Only someone who was there, e.g. the U.S. 9th Armored Division, can really say whether this movie about the Remagen bridgehead comes close to what they went through in securing the Ludendorf, the last remaining intact bridge over the Rhine, on March 7, 1945. Only they know of the finality of the gunfire, and the smell it left in the air along with the smell of the dead bodies. But as a combat veteran I was impressed by this movie as it retained the tension and fear involved in war. I do not like most movies because they gloss over reality, but this movie closely shows the different types of individuals that usually make up an army. There are the commanders at the top who see the overall picture, the self-centered career minded officer types who reap only contempt, and the officers and their N.C.O.s-on the American side armored infantry-that just do what they have to do and are just trying to survive. It also shows the close, emotional bonds that war can create between soliders involved in battle. This movie keeps it dirty, with nothing very unbelievable. It gives a good idea of an armored division on the move-and that ain't much fun.
Review of The Bridge at Remagen
