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Contact Info
Home Town Ft. Leavenworth
Last Address Ft. Belvior, VA
Date of Passing Jan 06, 2007
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Adrian St. John II, 85, a Major General in the Army who was considered an architect of European security, died January 6, 2007, at The Fairfax retirement community at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, where he lived. He had congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Peace — a soldier’s ultimate goal. Fairness — a negotiator’s goal. Democracy — the equality and respect for the individual within the community. These were Major General Adrian St. John’s goals which he succeeded in accomplishing in a lifetime of distinguished service and extraordinary achievement. Major General St. John’s tireless efforts have exemplified the words in West Point’s motto: Duty, Honor, Country.
Adrian St. John’s entire career as a military officer and as a statesman was defined by his intuitive ability to manage people and their resources.
“What did this officer do best?” General Fillmore K. Mearns wrote simply, “Managed his people and his other resources.” General Cobb wrote that Major General St. John’s “. . . meticulous attention to detail, outstanding organizational ability and personal supervision resulted in an imaginative and unique resolution to complex problems . . .” General James Collins wrote that he was impressed with Lieutenant Colonel St. John’s ability to explain complex command arrangements and relationships into understandable thoughts and words.
Adrian St. John’s entire career as a military officer and as a statesman was defined by his intuitive ability to manage people and their resources. This talent for relating to people combined with his military training and discipline enabled him to enter areas and negotiations throughout his career that were often expressly forbidden to other U.S. officials.
His military service began with the war in Normandy and finished 54 years later with the combat in Broko, Bosnia. Major General St. John entered the United States Military Academy in 1939, weeks before Germany invaded Poland, and he graduated with the Class of Jan ’43.
Lieutenant St. John’s first assignment was company commander in the 15th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (Mechanized) in 1943 in the European Theater of Operations. By 1945, at the end of the war, he was the Intelligence Staff Officer working for General Clay at Headquarters, Berlin Command.
Adrian St. John returned to the U.S. where, in January 1951, he completed his master of arts degree in international relations at the University of Virginia. He was then assigned as a G-3 in Korea and was involved in operational matters and political military affairs affecting China and Southeast Asia.
Major St. John was severely injured during an explosion that killed several senior Chinese officials. Despite these injuries, he continued to report from his hospital bed in Formosa.
His next mission, which would form the boilerplate for many of his succeeding assignments, was China desk officer, Army General Staff, Washington, D.C., from 1951–53, where he was often sent to sensitive, restricted areas to assess or negotiate critical situations. The then Major St. John was sent to Formosa at the personal request of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Omar Bradley. He reported to the Kuomintang Chairman of the Combined Chiefs of Staff, General Chou Chihjou. On a secret visit, arranged by the Chinese, to the Nationalist guerrilla forces on the Chinese coastal islands, which was officially off-limits to U.S. personnel, Major St. John was severely injured during an explosion that killed several senior Chinese officials. Despite these injuries, he continued to report from his hospital bed in Formosa. His report contributed to a Joint Chiefs of Staff recommendation to the newly-elected Republican administration that U.S. Military and Advisory support be extended to Nationalist-occupied off shore islands, which ultimately became formal U.S. policy.
Lieutenant Colonel St. John graduated from the Command and General Staff College in 1954, asked for and was granted an Infantry detail, and went to Korea for one year as the battalion commander of the 3/31 Infantry, and later he commanded the 73d Tank Battalion. He returned to Kansas and the Command and General Staff College as a member of the faculty, where he taught in the Department of Infantry Operations, and was part of the group that revised the nuclear weapons doctrine. This included establishment of the Senior Officer’s Nuclear Weapons Employment course. The final portion of his CGSC tour was spent on a special mission to Iran as the faculty advisor at the Iranian Imperial War College. While in Iran, Lieutenant Colonel St. John gained the confidences of senior Iranian officers and, as a result, was invited to stay and visit Iranian defense forces in the border areas, normally restricted to U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group and Attaché personnel.
After graduating from the Army War College in 1960, Lieutenant Colonel St. John was assigned as the Southeast Asia Plans officer, G-3, Headquarters, U.S. Army Pacific, where he was primarily responsible for unilateral and multilateral command relationships while working on Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) Operations Plans.
Lieutenant Colonel St. John next held a two-year post at the Long Range Plans Branch, Plans Directorate, Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He had a major role in the rewrite and restructuring of the Joint Long Range Strategic Study—one of the three core papers of the JCS planning system.
Major General St. John’s ability for effective communication again was directed toward special missions, this time on the home front.
From 1966–67, Colonel St. John served as the Chief of the Surface Plans and Operations Division in the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff, J-3, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. Colonel St. John had frequent contact with high-ranking officials of the Republic of Vietnam. Because of his unique knowledge and awareness of Joint Staff functioning he coordinated plans that ensured Republic of Vietnam/U.S. cohesiveness and a smooth counter-insurgence effort.
In 1967, Colonel St. John returned to Europe to command the 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment. Two years later, upon his promotion to Brigadier General, he was named Assistant Division Commander of the 4th Armored Division.
In 1970–71, he was Chief, Strategic Plans and Policy Division, Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Major General St. John’s ability for effective communication again was directed toward special missions, this time on the home front. Major General St. John’s responsibility was not only Vietnam but, more important, he made significant contributions to improving United States military strategy in a time of significant change in political guidance. In 1971, he was assigned as Chief, Plans Directorate, Office, Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations, on the Army Staff.
In 1972, Major General St. John became the Commanding General of the 1st Armored Division in Germany. He left there in 1974 and assumed responsibility as the Vice Director of the Joint Staff, Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He retired from active Army duty after 34 years at the rank of Major General in 1977.
Major General St. John has been awarded the Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the Presidential Distinguished Citizen Medal, and the Department of State Superior Honor Award.
Major General St. John continued to leverage his ability to work with people as a member of the Advisory Council on International Security Affairs on the Republican National Committee from 1977–80. He was a delegate to the Virginia State Republican Convention in 1980 and 1981. In 1981, he also received his second master’s degree from American University.
Recalled to government service in 1982, Adrian St. John served for ten years as the Joint Chiefs of Staff representative to the Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions Negotiations, the Conventional Stability Talks, and the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe talks. In his capacity as senior Department of Defense advisor and primary military expert to six ambassadors over a period of ten years, his outstanding efforts made possible the achievement of United States goals in these negotiations.
Commended by three presidents for his outstanding efforts on behalf of world peace, Major General St. John has been awarded the Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the Presidential Distinguished Citizen Medal, and the Department of State Superior Honor Award.
In 1994, Major General St. John actively participated in the Conference on Middle East Arms Control and, in 1995, chaired a 17-nation Arab-Israeli working group meeting in Jordan which developed a potential protocol on military provisions for a possible Middle East peace treaty. Adrian St. John was always the right man, in the right place, at the right time.
Major General St. John’s most recent assignment was in 1997, 54 years after experiencing combat in Europe. He was appointed to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. His task was to travel to Broko, Bosnia, a war-ravaged town that had no reliable food, water or electrical supplies, to expedite the preparations for municipal elections in compliance with the Dayton Accords.
Among his military decorations, Major General St. John has been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Legion of Merit with three oak leaf clusters, the Silver Star, the Bronze Star Medal with device, the Joint Services Commendation Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster. His foreign decorations include the French Croix de Guerre with Silver Star and the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm.
Throughout a long and distinguished career of military and public service, Adrian St. John was always the right man, in the right place, at the right time. His keen intelligence, exceptional devotion to duty, and his wide knowledge of world affairs and politics enabled him to play a pivotal role in advancing the concept of peace in Europe. MG St. John’s long involvement in European negotiations established him as an architect of European security and a major influence on the size, composition, and disposition of the United States Army.
Accordingly, the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy hereby presents the 1998 Distinguished Graduate Award to Adrian St. John II, Class of January ’43.
Other Comments:
General St. John, who served in three wars, had retired from active duty in 1977 when he was recalled to be the Joint Chiefs of Staff representative to armed forces reduction and stabilization talks in Europe in 1982. He worked in Vienna for 10 years as a senior Defense adviser and primary military expert to six ambassadors. Three presidents commended him for his efforts on behalf of world peace.
In 1994, he participated in the Conference on Middle East Arms Control, and in 1995 he was chairman of a 17-nation Arab-Israeli working group meeting in Jordan that developed a protocol on military provisions for a possible Middle East peace treaty.
General St. John's most recent assignment was in 1997, when he was appointed to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. His job was to expedite plans for municipal elections in Broko, Bosnia, a war-ravaged town that had no reliable food, water or electrical supplies.
He was "always the right man, in the right place, at the right time," John A. Hammack, chairman of the Association of Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy, said when Gen. St. John was awarded its Distinguished Graduate Award in 1998. "His keen intelligence, exceptional devotion to duty, and his wide knowledge of world affairs and politics enabled him to play a pivotal role in advancing the concept of peace in Europe."
Born on the Army post at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, he entered the U.S. Military Academy in 1939, just weeks before Germany invaded Poland, and graduated in January 1943. He landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, 10 days after D-Day, as company commander in the 15th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, Mechanized.
He received a master's degree in international relations in 1951 from the University of Virginia and served on the Army's General Staff in Washington as China desk officer, where he was often sent to restricted areas to assess or negotiate critical situations.
At the request of General Omar Bradley, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, then-Major St. John was sent to Taiwan to report to the chairman of the nationalist party of China, known as the Kuomintang. While on a secret mission to observe guerrilla forces on the Chinese coastal islands, which were off-limits to Americans, he was severely wounded in an explosion, and several senior Chinese officials were killed.
He continued to file reports, from his hospital bed.
His other postings included commanding an infantry battalion and a tank battalion in Korea during the war there. He taught at the Army Command and General Staff College and went on a special mission to Iran as the faculty adviser at the Iranian Imperial War College. After graduating from the Army War College in 1960, he held several planning and operations posts involving Southeast Asia and served in Vietnam as chief of the surface plans and operations division in the assistant chief of staff's office.
In 1967, then-Colonel St. John returned to Europe, and by 1972 he had become the commanding general of the 1st Armored Division in Germany. He retired as Vice Director of the U.S. joint staff in 1977 as a Major General.
General St. John was a member of the advisory council on international security affairs on the Republican National Committee from 1977 to 1980 and was a delegate to the Virginia Republican Convention in 1980 and 1981, the same year he received his second master's degree from American University.
Among his awards for his late-career work were the Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the Presidential Citizen Medal and the Department of State Superior Honor Award.
His military decorations include two awards of the Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, four awards of the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star Medal.
His wife of 41 years, Prunella Durham St. John, died in 1982. A son from that marriage, Adrian St. John III, died in 2003.
Survivors include his wife, Dr. Florence Parrish St. John of Fort Belvoir; a son from his first marriage, Brian St. John of Puerto Rico; three stepsons, Joseph Tucker III of Dallas, F. Steven Tucker of Bel Air, Maryland, and James D. Tucker of Douglasville, Pennsylvania; 10 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY
DISTINGUISHED GRADUATE AWARD: 1998
MAJOR GENERAL “SAINT” was born of military (Leavenworth, 1921), served in military (armor, 1943-76), and retired to military (arms control negotiator, 1982-present). He married Penny Durham, his childhood sweetheart, on graduation day; they had two sons, Adrian III and Brian. Command: cavalry troop in WWII combat (1944-45); infantry and tank battalions, Korea (1954-55); 14th Cavalry Regiment, Fulda (1967-69); 1st Armored Division, Bavaria (1972-74).
Odd jobs: Entered Berlin with Clay’s advance party (1945)
Wounded reconnoitering Chinese coastal island before US was “officially” there (1952)
Reconnoitered Iranian-Soviet border “unofficially” (1959)
Reconnoitered “frontline” in Borneo during Malasia-Indonesia war (1967)
SE Asia: much TDY in Vietnam as “military operations evaluator” (1960-64)
MACV Surface Operations Division Chief (1966-67)
JCS: Long Range Branch Chief (1964-66)
Strategic Policy Division Chief (1970-71)
Deputy Operations Deputy (1971-72)
Vice Director Joint Staff (1974-76)
JCS representative in arms control negotiations (1982-1992).
Education: U. of Virginia (MA) and American U. (MPA and completed PhD course work). Writings: “French Indochina: An American Dilemma” (1950) and “Soviet Russia and Communist China: Mutual Nemeses” (1960)—controversial in their time. Decorations: DSM w/OLC, SS, LM w/3OLC, BSM(V), JSCM, Army CR w/OLC, French Croix de Guerre, and RVN Gallantry Cross. The Saint has been listed in Who’s Who in America since 1970.
WWII - European Theater of Operations/Rhineland Campaign (1944-45)/Advance to the Rhine
From Month/Year
January / 1945
To Month/Year
March / 1945
Description Before Eisenhower ordered his troops across Germany's traditional boundary, he gave the order to clear the area west of the Rhine River (and south of the Maas and Waal rivers in the Netherlands). The armies involved were, from north to south:
Canadian First and British Second Armies, attacking the northern section west of the Arnhem-Wesel region.
American Ninth Army, attacking the area west of the Duisburg-Düsseldorf region.
American First Army, attacking Cologne-Bonn region.
American Third Army, attacking the wide central Rhine region, including the Saar Basin.
American Seventh Army, attacking the Saar Basin.
French First Army, attacking the southern area from Strasbourg to near the Austrian border.
In the extreme south of this operation, the French First Army launched their offensive against Colmar on 20 Jan 1945. Fierce German resistance and bad weather slowed the progress of the French troops. To reinforce the French, the XXI Corps under the command of Major General Frank Milburn came into the region, which included three American infantry divisions and one French armored division. The Germans surrendered Colmar on 3 Feb, and within a week all German forces in the region retreated across the Rhine. German casualties reached the count of 22,000 near Colmar.
The northern borders of German were heavily defended with the best troops that were available to Germany, including the First Paratroop Army. The dams along the Roer also provided the German forces additional advantage in that they could control of the flow of the water by opening or closing the dams based on reported Allied movements. British General Bernard Montgomery launched his Canadian troops first, under the command of General H.D.G Crerar, on 10 Feb 1945 into the muddy flooded region near the Netherlands-Germany border. Slightly to the south, the American troops that could have relieved some pressure off of the bogged-down Canadian troops were sitting in frustration as the Roer was flooded by German troops, making an American advance impossible. The opportunity finally came two weeks later, launching the offensive on 23 Feb. The American troops maneuvered through difficult terrain caused by destructive Allied bombing and shelling, often needing armored bulldozers to clear the way so that Allied armor could continue their advance. The American Ninth Army finally met up with the Canadian and British troops on 3 Mar, driving the Germans back to their defensive positions at bridges on the Rhine.
Part of the difficult terrain formed by bombing encountered by the Ninth Army was caused by Operation Clarion, an operation launched on 22 Feb 1945 with the goal of wiping out all forms of transportation still available to the German troops at this stage of the war. In 24 hours, nearly 9,000 aircraft were sent from Britain, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands in a coordinated attack over 250,000 square miles of German territory. The primary targets were roads, bridges, crossroad towns, ports, and railroads. The Luftwaffe, previously hurt and currently overwhelmed, offered little organized resistance to the Allied operation. "It was a most imaginative and successful operation and stood as one of the highlights in the long air campaign to destroy the German warmaking power", commented Dwight Eisenhower.
On the same day Lieutenant General William Simpson's Ninth Army launched their attacks in the northern sector, Omar Bradley ordered the First and Third armies to strike the central sector. The American VII Corps reached the outskirts of Cologne on 5 Mar, completely surprising the hastily trained German defenders. Cologne fell under American control two days later. The unexpected quick capture of Cologne gave Eisenhower some breathing room in that should any nearby sectors run into difficulties, the VII Corps could spare a couple of divisions as reserve or reinforcements.
The opportunity to use the reserves came almost immediately. As Major General Courtney Hodges' III and V Corps reached the Rhine near Remagen, their rapid advances completely surprised the German troops, and in this surprise they had failed to destroy the Ludendorff Bridge as the other German units had done to the other bridges on the Rhine as the Allied troops drew near. Without hesitation, the 9th Armored Division of the III Corps crossed the bridge and established a defensive perimeter. A small charge exploded under the bridge, damaging some of its understructure, but the bridge remained in tact. Knowing that he had no orders to cross the Rhine just yet, Bradley cautiously reported the situation back to Eisenhower, who recalled:
"I was at dinner in my Reims headquarters with the corps and division commanders of the American airborne forces when Bradley's call came through. When he reported that we had a permanent bridge across the Rhine I could scarcely believe my ears.... I fairly shouted into the telephone: 'How much have you got in that vicinity that you can throw across the river?'"
With Eisenhower's blessing, Bradley ordered four divisions to cross the bridge near Remagen. From the north, Eisenhower sent entire divisions from the Cologne area to Remagen. "That was one of my happy moments in the war", Eisenhower commented in 1948. Within two days the bridgehead area was expanded three miles into German territory. Even though on 17 Mar German long-range artillery fire caused the previously damaged Ludendorff Bridge to collapse (recall the small charge that caused structural damage when the bridge was initially secured), by this time a large number of American troops and equipment had already crossed the river, and enough temporary bridges were established in the region to supply these troops.
During the action on the west bank of the Rhine, a major logistical operation was underway to transport Canadian and British troops from the Mediterranean region to the 21st Army Group in western Europe. The goal, as stated by Eisenhower's headquarters, was "to build up the maximum possible strength on the Western Front to seek a decision in that theatre". The bulk of the troops transferred during Operation Goldflake landed at the port city of Marseille and travelled across France on the vast network of roads and railroads. One achievement to be noted with this operation was that the large number of troops travelled across the country of France without disrupting supply runs to the front lines. Experienced logistical staff of the Allies contributed greatly to this achievement; Eisenhower commended those who were responsible in the planning of this operation, stating that
"[t]he complicated process of moving the units to France and northward across the lines of communication of the Southern and Central Groups of Armies was carried out efficiently and smoothly, and the security precautions taken were completely successful in concealing from the Germans what was afoot."
Politically, it also appeased the Canadian leaders, who wished that at this stage all Canadian troops involved in Europe could serve under one single chain-of-command. As all Canadians serving in Europe came under the command of H.D.G. Crerar under the flag of the First Canadian Army, he emotionally announced to his troops that "now that we are all together, let us all speed to the victory in no uncertain manner".
A little to the south, the Third Army secured both banks of the Moselle River. The northern component of the Third Army reached the Rhine on 10 Mar, while the southern arm attacked the Saar Basin simultaneously with the American Seventh Army to the south. The German defense at the Saar Basin held on valiantly, but to little effectiveness. Instead of sacrificing this region and withdrawing the troops across the Rhine where natural barriers could have provided advantages in defense, Hitler ordered that the ground was to be held at all costs. And the costs were indeed high. On 15 Mar the Seventh Army attacked, and the Third Army launched a simultaneous attack from the north in the direction of Worms. This southward move by the Third Army was not expected by the German commanders, who thought they would attempt to penetrate the Rhine defenses via the breach at Remagen. Several days later, the French First Army which had secured the Colmar region earlier moved north to assist in the Saar Basin. The region was secured on 23 Mar.
On 25 Mar 1945, all significant German resistance on the western banks of the Rhine ceased.
What was impressive with the operations to secure the western bank of the Rhine was not the crushing Allied maneuvers, but rather how they were conducted. The coordination between the armies of two major powers and other nations were as seamless as it could be consider their differing philosophies and goals. Even within the American salient, the fluidity of the army components, as demonstrated by the quickness to shift manpower from the VII Corps at Cologne to the III Corps near Remagen, proved Hitler wrong of what the German dictator thought of the armies of a democracy. Hitler, as recently as the Ardennes Offensive, thought that Eisenhower was nothing more than a puppet of Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt, reporting every move back to Washington and London. Unlike Hitler's thoughts, Eisenhower at the frontlines was able to make quick decisions on the field to take advantage of even the small windows of opportunities that presented themselves during the action. "Happening to be on the spot at the moment, I authorized appropriate boundary adjustments, specifying particularly close interarmy liaison", Eisenhower recalled. "This involved also the transfer of an armored division from the Seventh to the Third Army. The insignificance of this slight change illustrates the accuracy with which staffs had calculated the probabilities."
This advance also saw the start of a new problem: prisoners. At this stage of the war, the Allied forces were encountered with over 10,000 prisoners of war each day. This problem eventually turned out to be yet another Allied achievement that attributed to the superb organization skills of the logistics officers, who processed these prisoners efficiently without disrupting the frontline combat.
Sources: Canadian Military Headquarters Historical Section Report No 181, Crusade in Europe.
Advance to the Rhine Timeline
2 Nov 1944 In accordance with Dwight Eisenhower's plan, Bernard Montgomery ordered a complete redeployment of his Army Group in Europe. First Canadian Army now assumed responsibility for the front from the sea to the Reichsward near Kleve in Germany, whilst Second British Army was ordered to clear the Germans west of the Maas River from the huge pocket between Venray and Roermond in the Netherlands, and then to take over the American front north of Geilenkirchen in Germany known as the Heinberg Salientl.
14 Jan 1945 Operation Blackcock: British forces cleared the Roer Triangle in Germany, which was known for dams that powered the German industry.
29 Jan 1945 Allied troops captured Oberhausen, Germany in the Rhine river basin.
1 Feb 1945 US First Army captured Remscheid in Germany, east of Düsseldorf. On the same day, US Seventh Army reached the Moder River and the Siegfried Line/Westwall.
2 Feb 1945 French troops captured Colmar, France.
9 Feb 1945 British and Canadian troops forced their way through a main Siegfried Line/Westwall defensive zone. Meanwhile, half of German 19.Armee was evacuated back into Germany before the final Rhine River bridge in the Colmar Pocket in France was blown.
12 Feb 1945 British and Canadian forces captured Kleve, Germany.
14 Feb 1945 British and Canadian troops reached the Rhine River northwest of Duisberg, Germany.
17 Feb 1945 US Third Army penetrated the Siegfried Line/Westwall and launched massive assault into German territory.
19 Feb 1945 Units of the US 8th Division began encircling German troops trapped within the Siegfried Line/Westwall.
20 Feb 1945 George Patton wrote to Omar Bradley, urging Bradley to convince Dwight Eisenhower to allow Bradley's army group to attack aggressively toward the Rhine River.
25 Feb 1945 Omar Bradley gave George Patton the authority to make advances toward the Rhine River.
28 Feb 1945 US Ninth Army achieved breakthrough near Erkelenz, Germany.
1 Mar 1945 US Ninth Army captured cities of München-Gladback and Rheydt in Germany. On the same day, Dwight Eisenhower approved the commencement of Operation Lumberjack.
2 Mar 1945 Elements of US Ninth Army reached the Rhine River at Neuss, Germany. To the north US Third Army captures Trier, Germany.
3 Mar 1945 Canadian troops captured Xanten, Germany while US First Army captured Krefeld, Germany.
5 Mar 1945 Patrols from US First Army reached outskirts of Köln, Germany.
6 Mar 1945 US Third Army reached the Rhine River near Koblenz, Germany, while US First Army captured Köln.
7 Mar 1945 US 9th Armored Division unexpectedly captured Rhine River bridge and formed a bridgehead on the east side of the river at Remagen, Germany.
8 Mar 1945 In Germany, US troops entered Bonn while British and Canadian troops entered Xanten.
9 Mar 1945 US Third Army captured Andernach, Germany.
10 Mar 1945 The Germans evacuated Wesel as US Third Army captured Bonn.
11 Mar 1945 US Third Army captured Kochem, Germany.
12 Mar 1945 US Third Army crossed Moselle River near Koblenz, Germany.
13 Mar 1945 Operation Undertone: US 3rd and 7th Armies advanced toward Rhine River.
15 Mar 1945 US First Army was unable to further expand the Remagen bridgehead in Germany due to enemy resistance.
17 Mar 1945 The bridge at Remagen, Germany, which had served the Allies so well, collapsed after repeated being bombed by German Ar 234 jet bombers. Twenty-eight American engineers trying to strengthen the structure were swept away to their deaths. Meanwhile, US Third Army captured Koblenz, Germany.
18 Mar 1945 US Third Army captured Boppard, Germany.
19 Mar 1945 US Seventh Army captured Worms, Germany.
20 Mar 1945 US Seventh Army captured Saarbrücken, Germany while the US Third Army reached Mainz, Germany.
21 Mar 1945 US First Army advanced toward Siegburg, Germany.
