Across the River and into Germany

Across the River and into Germany. The story of September 11, 1944, when two US reconnaissance patrols became the first Allied forces to cross the German border.

11 September 1944 - another 9/11, a symbolically important date in the Second World War: Allied soldiers crossed the border into Germany for the first time. From the Our Valley in Luxembourg, two reconnaissance patrols of the 5th US Armoured Division advanced onto German soil almost simultaneously and reconnoitred the deserted Siegfried Line positions. One patrol was led by US agent Warner Holzinger, who had emigrated from Germany, while the other was accompanied by 19-year-old French interpreter Olaf Tillette de Mautort. After the scouting parties had completed their mission, the news went around the world. In a panic, Adolf Hitler had the Siegfried Line reoccupied. The book tells the story of Holzinger and de Mautort during the final months of the war: the route to the liberation of France, Paris in August 1944, the reconnaissance warfare on the West Wall in autumn 1944, the Battle of Wallendorf in the southern Eifel, and finally the end of the war. At the same time there is a surprising answer to the question: Who was actually the first to cross the 'Siegfried Line'? To research this book, the author visited the sites of the war on both the German and Luxembourg sides. - Illustrated paperback with numerous photos.

Autorentext
Kai Althoetmar, born in Cologne in 1968, is a graduate of the Cologne School of Journalism and holds a degree in economics with a focus on economic and social history. He has been working as a full-time freelance author since 1997 and lives in Bad Münstereifel in the Eifel region of Germany.