| Show german rivers form a network of natural barriers to the allies Is EDEN do 5 BA NORTH cal kiel ASTO S withal 0 burg to tan k R 0 aa if if it keedan daw 0 tt 0 magdeburg 7 lip I 1 all 4 resi u breader br esder M n EM I 1 A pash 1 1 ah a wa 1 A MOR A IA 0 IN brunn R eben r budvets I 1 alu B S at R A hp N QA A 1 ax 1 1 R M 4 rim UA V I 1 W monir by the national geographic society the allied forces B BETWEEN on the western and eastern fronts ger germanas germanys Germ anys large and small rivers spread a formidable network of natural fortresses germany is one of the best watered of the worlds big countries in peacetime its long rivers together with innumerable branches and extensive canal systems carried one fifth of the count rys traffic when the war came the nazi government ordered still more water borne transport to relieve railways especially in the shipping of quantities of army materials today the intricate waterways resembling sem bling on the map a giant cobweb serve to hold up and entangle at least temporarily the allied advancing forces in the re winning of europe an important part has already been played by even minor rivers whose names are found only on large scale maps deeper penetration of the rhineland for example which had been slowed up under the threat of nazi controlled waters of the roer was finally made possible when the yanks captured the roer river dam southeast of aachen it was not achieved however before the germans had loosed a flood downstream by blowing up the dam gates on the eastern front such sub defense lines as the bober and rivers were prominent in the news a few weeks ago in yet territory the allies have sometimes turned ger banys own rivers against her this happened dramatically in 1943 and 1944 when RAF fliers bombed the eder moline and sorpe corpe dams the latter two on ruhr river tributaries tributa ries causing floods that devastated vital industrial and farming areas nine big streams the major rivers of germany are the rhine elbe oder weser and ems flowing northward to the north and baltic seas and the main danube isar and inn rivers river s crossing inland central and southern regions the rhine extends for more than miles from switzerland to rotterdam in the netherlands the elbe is more than miles long from its source inside bohemia the oder is about miles the weser and the ems in southern germany the german part of the danube is long its tributaries tributa ries the isar and inn about and miles respectively the main is miles many more rivers now separate berlin from the western than from the eastern front reading the map from west to east the rhine ems weser and elbe are roughly parallel obstacles facing american brit C Z GLADYS parket OH go PLAY ON A HOLE NOT USED 10 6 pis CU 0 r 04 06 60 ho aa ish and canadian forces in t the he east the oder was the only major river inside germany proper that barred movement toward the nazi capital it is only a little more than 30 miles northeast of berlin at its nearest point the rivers of central and southern germany present the strategist with entirely different geographic problems lems instead of parallel barriers biers against east west advances they offer possible cross country corridors the broad valley of the danube for instance is an old invasion route from the southeast the isar and inn valleys are side roads leading from the danube to important centers of nazi life munich birthplace of the nazi movement is situated on the isar the inn river valley is a natural path southward through the mountains to the brenner pass and italy in central germany the main winds generally westward to meet the middle rhine at mainz industries in north so far allied drives inside germany have been directed against the rivers of the north where the german capital and chief productive centers are found germanys germanas Germ anys leading industrial areas lie along or near the rhine and oder rivers the ruhr concentration of mines and factories turning out iron arid and steel chemicals and synthetic oil covers a broad region straddling the ruhr river a tributary of the lower rhine the district is west of central sections of the big river but connected with it by several streams the area in the southeast corner of germany lies on both sides of the upper oder during the war it was developed as an arsenal ranking after the ruhr in essential production with their convenient location and length the rhine and oder were especially valuable as traffic lanes for nazi shipping set along the rhine are such important river ports and industrial centers as karlsruhe mainz cologne and duis burg in the adjacent ruhr valley dortmund bochum and essen are among leading heavy industry names along the oder similarly important cities oppeln breslau frankfurt and kustrin were aids to nazi power before the recent russian offensive in this region open country rivers the flat and rolling north german plain largely open country affords little in the way of natural defense except the ems weser and elbe rivers all flowing into the north sea west of the danish peninsula only the oder has baltic sea outlet at stettin on the north sea coast of germany are the nations leading seaports a hamburg on the elbe and bremen on the weser less signify cant emden lies near the estuary of the ems with the big naval base base se of W wilhelmshaven Wilhelm shaven riot far away the kiel canal cuts across the danish german peninsula to the northeast with the kiel base at its terminus all of these seaports like the chief river ports of germany long have been under heavy bombing attacks berlin itself is both an overland and water transport center one hundred miles from the B baltic altic it is on the spree river near that streams unction junction with the havel which in turn flows into the elbe reaching berlin as well as man many y other leading industrial cities the midland canal opened in 1938 unit unites es a vast network of german ri rivers er 1 b by Y a cross country channel th this va and other canals link the rhine and the oder |
