Engineer Operational Report Roer River Crossing at Julich by 1104th Engr. Combat Group

Visual testament to U.S. engineering achievements in the final days of WWII.

This map was published in an XIX Corps operational report outlining the crossing of the Roer River at Julich, Germany in February of 1945. Many lessons in military engineering had been learned throughout the campaign, and the temperamental floodwaters of the Roer was not one to be quickly forgotten.

The map shows a basic outline of the city at a scale of 1:10,000 and highlights six points of crossing with detailed profile illustrations of the bridges that were constructed. The rapid waters, enemy fire, and frigid weather contributed to the woes of the 1104th as they built structures ranging from small footbridges to large bailey and pontoon bridges. Contributing units are listed below the title on this interesting memorial celebrating the results of combining technical expertise, adequate supply and engineering ingenuity.