Campaign

Operation Plunder — Rhine crossing at Wesel

23 Mar 1945 – 27 Mar 1945 · Lower Rhine at Wesel and Rees

Montgomery's 21st Army Group crossed the Lower Rhine on the night of 23–24 March 1945 near Rees and Wesel after a massive artillery bombardment. On 24 March Operation Varsity, the largest single-day airborne operation of the war, landed two divisions east of the river. By 27 March the bridgeheads were secure and the drive into the North German Plain began.