First Across the Rhine: The 291st Engineer Combat Battalion in France, Belgium, and Germany

Colonel David Pergrin recounts how, at the age of 26, he mobilized the companies of his 291st Engineers to help bring Hitler's advancing forces to a grinding halt in the Battle of the Bulge. Small but battle-wizened units under Colonel Pergrin's command went to work with mines, crater charges, bazookas, and small arms, effectively denying the German tanks further inroads. Colonel Pergrin goes on to retell how his recruits were then chosen to build up the bridgehead that would support the flow of Allies over the Rhine into the heart of Germany. A gritty yet wonderful tale of how skilled young soldiers and their leader applied their skills and enthusiasm during a critical moment in our nation's history.

t, there was no bridge too far. From Normandy to the heart of Germany itself, the 291st Engineer Combat Battalion literally paved the way for the Allies' final march to victory in Europe. Comprised of the best and the toughest among American enlisted men, proving they could take the worst of combat, and more important, give it back, the 291st both built and blew up vital bridges, stood its ground against the crushing Panzer spearhead during the Battle of the Bulge, and provided critical access over the Rhine in the face of enormous resistance.

This is the 291st's story, dramatically told by the man who served as its commander.