British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill was present at Field Marshal Montgomery′s headquarters near
Venlo on the eve of
Plunder (23 March). Subsequently, Churchill and Montgomery watched the
Varsity air landings on 24 March.
The next day, 25 March, Churchill and Montgomery visited General
Dwight D. Eisenhower′s headquarters. After lunch and a briefing, the party went to a sandbagged house overlooking the Rhine and a quiet, undefended stretch of the German-held riverbank. After Eisenhower′s departure, Churchill, Montgomery, and a party of U.S. commanders and armed guards commandeered a river launch and landed for 30 minutes in enemy territory, without challenge. They next visited the destroyed railway bridge at Wesel, departing when German artillery appeared to target them.