For the American forces approaching the Rhine in the late winter of 1945, the question of how and where to cross was of enormous tactical and operational significance. A crossing in force required the assembly of bridging equipment, assault boats, and the troops who would lead the attack — all of which created visible concentrations of forces that enemy reconnaissance could detect.
The Ninth Army, under Lieutenant General William H. Simpson, was planning what would become one of the major Rhine crossings of the campaign. Operation Plunder — the overall Allied Rhine crossing effort — was being coordinated across multiple army groups, with the British and Canadian forces under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery providing the overall plan. The American crossings were part of this larger operation.
The 23rd Headquarters Special Troops received its assignment: stage a deception that would draw German attention and reserves away from the actual crossing point. The unit would impersonate two infantry divisions — the 30th and the 79th — in a sector approximately ten miles from the real crossing, persuading the Germans that the main American effort was coming from a different direction.
This operation would be called Operation Viersen, named for the German town near the deception site.
## Operation Viersen: The Setup
The planning for Operation Viersen was more elaborate and more carefully coordinated than any previous operation the 23rd had mounted. The scale of what was being simulated — two full infantry divisions totaling approximately 30,000 to 40,000 men — required every capability the unit possessed, deployed simultaneously and coherently.