A Brief History
On March 17, 1945, the Ludendorf Bridge over the Rhine River fell 10 days after the US Army seized the span allowing them to cross the Rhine into Germany. The Germans failed to blow up the bridge, and again failed to take it down later, a major blunder in World War II.
Digging Deeper
Bridges are often magnificent, and when they fall the event is major news. Some notable bridge collapses include the following:
The Ponte das Barcas of Porto, Portugal in 1809, is the deadliest bridge collapse, with 4,000 people fleeing French soldiers falling to their deaths when the bridge fell.
The Tacoma Narrows bridge, in 1940, was nick named “Galloping Gertie” for its tendency to sway wildly. Caught on film, the collapse is one of the most familiar bridge disasters in recent history.
The Silver Bridge across the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, West Virginia, is infamous for its 1967 collapse predicted by the “Mothman Prophecies,” spawning conspiracy theories and a major motion picture.
Question for students (and subscribers): Have you ever seen a bridge collapse? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Dudding, George. The Silver Bridge Tragedy. CreateSpace, 2015.
Hechler, Ken. The Bridge at Remagen: A Story of World War II. Presidio Press, 2005.
The featured image in this article, a poster printed by the US Army commemorating the capturing of the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen, is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person’s official duties under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code.
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