Editing Roer (section)

==History==
During the [[Middle Ages]] the valley of the Roer lay mostly within the [[Duchy of Jülich]]. In 1795,  until 1814, during which time the area was part of [[French First Republic|the French Republic]] and [[First French Empire|Empire]], it gave its name to the French ''[[département]]'' of the [[Roer (department)|Roer]].

The Roer represented an important front in the Allied push towards Germany at the end of the [[Second World War]]. A fortified area known as the '''Roer Triangle''', formed by the towns of [[Roermond]] and [[Sittard]],  in the [[Netherlands]], and [[Heinsberg]] in [[Germany]], was the scene of heavy fighting at the beginning of 1945.

[[Operation Blackcock]] was the code name for the clearing of the Roer Triangle. It was conducted by the [[British Second Army|2nd British Army]] between 14 and 26 January 1945. The objective was to drive the [[15th Army (Wehrmacht)|German 15th Army]] back across the Rivers Roer and [[Wurm (Rur)|Wurm]] and move the frontline further into Germany. The operation was carried out under command of the XII Corps by three divisions. The operation is relatively unknown despite the sometimes fierce battles that were fought for each and every village and hamlet within the "Roer Triangle".

Between 16 December 1944 and 23 February 1945, the [[U.S. Ninth Army]] was unable to advance across the Roer during [[Operation Queen]], because German forces controlled dams close to the river's source in the densely forested region of the Hohes Venn.  This meant Axis forces could potentially blow the dams, releasing enough water to wash out an Allied assault.  At the same time, the German  [[Ardennes Offensive]] meant any further westward push would leave Allied forces stretched and supply lines exposed. Eventually the counteroffensive was overwhelmed and German engineers, under pressure of aerial and artillery bombardment, released the dams.  As the flood waters began to subside, Allied forces crossed the Rur in rafts in the early hours of February 23, 1945, as part of [[Operation Grenade]].

<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
Image:Rur zwischen Monschau und Dedenborn 30-01-2005.jpg|The Roer between Monschau and Dedenborn during winter
File:Rur stream and the High Fens along the RAVeL L48 in Bütgenbach, Belgium (DSCF5836).jpg|The Roer in the High Fens
</gallery>