119-639: Logistics Operation Plunder was a military operation to cross the Rhine on the night of 23 March 1945, launched by the 21st Army Group under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery . The crossing of the river was at Rees , Wesel , and south of the river Lippe by the British Second Army under Lieutenant General Miles Dempsey , and the United States Ninth Army under Lieutenant General William H. Simpson . The Battle of
238-518: A LCVP landing craft and landed for 30 minutes in enemy territory, without challenge. They next visited the destroyed railway bridge at Wesel, departing when German artillery appeared to target them. The Plunder crossings in the third week of March were planned as the primary assault across the Rhine, but at the Yalta Conference in early February 1945, it was decided to add another crossing to
357-413: A domestication that served goals such as reducing stagnant bogs that fostered waterborne diseases, making regions more habitable for human settlement, and reduce high frequency of floods. Not long before Tulla went to work on widening and straightening the river, heavy floods caused significant loss of life. Four diplomatic treaties were signed among German state governments and French regions dealing with
476-747: A fighting retreat from the Somme the greater part of the division was forced to surrender, having been cut off at St Valery-en-Caux on the Channel coast. In North Africa, the reconstituted Highland Division was nicknamed the " Highway Decorators " in reference to the 'HD' insignia that adorned road signs along their axis of advance. By December 1947, the formation amalgamated with 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division to become 51st/52nd Scottish Division, but, by March 1950, 51st Division and 52nd Division had been recreated as separate formations. 51st (Highland) Division finally disbanded in 1968. The Territorial Force (TF)
595-566: A massive smoke screen from 16 March. The operation commenced on the night of 23 March 1945. It included the Varsity parachute and glider landings near Wesel, and Operation Archway , by the Special Air Service . Four thousand Allied guns fired for four hours during the opening bombardment. British bombers contributed with attacks on Wesel during the day and night of 23 March 1945. On the night of 23 March, companies E and C of
714-671: A predominantly westerly direction and flows into the Netherlands where it eventually empties into the North Sea . It drains an area of 9,973 km . Its name derives from the Celtic Rēnos . There are two German states named after the river, North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate , in addition to several districts (e.g. Rhein-Sieg ). The departments of Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin in Alsace (France) are also named after
833-456: A problem. For example: two years of regular army infantry training was compressed into 3 months; some mortar units had no experience with live ammunition until they got to the firing ranges in France; Bren gun carrier crews only received their equipment in the summer of 1939, leaving little time for training in operating and tactics. With the situation regarding Nazi Germany deteriorating and
952-541: A record setting for the size of the bridge. It took twenty-five 2 1 ⁄ 2 ton GMC CCKW trucks to transport the bridge parts to the construction site, part of the Red Ball Express . Three Allied formations made the initial assault: the British XII Corps and XXX Corps and the U.S. XVI Corps . The British 79th Armoured Division —under Major General Percy Hobart —had been at the front of
1071-593: A speech, claimed "I can tell you that the comradeship in arms experienced on the battlefield of Abbeville in May and June 1940 between the French armoured division which I had the honour to command and the valiant 51st Highland Division under General Fortune played its part in the decision which I took to continue fighting on the side of the Allies unto the end, no matter what the course of events." On 12 June 2010, veterans of
1190-588: A waterway in the Holy Roman Empire . Among the largest and most important cities on the Rhine are Cologne , Rotterdam , Düsseldorf , Duisburg , Strasbourg , Arnhem , and Basel . The variants of the name of the Rhine (Latin Rhenus; French Rhin, Italian Reno, Romansh Rain or Rein, Dutch Rijn, Alemannic Ry, Ripuarian Rhing) in modern languages are all derived from the Gaulish name Rēnos , which
1309-647: A withdrawal with minimal casualties, eventually withdrawing beyond the Dortmund-Ems Canal to the Teutoburg Forest . Within a week of the start of Plunder , the Allies had taken 30,000 prisoners of war north of the Ruhr. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was present at Field Marshal Montgomery's headquarters near Venlo on the eve of Plunder . Subsequently, Churchill and Montgomery watched
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#17327809610081428-747: Is a Central German development of the early modern period , with the Alemannic name R(n) keeping the older vocalism. In Alemannic, the deletion of the ending -n in pausa is a recent development; the form Rn is largely preserved in Lucernese dialects. Rhing in Ripuarian is diphthongized, as is Rhei, Rhoi in Palatine . While Spanish has adopted the Germanic vocalism Rin- , Italian, Occitan, and Portuguese have retained
1547-786: Is one of the major European rivers . The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps . It forms the Swiss-Liechtenstein border and partly the Swiss-Austrian and Swiss-German borders. After that the Rhine defines much of the Franco-German border , after which it flows in a mostly northerly direction through the German Rhineland . Finally in Germany, the Rhine turns into
1666-597: Is significantly shortened from its natural course due to a number of canal projects completed in the 19th and 20th century. The "total length of the Rhine", to the inclusion of Lake Constance and the Alpine Rhine is more difficult to measure objectively; it was cited as 1,232 kilometers (766 miles) by the Dutch Rijkswaterstaat in 2010. Its course is conventionally divided as follows: The Rhine carries its name without distinctive accessories only from
1785-784: Is sometimes called Rhinesee ("Lake Rhine"). Besides the Seerhein , the Radolfzeller Aach is the main tributary of Untersee . It adds large amounts of water from the Danube system to the Untersee via the Danube Sinkhole . Reichenau Island was formed at the same time as the Seerhein, when the water level fell to its current level. Lake Untersee is part of the border between Switzerland and Germany , with Germany on
1904-643: Is the second-longest river in Central and Western Europe (after the Danube ), at about 1,230 km (760 mi), with an average discharge of about 2,900 m /s (100,000 cu ft/s). The Rhine and the Danube comprised much of the Roman Empire 's northern inland boundary , and the Rhine has been a vital navigable waterway bringing trade and goods deep inland since those days. The various castles and defenses built along it attest to its prominence as
2023-543: The 152nd and 153rd Infantry Brigade . The 28th Infantry Brigade was merged with the severely understrength 154th Infantry Brigade . The first general officer commanding (GOC) of the new incarnation of the division was Major-General Alan Cunningham , who, in October 1940, was sent to the Middle East . He was replaced by Major-General Neil Ritchie . Almost two years of home defence and training duties followed on
2142-473: The 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division landed between Wesel and Rees. At first, there was no opposition, but later they ran into determined resistance from machine-gun nests. On the same day the 51st Division's commander, Major-General Tom Rennie , was killed by mortar fire. The British 1st Commando Brigade entered Wesel. The U.S. 30th Infantry Division landed south of Wesel. The local resistance had been broken by artillery and air bombardment. Subsequently,
2261-432: The 17th Armored Engineer Battalion , part of the U.S. 2nd Armored Division , constructed treadway rafts to prepare the crossing of the Rhine about five kilometers south of Wesel. Bridge construction started at 9:45 a.m. and by 4:00 p.m. the first truck crossed the floating pontoon bridge . Over 1,152 feet (351 m) of M2 treadway and 93 pneumatic floats were laid in the six hours and fifteen minute construction project,
2380-588: The 2nd New Zealand Division . It faced the German 21st Panzer Division and some Italian units. Initially unsuccessful during Lightfoot, the minefields it cleared were key in achieving a breakout during Operation Supercharge . Subsequently, the division was involved in many battles of the Tunisian Campaign , including the battle of Wadi Akarit , in early April 1943, and took part in the frontal assault on strongpoints guarded by deep minefields, where it
2499-526: The Aare . The Aare more than doubles the Rhine's water discharge, to an average of slightly more than 1,000 m /s (35,000 cu ft/s), and provides more than a fifth of the discharge at the Dutch border. The Aare also contains the waters from the 4,274 m (14,022 ft) summit of Finsteraarhorn , the highest point of the Rhine basin . Between Eglisau and Basel , the vast majority of its length,
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#17327809610082618-665: The Anterior Rhine and the Posterior Rhine join and form the Alpine Rhine. The river makes a distinctive turn to the north near Chur . This section is nearly 86 km long, and descends from a height of 599 meters to 396 meters. It flows through a wide glacial Alpine valley known as the Rhine Valley ( German : Rheintal ). Near Sargan a natural dam, only a few meters high, prevents it from flowing into
2737-666: The British 46th Infantry Division which had suffered heavy casualties during the Salerno landings , totally unrelated to the 51st Division or its component regiments. Some soldiers of the division regarded this as administrative high-handedness and refused to follow these orders, and the result was the Salerno Mutiny . The mutineers were distributed to various units regardless, while ringleaders were sentenced to death (the sentences were later commuted and finally quashed). Most of
2856-741: The British Army that fought on the Western Front in France during the First World War from 1915 to 1918. The division was raised in 1908, upon the creation of the Territorial Force , as the Highland Division and later 51st (Highland) Division from 1915. The division's insignia was a stylised 'HD' inside a red circle. Early doubts about the division's performance earned it the nickname of "Harper's Duds" after
2975-766: The Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Allied land forces in Normandy, who stated in a telegram to Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke , the Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS, the professional head of the British Army), that the division " had failed every mission it was given ". This led to the replacement of its GOC, Major-General Charles Bullen-Smith ; his dismissal is not mentioned in
3094-678: The Meuse River during the Battle of the Bulge , now as part of XXX Corps , under Lieutenant General Brian Horrocks . It was not involved in heavy fighting during the early stages of the battle and was deployed as a stopgap in case the Germans broke through. In January 1945, the division, along with the rest of XXX Corps, helped to cut off the northern tip of the German salient, linking up with
3213-762: The Neckar in Mannheim and the Main across from Mainz. In Mainz, the Rhine leaves the Upper Rhine Valley and flows through the Mainz Basin. The southern half of the Upper Rhine forms the border between France ( Alsace ) and Germany (Baden-Württemberg). The northern part forms the border between the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate in the west on the one hand, and Baden-Württemberg and Hesse on
3332-524: The Normandy landings and provided invaluable help in subsequent operations with specially adapted armored vehicles (known as Hobart's Funnies ). One "funny" was the LVT-2 "Buffalo" operated by the 4th Royal Tank Regiment , under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Alan Jolly , an armed and armoured amphibious tracked personnel or cargo transporter, which was able to cross soft and flooded ground. These were
3451-457: The Obersee with the 30 cm lower Untersee . Distance markers along the Rhine measure the distance from the bridge in the old city center of Konstanz. For most of its length, the Seerhein forms the border between Germany and Switzerland. The exception is the old city center of Konstanz, on the Swiss side of the river. The Seerhein emerged in the last thousands of years, when erosion caused
3570-650: The Rhine knee , a major bend, where the overall direction of the Rhine changes from west to north. Here the High Rhine ends. Legally, the Central Bridge is the boundary between High and Upper Rhine. The river now flows north as Upper Rhine through the Upper Rhine Plain , which is about 300 km long and up to 40 km wide. The most important tributaries in this area are the Ill below of Strasbourg,
3689-400: The Rhine knee , the river turns north and leaves Switzerland altogether. The High Rhine is characterized by numerous dams. On the few remaining natural sections, there are still several rapids . Over its entire course from Lake Constance to the Swiss border at Basel the river descends from 395 m to 252 m. In the center of Basel, the first major city in the course of the stream, is
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3808-709: The Russian Army had advanced close to these camps, so the POWs were involved in the March of 1945 . Some groups from Stalag XX-A marched around 450 miles (720 km) in the depths of winter to Stalag XIB/357 at Bad Fallingbostel on the Lüneburg Heath, north of Hanover . Others had similar journeys in severe winter conditions, affected by shortages of food and shelter, with many suffering from dysentery and frostbite. In 1942 French General Charles de Gaulle , in
3927-837: The Seaforth and Cameron Brigade , the Gordon Highlanders Brigade and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Brigade . A crisis on the Western Front in late 1914 saw increasing numbers of individual TF battalions being seconded to Regular Army formations on the Western Front. The first TF formation to be plundered in this way was the 1st London Division . By early 1915, the Highland Division had lost six of its 12 pre-war Highland infantry battalions to Regular divisions. When TF divisions were finally ordered overseas as complete formations in their own right in early 1915,
4046-490: The U.S. 79th Infantry Division also landed. American casualties were minimal. German resistance to the British landings continued with some effect, and there were armored counter-attacks. Landings continued, however, including tanks and other heavy equipment. U.S. forces had a bridge across by the evening of 24 March. Operation Varsity started at 10:00 on 24 March, to disrupt enemy communications. Despite heavy resistance to
4165-705: The U.S. 84th Infantry Division at Nisramont on 14 January. Following this, the division was involved in Operation Veritable , the clearing of the Rhineland . In late March the 51st took part in Operation Turnscrew within the framework of Operation Plunder , the crossing of the River Rhine , near the town of Rees, where the GOC, Major General Tom Rennie, was killed by enemy mortar fire. He
4284-400: The Varsity air landings on 24 March. The next day, 25 March, Churchill and Montgomery visited General Dwight D. Eisenhower ′s headquarters. After lunch and a briefing, the party went to a sandbagged house overlooking the Rhine and a quiet, undefended stretch of the German-held riverbank. After Eisenhower's departure, Churchill, Montgomery, and a party of U.S. commanders and armed guards took
4403-467: The canton of Ticino is drained by the Reno di Medel , which crosses the geomorphologic Alpine main ridge from the south. All streams in the source area are partially, sometimes completely, captured and sent to storage reservoirs for the local hydro-electric power plants. The culminating point of the Anterior Rhine's drainage basin is the Piz Russein of the Tödi massif of the Glarus Alps at 3,613 meters (11,854 ft) above sea level. It starts with
4522-426: The confluence of the Rein Anteriur/Vorderrhein and Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein next to Reichenau in Tamins . Above this point is the extensive catchment area of the headwaters of the Rhine. This area belongs almost exclusively to the Swiss canton of Grisons ( Graubünden ), ranging from Saint-Gotthard Massif in the west via one valley lying in the canton of Ticino and Sondrio ( Lombardy , Italy) in
4641-415: The 154th Brigade was forced to retire to the west. Meanwhile, the 152nd and 153rd Brigades , along with the French 9th Corps , under Lieutenant General Marcel Ihler, were cut off from the main Allied forces, and had to withdraw toward Le Havre for a possible evacuation by sea. The 154th Brigade was detached to form " Arkforce " and tasked with maintaining an open line of communication with Le Havre. As
4760-480: The 1940 campaign in France who were with the 51st Division in 1944. A similar event occurred at Dieppe when it was liberated by the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division . Leaving Saint Valéry, the 51st Division was engaged in Operation Astonia , the battle for the French port of Le Havre , in September 1944. After the capture of the town of Le Havre, the division went on to take part in Operation Pheasant in October 1944, finally passing into reserve and garrisoning
4879-412: The 19th century. While it was slightly modified during the Roman occupation, it was not until the emergence of engineers such as Johann Gottfried Tulla that significant modernization efforts changed the shape of the river. Earlier work under Frederick the Great surrounded efforts to ease shipping and construct dams to serve coal transportation. Tulla is considered to have domesticated the Upper Rhine,
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4998-639: The 51st landed in Normandy as part of Operation Overlord on 7 June 1944, a day after D-Day , as part of British I Corps , under Lieutenant-General John Crocker . After spending a brief period supporting the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division , it was sent across the River Orne , and spent two months supporting the 6th Airborne Division in its bridgehead . During this period it fought many difficult actions at places such as Bréville (11–12 June) and Colombelles (11 July). The 51st (Highland) Infantry Division's performance in Normandy was, overall, considered disappointing, particularly by General Montgomery, now
5117-433: The 51st (Highland) Infantry Division attended a commemorative ceremony for the 70th Anniversary of the battle at Saint-Valéry-en-Caux. In August 1940, the 9th (Highland) Infantry Division (the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division's 2nd Line Territorial Army duplicate, which it had helped form) was re-designated as the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division. As part of this, the 26th and 27th Infantry Brigades were re-designated
5236-585: The 51st (Scottish) Division, was reformed in the Territorial Army after the Second World War. Beckett 2008 says that Territorial Army units that were in suspended animation were formally reactivated on 1 January 1947, though no personnel were assigned until commanding officers and permanent staff had been appointed in March and April 1947. By December 1947, the formation amalgamated with 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division to become 51st/52nd Scottish Division, but, by March 1950, 51st Division and 52nd Division had been recreated as separate formations. From December 1955,
5355-459: The 51st Division underwent a major reorganisation as per policies of the BEF. Some of the division's units were replaced by Regular Army formations. This was done with the intention of strengthening inexperienced Territorial divisions. The 23rd Field Regiment of the Royal Artillery , a Regular Army unit, replaced the 76th (Highland) Field Regiment , Royal Artillery, as one example of the changes made. The 76th (Highland) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
5474-414: The 51st was, at the time of Festubert, " practically untrained and very green in all field duties" . Moved to the quiet Somme front in the late summer of 1915, the division, now under the command of Major General George Harper , had yet to satisfy the expectations of those expecting the familiar Highland flair– this was the period of Harper's Duds . The situation was only resolved when, in January 1916,
5593-424: The Anterior Rhine and the Rhine as a whole. The Posterior Rhine rises in the Rheinwald below the Rheinwaldhorn . The source of the river is generally considered north of Lai da Tuma/Tomasee on Rein Anteriur/Vorderrhein , although its southern tributary Rein da Medel is actually longer before its confluence with the Anterior Rhine near Disentis . The Anterior Rhine arises from numerous source streams in
5712-401: The Austrian state of Vorarlberg , and the Swiss cantons of Thurgau and St. Gallen . The Rhine flows into it from the south following the Swiss-Austrian border. It is located at approximately 47°39′N 9°19′E / 47.650°N 9.317°E / 47.650; 9.317 . The flow of cold, grey mountain water continues for some distance into the lake. The cold water flows near
5831-401: The British. Major-General Fortune was one of the most senior British officers to be taken prisoner in the war. After the war was over, General Fortune was knighted by King George VI for his work in promoting the welfare of his men while in captivity: despite failing health, he had resisted repatriation. From the British point of view, the defeat of the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division was
5950-438: The Divisional Official History nor formation accounts. His successor was Major-General Tom Rennie , who had served with the division in France, North Africa and Sicily before being elevated to command of the British 3rd Infantry Division for the Normandy invasion, which he commanded until being wounded soon after D-Day, but had now recovered. On 1 August 1944 the division, along with the rest of British I Corps, became part of
6069-403: The Germans came to know them as " The Ladies From Hell ". By 1917, the 51st was considered a leading assault division and was handed more and more difficult tasks, throughout the year, from Arras in April/May to the combined tank-infantry assault at Cambrai in November. By early 1918, the division, as with numerous others in the BEF at the time, was below-strength due to losses in 1917 and
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#17327809610086188-420: The High Rhine forms the border between Germany and Switzerland . Only for brief distances at its extremities does the river run entirely within Switzerland; at the eastern end it separates the bulk of the canton of Schaffhausen and the German exclave of Büsingen am Hochrhein on the northern bank from cantons of Zürich and Thurgau , while at the western end it bisects the canton of Basel-Stadt . Here, at
6307-404: The Highland Division " and later "It was the only infantry division in the armies of the British Empire that accompanied me during the whole of the long march from Alamein to Berlin ." When a group of recuperating wounded soldiers of the 51st returned from their North African hospital to rejoin the division in Sicily, they were instead split up and ordered to various units and formations, mainly
6426-411: The Highland Division was only at half-strength and in no shape to be sent abroad at that time. Only by the last-minute addition of two Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) battalions and the North Lancashire Brigade from the West Lancashire Division was the division, now numbered as the 51st (Highland) Division , considered numerically complete and was rushed to the Western Front in May 1915 to help stem
6545-408: The Lancashire Brigade (by then renumbered the 154th (3rd Highland) Brigade and later became the 164th (North Lancashire) Brigade ) left the division and their place was filled by original Highland battalions released by the regular divisions and by battalions of the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) not originally in the division. Given the chance to show their mettle in July 1916, during the Battle of
6664-454: The Latin Ren- . The Gaulish name Rēnos ( Proto-Celtic or pre-Celtic *Reinos ) belongs to a class of river names built from the PIE root *rei- "to move, flow, run", also found in other names such as the Reno in Italy. The grammatical gender of the Celtic name (as well as of its Greek and Latin adaptation) is masculine, and the name remains masculine in German, Dutch, French, Spanish and Italian. The Old English river name
6783-471: The Posterior Rhine is joined by the Albula , from the east, from the Albula Pass region. The Albula draws its water mainly from the Landwasser with the Dischmabach as the largest source stream, but almost as much from the Gelgia , which comes down from the Julier Pass . Numerous larger and smaller tributary rivers bear the name of the Rhine or equivalent in various Romansh idioms, including Rein or Ragn , including: Next to Reichenau in Tamins
6902-453: The Rhine into Lake Constance forms an inland delta . The delta is delimited in the west by the Alter Rhein and in the east by the modern canalized section of the Alpine Rhine ( Fußacher Durchstich ). Most of the delta is a nature reserve and bird sanctuary . It includes the Austrian towns of Gaißau , Höchst and Fußach . The natural Rhine originally branched into at least two arms and formed small islands by precipitating sediments. In
7021-405: The Rhine in support of Operation Plunder, consisting of U.S. XVIII Airborne Corps , the British 6th , and the U.S. 17th Airborne Divisions . Operation Grenade in February by Simpson's Ninth Army and Crerar's Canadians was also expected to prepare the ground. Preparations such as accumulation of supplies, road construction, and the transport of 36 Royal Navy landing craft , were hidden by
7140-413: The Rhine was crucial for the advancement of the Allied advance into Germany, and was planned by Montgomery as a three-army assault, including an airborne assault, a five-thousand-gun artillery barrage, and Anglo-American bombers. Thousands of tons of supplies were brought forward including huge amounts of bridging equipment. The First Allied Airborne Army conducted Operation Varsity on the east bank of
7259-452: The Rhine, at Nierstein , to form another bridgehead. His superior, General Omar Bradley , released news of this crossing to the press "at a time calculated to take some of the lustre from the news of Montgomery′s crossing". Bradley later remembered that Patton had strongly urged the announcement saying "I want the world to know that Third Army made it before Monty starts across". Rhine The Rhine ( / r aɪ n / RYNE )
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#17327809610087378-461: The Somme , they assaulted High Wood , which they attacked forcefully in the midst of a murderous field of fire without shelter. Though they failed to take the position, they had shown the fighting spirit expected of Highlanders. The division's reputation grew and they were chosen to capture the notorious fortress village of Beaumont-Hamel in November 1916 , towards the end of the Somme offensive. The 51st were " Harper's Duds " no longer. Legend has it
7497-445: The West has entered an extraordinarily critical, ostensibly almost deadly, phase." He went on to note the crossing of the Rhine on a broad front, and foresaw Allied attempts to encircle the Ruhr industrial heartland. On 27 March, command of the 1st Parachute Army was passed to General Günther Blumentritt , because Schlemm had been wounded. Blumentritt and his superior, Generaloberst Johannes Blaskowitz , both recognised that
7616-409: The airdrops and afterward, the airborne troops made progress and repelled counterattacks. The hard lessons of Operation Market Garden were applied. In the afternoon, the 15th (Scottish) Division linked up with both airborne divisions. Fierce German resistance continued around Bienen, north of Rees , where the entire 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade was needed to relieve the Black Watch. The bridgehead
7735-442: The area around the river was made more habitable for humans on flood plains as the rate of flooding decreased sharply. On the French side, the Grand Canal d'Alsace was dug, which carries a significant part of the river water, and all of the traffic. In some places, there are large compensation pools, for example, the huge Bassin de compensation de Plobsheim in Alsace. The Upper Rhine has undergone significant human change since
7854-411: The area, it was severely depleted from its previous action in the Battle of the Reichswald . Unable to withstand Allied pressure, the 1st Parachute Army withdrew northeast toward Hamburg and Bremen , leaving a gap between it and the 15th Army in the Ruhr . Joseph Goebbels was well aware of Plunder's potential impact from the beginning. On 24 March, he began his diary entry with, "The situation in
7973-404: The canalized Rhine into the lake. Its water has a darker color than the Rhine; the latter's lighter suspended load comes from higher up the mountains. It is expected that the continuous input of sediment into the lake will silt up the lake. This has already happened to the former Lake Tuggenersee . The cut-off Old Rhine at first formed a swamp landscape. Later an artificial ditch of about two km
8092-420: The centers Basel, Strasbourg and Mannheim-Ludwigshafen. Strasbourg is the seat of the European Parliament , and so one of the three European capitals is located on the Upper Rhine. The Upper Rhine region was changed significantly by a Rhine straightening program in the 19th century. The rate of flow was increased and the ground water level fell significantly. Dead branches were removed by construction workers and
8211-603: The changes proposed along the Rhine, one was "the Treaty for the Rectification of the Rhine flow from Neuberg to Dettenheim"(1817), which surrounded states such as Bourbon France and the Bavarian Palatinate . Loops, oxbows , branches and islands were removed along the Upper Rhine so that there would be uniformity to the river. The engineering of the Rhine was not without protest, farmers and fishermen had grave concerns about valuable fishing areas and farmland being lost. While some areas lost ground, other areas saw swamps and bogs be drained and turned into arable land. Johann Tulla had
8330-426: The country alongside the industrial revolution. For the German state, making the river more predictable was to ensure development projects could easily commence. The section of the Upper Rhine downstream from Mainz is also known as the "Island Rhine". Here a number of river islands occur, locally known as "Rheinauen". 51st (Highland) Division The 51st (Highland) Division was an infantry division of
8449-415: The creek Aua da Russein (lit.: "Water of the Russein"). In its lower course, the Anterior Rhine flows through a gorge named Ruinaulta (Flims Rockslide). The whole stretch of the Anterior Rhine to the Alpine Rhine confluence next to Reichenau in Tamins is accompanied by a long-distance hiking trail called Senda Sursilvana . The Posterior Rhine flows first east-northeast, then north. It flows through
8568-558: The division in 1937. In common with the rest of the British Army at the time, training and equipment had been insufficient in the years after World War 1. In 1938, after Chamberlain's visit to Munich, the decision had been taken to double the size of the Territorial Army, and the Highland Division had made good progress with this recruitment by the spring of 1939. The issue of equipment and the associated training remained
8687-614: The division served under the command of the British Eighth Army , under General Bernard Montgomery . Later the 51st Division had a rest to absorb replacements for the heavy losses, in both manpower and materiel , suffered in North Africa and began training in amphibious warfare . In July, the division took part in the Allied invasion of Sicily , codenamed Operation Husky , suffering comparatively light casualties in
8806-716: The division was ordered to prepare for service overseas. Arriving in North Africa in August 1942, the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division experienced its first fighting at the Second Battle of El Alamein (October–November), sustaining some 2,000 casualties. It then played a major part in Operation Lightfoot , where it was in the centre of the Northern Push, between the 9th Australian Division and
8925-517: The division was placed on a lower establishment, for home defence purposes only. On 1 May 1961, the division was merged with Highland District to become 51st Highland Division/District. 51st (Highland) Division was disbanded in 1968. A specific memorial to the 51st division created by the sculptor George Henry Paulin exists at the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial site on the Somme. A further memorial in
9044-414: The early stages of the march. Of the 290 British Army POW escapers who had returned to Britain by the end of June 1941, 134 were members of the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division. As other camps were brought into operation, a large proportion of the POWs were transferred – most to Stalag XX-B at Malbork and Stalag 344 at Lambinowice , but with small numbers in many other camps. Early in 1945,
9163-658: The end of the Allied resistance during the Battle of France. More than 10,000 members of the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division were taken prisoner at St Valery. They were marched to Germany, via Belgium, following the route over which the Germans had advanced against them. The officers were separated from the men, for most of whom the initial destination was Stalag XX-A at Toruń , about 120 miles (190 km) northwest of Warsaw . Some were loaded into canal barges for part of their journey, but all eventually travelled by train in cattle wagons. There were some notable escapes, mostly in
9282-561: The event of a gas attack. Thus the men were required to hand in their kilts before embarking for France. In mid-January 1940 the division departed from Southampton and disembarked at the French port of Le Havre . On 28 January it came under command of I Corps of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), under Lieutenant-General Michael Barker . His command also included the 1st and 2nd Infantry Divisions , both Regular Army formations. In February and March
9401-558: The flow is diverted off the island of Mainau into Lake Überlingen. Most of the water flows via the Constance hopper into the Rheinrinne ("Rhine Gutter") and Seerhein. Depending on the water level, this flow of the Rhine water is clearly visible along the entire length of the lake. The Rhine carries very large amounts of debris into the lake – over three million cubic meters (110,000,000 cu ft) annually. In
9520-431: The force moved back toward the coast German forces reached the coast area near Saint-Valery-en-Caux first, cutting off the line of retreat to Le Havre. The French and British force pulled back into Saint Valery-en-Caux. With steep cliffs overlooking the small harbour, the Germans had a ready line of fire to use against any attempts to withdraw. General Fortune could not hold out much longer, and realized their last chance
9639-714: The form of a sculpture by Alan Herriot was unveiled in May 1995 on the North Inch in Perth, Scotland . As well as commemorating 50 years of peace in Europe, the sculpture depicts a Highlander being greeted by a young Dutch girl during the liberation of the Netherlands by the 51st. On 15 July 2018, Channel 4 broadcast a documentary called 'Dunkirk: The Forgotten Heroes' In a review, in The Daily Telegraph ,
9758-416: The goal of shortening and straightening the Upper Rhine. Early engineering projects the Upper Rhine also had issues, with Tulla's project at one part of the river creating rapids, after the Rhine cut down from erosion to sheer rock. Engineering along the Rhine eased flooding and made transportation along the river less cumbersome. These state projects were part of the advanced and technical progress going on in
9877-556: The initial German assault. When Portuguese troops started to retire from their positions and ran across the 51st's positions, they were mistaken for Germans in the poor visual conditions and the 51st opened fire on them, causing casualties. The under-strength 51st was also pushed back, but eventually held as the German offensive ebbed and flowed. The remains of the division survived the Spring battles and received replacements in time for Haig's Allied offensives of August 1918 onward, which saw
9996-529: The lake level to be lowered by about 10 meters. Previously, the two lakes formed a single lake, as the name still suggests. Like in the Obersee, the flow the Rhine can be traced in the Untersee. Here, too, the river water is hardly mixed with the lake water. The northern parts of the Untersee (Lake Zell and Gnadensee) remain virtually unaffected by the flow. The river traverses the southern, which, in isolation,
10115-478: The latest German onslaught during the Second Battle of Ypres . Obviously, the lack of familiarity amongst these newly introduced disparate units hampered division efficiency and the division could only fare moderately in the further actions at Festubert and Givenchy . Lieutenant General Sir Douglas Haig , then commanding the British First Army , and later to command the entire BEF, commented that
10234-482: The local Alemannic dialect, the singular is pronounced "Isel" and this is also the local pronunciation of Esel (" Donkey "). Many local fields have an official name containing this element. A regulation of the Rhine was called for, with an upper canal near Diepoldsau and a lower canal at Fußach, in order to counteract the constant flooding and strong sedimentation in the western Rhine Delta. The Dornbirner Ach had to be diverted, too, and it now flows parallel to
10353-444: The mouth region, it is therefore necessary to permanently remove gravel by dredging. The large sediment loads are partly due to the extensive land improvements upstream. Three countries border the Obersee, namely Switzerland in the south, Austria in the southeast and the German states of Bavaria in the northeast and Baden-Württemberg in the north and northwest. The Seerhein is only 4 kilometers (2.5 mi) long. It connects
10472-629: The name of its commander, Major-General George Harper although they would go on to gain a fearsome reputation with the Allies and Germans. The division was renamed the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division and fought during the Second World War as part of the Territorial Army after the Territorial Force was disbanded in 1920. In June 1940, the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division was attached to French 10th Army and after
10591-594: The newly activated Canadian First Army . The division fought alongside this army in Operation Totalize , before advancing to Lisieux . It then continued east over the River Seine and headed, on General Montgomery's orders for Saint-Valéry-en-Caux , the scene of the division's surrender in June 1940. The division's massed pipes and drums played in the streets of the town, and a parade included veterans of
10710-627: The north bank and Switzerland on the south, except both sides are Swiss in Stein am Rhein , where the High Rhine flows out of the lake. The High Rhine ( Hochrhein ) begins in Stein am Rhein at the western end of the Untersee. Now flowing generally westwards, it passes over the Rhine Falls ( Rheinfall ) below Schaffhausen before being joined – near Koblenz in the canton of Aargau – by its major tributary,
10829-506: The open Sztal valley and then through Lake Walen and Lake Zurich into the Aare . The Alpine Rhine begins in the westernmost part of the Swiss canton of Graubünden , and later forms the border between Switzerland to the west and Liechtenstein and later Austria to the east. As an effect of human work, it empties into Lake Constance on Austrian territory and not on the border that follows its old natural river bed called Alter Rhein ( lit. ' Old Rhine ' ). The mouth of
10948-547: The other hand, in the east and north. A curiosity of this border line is that the parts of the city of Mainz on the right bank of the Rhine were given to Hesse by the occupying forces in 1945. The Upper Rhine was a significant cultural landscape in Central Europe already in antiquity and during the Middle Ages . Today, the Upper Rhine area hosts many important manufacturing and service industries, particularly in
11067-400: The programme was given four stars out of five and called "a terrific documentary that told the sad story of the men left behind". The following officers commanded the division at various times: The original brigade comprised the following battalions until April 1915 when some of the battalions moved to the 152nd Brigade: Between 18 April 1915 and January 1916, the brigade was replaced by
11186-523: The river. Some adjacent towns are named after it, such as Rheinau , Rheineck , Rheinfelden (CH) and Rheinfelden (D). The International Commission for the Hydrology of the Rhine Basin (CHR) and EUWID contend that the river could experience a massive decrease in volume, or even dry up completely in case of drought, within the next 30 to 80 years, as a result of the climate crisis . The Rhine
11305-674: The short campaign, which lasted for 38 days. Towards the end of the campaign in early August, the division was withdrawn from combat and held in reserve for the Allied invasion of Italy . Although the 51st Division as a whole did not take part in the invasion, some of the division's artillery helped support Operation Baytown , the Eighth Army's crossing of the Strait of Messina in Sicily to the Italian "toe" at Reggio Calabria . The division
11424-405: The situation was lost. The army's front was incomplete, there were no reserves, weak artillery, no air support and few tanks. Communications were weak, indeed, one corps was never contacted. The reinforcements were so poor that the generals decided against using them, to avoid needless casualties. Although Blumentritt had strict orders from Supreme Command to hold and fight, from 1 April, he managed
11543-609: The south coast of England and northeast coast of Scotland against a potential German invasion , which never arrived. In June 1941, Major-General Ritchie was sent to the Middle East and Major-General Douglas Wimberley , who had served with the original 51st (Highland) Division during the First World War and more recently commanded the 152nd Brigade, assumed command. With the arrival of Wimberley as GOC, strenuous training for future operations overseas began. By June 1942,
11662-753: The south in front of the Maginot Line, the 51st Division was not a part of the force involved in Belgium , and was thus not involved in the Dunkirk evacuation . In response to the German advance it was pulled back to form a defensive line along the Somme , where it was attached to the French Tenth Army . With the withdrawal of Allied forces at Dunkirk, the Germans turned their attention to the south. On 5 June they began their second offensive. The 51st
11781-519: The south of the Ruhr. The additional crossing was intended to draw off any concentration of forces in opposition to Plunder. Two earlier crossings actually happened. On 7 March, U.S. troops unexpectedly captured the Ludendorff Bridge as the Battle of Remagen . Within the next 10 days six divisions and 25,000 troops established a bridgehead on the eastern side of the Rhine. On 22 March, General George S. Patton sent his Third Army across
11900-673: The south to the Flüela Pass in the east. The Rhine is one of four major rivers taking their source in the Gotthard region, along with the Ticino (drainage basin of the Po ), Rhône and Reuss (Rhine basin). The Witenwasserenstock is the triple watershed between the Rhine, Rhône and Po. Traditionally, Lake Toma near the Oberalp Pass in the Gotthard region is seen as the source of
12019-412: The surface and at first does not mix with the warmer, green waters of Upper Lake. But then, at the so-called Rheinbrech , the Rhine water abruptly falls into the depths because of the greater density of cold water. The flow reappears on the surface at the northern (German) shore of the lake, off the island of Lindau . The water then follows the northern shore until Hagnau am Bodensee . A small fraction of
12138-555: The threat of war on the rise, the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division was mobilised on 24 August 1939. In preparation for joining the BEF in France, the division travelled from Scotland to Aldershot , where it received final equipping and training. All units had arrived at Aldershot by 16 September 1939. The men were required to wear the standard British Army battledress of the day. The War Office had decided that kilts were not suited to modern mechanised warfare and did not provide protection in
12257-669: The three valleys named Rheinwald , Schams and Domleschg - Heinzenberg . The valleys are separated by the Rofla Gorge and Viamala Gorge. Its sources are located in the Adula Alps ( Rheinwaldhorn , Rheinquellhorn , and Güferhorn ). The Avers Rhine joins from the south. One of its headwaters, the Reno di Lei (stowed in the Lago di Lei ), is partially located in Italy. Near Sils
12376-596: The tired survivors were given a quiet part of the front line to hold. Unfortunately, the Germans had by chance chosen that location as one of the focal points for their Kaiserschlacht , the last great German assault on the West in March 1918, intended to win the war before the American Expeditionary Force could arrive in great numbers. The neighbouring Portuguese Expeditionary Corps bore the brunt of
12495-499: The upper Surselva and flows in an easterly direction. One source is Lai da Tuma (2,345 m (7,694 ft)) with the Rein da Tuma , which is usually indicated as source of the Rhine, flowing through it. Into it flow tributaries from the south, some longer, some equal in length, such as the Rein da Medel , the Rein da Maighels , and the Rein da Curnera . The Cadlimo Valley in
12614-417: The vehicles for the spearhead infantry. The first part of Plunder within the framework of XXX Corp's Operation Turnscrew was initiated by the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division , led by the 7th Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of 154th Brigade at 21:00 on 23 March, near Rees , followed by the 7th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (also of 154th Brigade). At 02:00 on 24 March,
12733-400: The war coming to an end on 11 November 1918 . During 1918, members of the division were painted by the war artist Frederick Farrell , in France. At the end of the First World War, the Territorial Force was stood down. It was reconstituted as the Territorial Army in 1921, resulting in the creation of the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division. Major-General Victor Fortune took command of
12852-1038: Was adapted in Roman-era geography (1st century BC) as Latin Rhenus , and as Greek Ῥῆνος ( Rhēnos ). The spelling with Rh- in English Rhine as well as in German Rhein and French Rhin is due to the influence of Greek orthography, while the vocalization -i- is due to the Proto-Germanic adoption of the Gaulish name as * Rīnaz , via Old Frankish giving Old English Rín , Old High German Rīn , early Middle Dutch ( c. 1200 ) Rijn (then also spelled Ryn or Rin ). The modern German diphthong Rhein (also used in Romansh ) Rein, Rain
12971-504: Was at 2 Charlotte Street in Perth . The First World War doubts were the result of the way in which the division was initially plundered in late 1914 to early 1915, during a period of great strain on the Regular Army troops of the original British Expeditionary Force (BEF), serving on the Western Front . In August 1914, upon mobilization, the division's infantry element had comprised 12 battalions in 3 regimentally-named brigades:
13090-468: Was dug. It was made navigable to the Swiss town of Rheineck . Lake Constance consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee ("upper lake"), the Untersee ("lower lake"), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein ("Lake Rhine"). The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps. Specifically, its shorelines lie in the German states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg ,
13209-407: Was firmly established, however, and Allied advantages in numbers and equipment were applied. By 27 March, the bridgehead was 35 miles (56 km) wide and 20 miles (32 km) deep. The Allied operation was opposed by the German 1st Parachute Army , commanded by General Alfred Schlemm , a part of Army Group H . Although this formation was considered to be the most effective German force in
13328-658: Was formed on 1 April 1908 following the enactment of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 (7 Edw.7, c.9) which combined and re-organised the old Volunteer Force , the Honourable Artillery Company and the Yeomanry . On formation, the TF contained 14 infantry divisions and 14 mounted yeomanry brigades . One of the divisions was the Highland Division. In peacetime, the divisional headquarters
13447-472: Was on the far right of the line. The Commanding Officer (CO) of the 7th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders , Lieutenant Colonel Lorne MacLaine Campbell , was awarded the Victoria Cross for his leadership during the battle. The war in North Africa ended on 13 May 1943 with the surrender of almost 250,000 Axis soldiers as prisoners of war (POWs). Throughout the fighting in North Africa
13566-565: Was replaced by Major General Gordon MacMillan , a very highly experienced and competent commander who had previously been the GOC of the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division . The division advanced through Germany and ended the war in the Bremerhaven area of Northern Germany . During the North-West Europe campaign the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division had suffered a total of 19,524 battle casualties. A related formation,
13685-430: Was tasked with holding a line four times longer than that which would normally be expected of a division. Sustained attacks over 5–6 June caused heavy losses, particularly among the 7th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders , where the main weight of the German attack fell. The Argylls' losses were the worst they had suffered in their history. The other battalions of the 154th Brigade were enveloped. The remnant of
13804-658: Was then recalled from the Eighth Army and returned to the United Kingdom, on the wishes of the Army's old commander, General Montgomery, together with the veteran 7th Armoured and 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Divisions , to prepare for the opening of the Second Front in June 1944. Montgomery commented on the 51st " Of the many fine divisions that served under me in the Second World War, none were finer than
13923-417: Was to be pulled off in the dark on the night of 11/12 June, but no ships came. (The Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth , Admiral William James , had assembled ships for the evacuation but daytime evacuation was impossible and on the final night fog meant that the ships could not communicate and co-ordination would be impossible.) On the morning of 12 June the French forces surrendered, followed 30 minutes later by
14042-619: Was transferred to the 3rd Infantry Division . On 22 April 1940 the 51st Division was detached from the rest of the BEF to come under command of the French Third Army . The division was stationed in front of the Ouvrage Hackenberg fortress of the Maginot Line . With the German invasion of France and the low countries on 10 May 1940 the BEF advanced into Belgium to meet the advancing German forces. Stationed to
14161-465: Was variously inflected as masculine or feminine; and its Old Icelandic adoption was inflected as feminine. The length of the Rhine is conventionally measured in "Rhine-kilometers" ( Rheinkilometer ), a scale introduced in 1939 which runs from the 0 km datum at Old Rhine Bridge in the city of Konstanz , at the western end of Lake Constance , to the Hook of Holland at 1,036.20 km. The river
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