On March 7, 1945, the Americans captured intact a key bridge at Remagen near Cologne. Allied troops began to pour over it in strength and were soon crossing the Rhine at other points. With Montgomery poised in the north and Patton in the south, the Allies were now in a position to drive into Germany and move directly to Berlin. Eisenhower was intent on pursuing the enemy and was not aware of the political significance of Berlin. He decided to head for Leipzig and then concentrate his power on the supposed "national redoubt" in the south, where he expected Hitler to make a last stand. Although U.S. forces reached the Elbe River on April 12 and were only about sixty miles from Berlin, Eisenhower informed Stalin that he was leaving the city to the Soviets. Systematic bombing by Soviet artillery and Allied air power operating from England reduced the German capital to ruins. The Luftwaffe, with its corps of pilots depleted, its airfields destroyed, and no fuel supply, could not protect the city.