Though they had crossed the Roer, German resistance had not yet broken. German positions continued to offer excellent visibility for artillery fires, and assault guns and dug-in infantry created dangerous strong points that had to be reduced one at the time. In contrast to most operations to date, the 746th and the infantry they supported conducted many of their operations at night in order to avoid German artillery spotters and to surprise the defenders. In their close cooperation with the infantry, the tankers now demonstrated they were an experienced veteran combat unit. The 9th Infantry Division reached the Rhine River by 7 March. Companies A and B, crossed the Rhine with their infantry regiments on the bridge at Remagen on 8 March, and immediately went into action to defend and expand the bridgehead on the east bank of the river. As a result of this action, Company A was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. Company C, supporting the 39th Infantry Regiment in division reserve did not cross until 10 March. Fighting was so intense during this period that two platoons of Company D were broken up to man tanks for the medium tank companies. These crewmen were in turn replaced in Company D with infantry replacements who immediately began training as tankers.