George Silk Roer Crossing - Jülich - Life 12th March 1945

On the 23rd February 1945 George Silk joined men of the 29th Infantry Division as they crossed the Roer to attack the German town of Jülich. As Silk crossed the treadway bridge a GI in front of him was killed by mortar fragments. After pausing to photograph this, he safely reached the opposite bank. He photographed the mopping up operation, some Germans who had been missed in the darkness surrended. As they were moved back towards the foot bridge one of them detonated a hand grenade killing one GI and wounding several others, including Silk who was wounded in the legs by shrapnel. The footbridge took a direct hit and began to break up. Life reproduced the images in close sequence so as to emphasis the drama and danger of the crossing.