Last September, while hiking on the Prinzenkopf above Zell on the Mosel, we came across a tiny cemetery where all the gravestones were dated March 1945. There were about two dozen graves, almost all of the dead were quite young, and only a few were the graves of soldiers. Some shared the same family name, so were apparently related. A plaque in German, of which we can read very little, referred to the "Crisis at Zell." I know the Americans crossed the Mosel in mid-March 1945, but I cannot find any information on exactly what happened at Zell. Can anyone shed light on the "Crisis at Zell?" Thanks. Chris
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
From what little I could find, there was a battle at Zell in which American forces captured the Worms airport. According to a veteran of that conflict, within two hours of the airport's capture it was being used as a base for American planes. Today the airport still exists and is used for private planes.
Posted by
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
2779 posts
Chris, I've searched pretty much all of the German part of the web and all I could find is that there was a battle for the Prinzenkopf from March 12th to 17th, 1945. On that cementery you find the dead soldiers of that battle. If the majority of the names are German then you know obvisouly the Americans won that specific battle (as well).