Of The Renaissance Essay1525 Words   |  7 PagesFlorence. Humanism was inspired by a humanist name Petrarch and a lot of people may know him as the â€Å"Father of Humanism† because he spent a lot of time trying to spread his knowledge. Petrarch had such an influence on the schools that even â€Å"education in humanistic subjects appeared practical while education in logic and natural science, dominant subjects in the medieval curriculum, seemed to breed idle debate† (15). 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Opre 6371 Case 5-2 Free Essays

6Case 5-2: Rondot Automotive Name: Lovee Sachdeva, Bin Wen, Matthew Miles, Ryan Buxbaum ,Yuguang Wang, Shaoying Lu. Group: 3 Date: 2/22/2013 ————————————————- Situation: * Glenn Northcott is the purchasing planner at Rondot Automobile in Jackson, Mississippi. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rondot Worldwide, a leading global designer and manufacturer of electrical and electronic components. We will write a custom essay sample on Opre 6371 Case 5-2 or any similar topic only for you Order Now Note: You are Glenn) * Responsible for evaluation the outsourcing opportunity * Meet with Terry Gibson and purchasing manager to decide whether or not to take actions on outsourcing * Glenn had been approached by Greven E-Coating willing to provide electro coating services to Rondot Automobile * Goals of decision making: Reducing the total costs while maintaining and minimizing the risks from any changes made * Considerable global competition under severe cost pressure * Customer’s price reduction pressure expectancies from global competition * Total Sales and employment at the Jackson plant had steadily declined * Company is under significant pressure on cost reduction. The company’s current priority is to reduce operation costs * Rondot is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rondot Worldwide, a leading global designer and manufacturer of electrical and electronic components. Rondot Automotive operated 85 plants in 25 countries. The purchasing organization at Rondot automoti ve had a hybrid structure and the Jackson plant’s purchasing department consisted of four people, including two buyers, a planner (Glen) and Terry Gibson. * Schedule with the purchasing manager, Terry Gibson, and the plant manager, Dick Taylor in one week, and both of them are under significant pressure to reduce costs at Jackson plant. * Greven E-Coating outsourcing opportunity * Greven E-Coating Company uses a system whereby a DC electrical charge is applied to a metal part immersed in a bath of oppositely charged paint particles. * Considered more cost efficient compared to traditional wet paint systems * Samples provided from Greven E-Coating Company Tests results: 5/6 of families of housings could be converted to e-coaring using Greven at a cost of 15 cents each * Parts for five of the six represents 60% of the Jackson Plant’s volume * Failure because of different methods of adhesion of a magnet to the housing. Hot –bond adhesion process fits e-coating whil e cold-bond adhesion process does not fit e-coating system Current situation: * Total sales and employment at the Jackson plant had steadily declined over the past five years. * The number of employees at the plant had dropped from 1450 to 600 and plant management was under pressure to lower costs and regain market share. * Glenn has the option to do outsourcing on cleaning and painting work to Greven E-Coating. Glenn needs to come up with an ideal recommendation on how to reduce the cost and propose that to Terry Gibson and Dick Taylor. * The cleaning and wet painting had been installed 17 years prior and undergone a number of upgrades, and the current painting method costs 25 cents for each housing. (There are six parts in a housing family) BASIC ISSUES 1. Company to take decision on insourcing or outsourcing 2. Higher costs related to painting cleaning 3. Lack of advanced technology to compete in cost reduction for a lower price 4. A decision to make, once made, is often difficu lt to reserve. If Rondot Automobile decides to make agreements on e-coating system, The plant needs to convert 100% hot-bond adhesion system 5. Total cost of converting 40% of cold-bond adhesion system to the total cost savings: Long-Term estimation, not short term 6. Whether the use of e-coating will lead to sole source dependency: Is the e-coating system a common painting method in market? 7. The durability of e-coating VS. of traditional coating system 8. Cost benefits analysis on the process 9. Inexperienced decision making on outsourcing opportunity Tasks: * What does Richard Kaplan do? Richard needs to clarify and calculate the total cost savings and the cost of converting from cold-bond adhesion to hot-bond adhesion * 25 Cents * 6 = $1. 50 * 15 Cents * 6 = $0. 90 * Does the difference $0. 60 can cover the conversion from traditional wet coating system to e-coating system? The durability and re-paint rate is also needed to consider: If the wet-coating system has durability of 10 years while e-coating repaint rate is 8 years, The total cost of conversion from traditional wet-coating system to e-coating system will incre ase significantly * What are alternatives? * Negotiate with Greven E-Coating for a lower costs * Conduct a careful research on both advantages and disadvantages of E-coating system * Search for more options in potential sources and substitute items other than traditional wet-painting and e-coating * The challenge of maintaining long-term technological and economic viability for the possible 100% hot-bond adhesion system * The revision of policy of supplier selection Criteria of standardization and policies regarding the choosing of suppliers * An understanding of the market conditions in order to set appropriate expectations for the price provided from Greven E- Coating * Analyze data collected for cost and technical information * Identify the root causes of sales decline. If the sales revenue can be improved, the company can maintain the current painting process to avoid future external risks * * Determine that is the cold-bond adhesion system a necessary facility for the particula r family to manufacture any specified electrical and electronic components * Dose this outsourcing plan fit the business goals and objectives? * What does the company’s top management think about the Jackson plant’s outsourcing plan? * Which level of management makes a final decision on outsourcing? Talk to manufacturing manager and clarify more information about cold-bond adhesion * Talk to the manager in the family that uses cold-bond adhesion system. Clarify the reason why the family of housing choose to use cold-bond adhesion * Identify and estimate total cost to uninstall and setup the new bond system if the method of adhering a magnet to the housing is not mandatory SUGGESTED QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION; 1. How to make analysis of the cost of switching current painting process versus the cost of setting up a painting process? What kinds of training should be provided due to the new standards of temperature, air and etc? 2. If the result of outsourcing is rejected, i s the subcontracting an alternative for the company? What are the benefits and risks of using reverse auctions for specialized OEM parts? 3. What risk management and contractual steps are necessary before moving company owned tooling to a new supplier? 4. What are the benefits and risks of outsourcing? Actions: * Determination of detailed function mandatory of Cold-Bond Adhesion system * Meet with both Manufacturing manager and the family manager in Jackson Plant. * Determine the total costs of uninstallation the current cold-bond adhesion system and the installation of hot-bond adhesion system * Total Cost Savings calculation * Identify the cost savings potential after the modification. With the newly modified standards, communicate with Greven E-Coating and analyze the decision based on the feedbacks from the supplier. * Determine whether the total cost savings can cover the conversion cost from cold-bond adhesion system to hot-bond system * Estimate the future necessity and future technological tendency of replacing traditional wet paint to E-Coating. If the company is going to replace the traditional wet painting in the future anyway, the cost of conversion can be ignored. * Talk with Betty McKinley again and determine the detailed cost of holding two more weeks of inventory * Make agreements on price and quantity, meanwhile negotiate the term of warranty and quality assurance with Greven E-Coating Results: If accept outsourcing opportunity * Cost savings:25-15-3=7 cents on each housing * Add another two weeks worth of inventory * Lower labor and material costs * Product price reductions i. e. ability to offer reduced price to customers. * Become more competitive and there will be a gradual increase in the profit and market share. * If not accepting outsourcing opportunity (i. e.. using the earlier system ) * No savings- no price reductions * Reduce risk for investment * Extra cost in upgrading the system * Spending on more labor in this operation which results in additional costs * May result in lower opera ting time * Extra time for testing upgraded system. If total cost savings is greater than the costs of uninstallation of Cold-bond adhesion + Installation of hot-bond adhesion + extra inventory carrying costs: * Prepare the agreements and contract documentation on outsourcing decision with Greven E-Coating * The contract content with Greven E-Coating tends to be short-term to avoid sole-source dependency situation. Reach out lower priced suppliers while maintain the quality assurance * If total cost savings is equal to or less than the costs of uninstallation of Cold-bond adhesion + Installation of hot-bond adhesion + extra inventory carrying costs: * Determine the importance of common tendency of using E-coating for other manufacturing companies. If the E-coating is not mandatory in the future market, reject the outsourcing plan to avoid extra possible risks * Find out other alternative ways to reduce total costs, such as reduction of labor costs, manufacturing overhead or the replacement of cost-efficient equipment or facilities Priorities: * Maintain cost reduction at the Jackson plant. * Increase sales volume and high market share. * Ensure a successful outsourcing decision. * Maintain company’s reputation-image for reliability. Conclusion: The painting process should be outsourced in order to achieve significant cost savings. Ensure supplier selection process is properly done, forecast and mitigate against outsourcing inherent risks and ensure quality standard is met at all times. These will help in achieving a successful outsourcing agreement. How to cite Opre 6371 Case 5-2, Papers