Historically the Rhine has been a defensive position (dating back to the Roman Empire) and forward to [[World War I]] (under the [[Treaty of Versailles]] the land to the east of the Rhine would be occupied by the Allies and was to be left demilitarised by the Germans) and [[World War II]] (where German troops had defensive positions during the battles of Operation Market Garden in September 1944 (also shown the movie and book "A Bridge Too Far")). The Rhine remains the modern border between several countries. | Historically the Rhine has been a defensive position (dating back to the Roman Empire) and forward to [[World War I]] (under the [[Treaty of Versailles]] the land to the east of the Rhine would be occupied by the Allies and was to be left demilitarised by the Germans) and [[World War II]] (where German troops had defensive positions during the battles of Operation Market Garden in September 1944 (also shown the movie and book "A Bridge Too Far")). The Rhine remains the modern border between several countries. |