Talk:Ludendorff Bridge

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[edit] Polish conscripts

This assertion is only backed by a link to a subscription-only Polish language archive site. Other sources offer other theories. Can someone who reads Polish check it out?LeadSongDog (talk) 23:19, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

Gazeta Wyborcza is a respected Polish newspaper. The author of the article is Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, check the article on him and validate whether he's respectable or not yourself :)

As to the text, below is the relevant part and a (rough, sorry) translation.

(Polish) Nieoczekiwane sforsowanie obrony na Renie stało się możliwe dzięki temu, że jeden z mostów na rzece w Ramagen nie wyleciał w powietrze. Sierżant Drabik, Polak z Ohio, zdecydował się błyskawicznie przejść na czele swego oddziału pod ogniem nieprzyjaciela na drugą stronę. Za nim poszli inni.

Ale nie w tym pointa. Dochodzenie po zakończeniu operacji doprowadziło do odkrycia, że most ocalał dzięki sabotażowi. Dwa kable łączące ładunek wybuchowy z zapalnikiem zostały przecięte, ocalał tylko trzeci, dzięki czemu wybuch nie zdołał zniszczyć mostu. Przesłuchiwanie jeńców pozwoliło ustalić, że sprawcami sabotażu byli dwaj saperzy, Polacy ze Śląska, przymusowo wcieleni do Wehrmachtu. Kiedy zapytano ich, czym się kierowali, odpowiedzieli krótko: "My jesteśmy Polakami".

(English) Unexpected breakthrough the defences along the Rhine was possible because one of the bridges across the river survived thanks to sabotage. Sargeant Drabik, a Polish American from Ohio, decided to cross it under fire with his unit. Others soon followed.

But that's not yet my point. After the end of the operation an investigation proved that the bridge survived thanks to sabotage. Two wires linking the explosives with a detonator had been cut, only the third survived, which prevented (the Germans) from blowing the bridge up. Questioning the prisoners of war revealed that the responsible for the sabotage were two sappers (military engineers), Poles from Silesia, forcibly conscripted into the Wehrmacht. When asked what made them do it, they replied shortly: "We're Poles".

//Halibutt 09:32, 10 March 2008 (UTC)