By March of 1945 the U.S., Canadian, and British forces had done serious damage to the Nazi army. With barely any line of defense left the Nazi's began to retreat across the Rhine. As they crossed the river they attempted to blow up all the bridges. On March 3rd 1945, the U.S. 9th and Canadian 1st officially teamed in a fight along the West bank that would later lead to the Battle of Remagen.