The Allies didn’t bomb Heidelberg so the city is intact. Any damage you see, such as the castle, happened in earlier wars with the French.
When the US Army arrived, the city was packed with wounded. German Dr. Eugen Niessen took a delegation to the Americans to request they don’t attack anywhere there was wounded, which was most of the city. The German army then relocated out of the city, the Old Bridge and another one were blown up, and they began shelling the American positions. The Americans didn’t return fire due to the agreement.
Later, a rowboat was found and Niessen was taken under cover of night to cross the river to negotiate a surrender, which eventually succeeded so the city was taken intact and without a fight. The Gestapo ordered all involved with negotiations shot, but by then they had no power to carry out the order.
The Americans would later use the German Army Grossdeutchland Kaserne in the farmland of Rohrbach South of the city as their headquarters, renamed Campbell Barracks.
DBDude
The Allies didn’t bomb Heidelberg so the city is intact. Any damage you see, such as the castle, happened in earlier wars with the French.
When the US Army arrived, the city was packed with wounded. German Dr. Eugen Niessen took a delegation to the Americans to request they don’t attack anywhere there was wounded, which was most of the city. The German army then relocated out of the city, the Old Bridge and another one were blown up, and they began shelling the American positions. The Americans didn’t return fire due to the agreement.
Later, a rowboat was found and Niessen was taken under cover of night to cross the river to negotiate a surrender, which eventually succeeded so the city was taken intact and without a fight. The Gestapo ordered all involved with negotiations shot, but by then they had no power to carry out the order.
The Americans would later use the German Army Grossdeutchland Kaserne in the farmland of Rohrbach South of the city as their headquarters, renamed Campbell Barracks.