Old Blood and Gutss fixation with supply problems and haggling with his superiors over reinforcements had distracted him from the detailed planning necessary to get Third Armys divisions across the Moselle as quickly as possible. The German troops knew that the Allied forces were only taking a short time to gather up strength before the invasion into Germany would commence. He believed that it would leave too long of a left flank vulnerable to German counter offensives. After the completion of the Battle in The Ardennes, Patton and his Army turned to the south and east attacking toward the Rhine. For the Allied high command, the all-out assault across the Rhine was hugely important because crossing the river, the historic boundary of German power in the west, rang the death knell on the lunacy and bestiality of Hitlers Thousand Year Reich. CROSSING THE RHINE After several days of what passed for R&R (Rest & Recreation) in Koblenz, we loaded up and climbed on trucks in the late afternoon of March 24 and moved upstream on the west side of the Rhine to the small town of Boppard. His pleas fell on deaf ears, and he prepared to make do with the untrained and understrength units he had been given. Panzergrenadier formations then swept forward to clear American antitank, machine-gun, and rifle positions. Although the U.S. First Army had already captured an intact bridge over the river at Remagen, there was still a rivalry between Patton and British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery to cross next. (Back in Berlin, Adolf Hitler urged the Wehrmacht to attack the Allied bridgehead at Oppenheim, only to be told that no reserve forces were available to embark on such an operation.) Patton, who actually did not have the orders to cross the river, did so under an extremely low profile: quietly, his troops crossed the river in boats without artillery barrage nor aerial bombardment. Eddy was tasked with locating possible crossing points above and below Nancy, while Walker was instructed to do the same above and below Metz. von Florian Weber; Verffentlicht am 1. A spearhead of the 317th Infantry Regiment crossed the river in boats, but the following morning they were bombarded by German artillery and mortars, which forced them into their foxholes. US-Armee unter General George S. Patton (1885-1945) die Stadt Nierstein am Rhein. The flames were transparent orange, rising with startling swiftness. ww2dbaseFurther to the south, General Patch's Seventh Army crossed the Rhine River on the same day the Remagen contingent marched forward. The Commanders: The Leadership Journeys of George Patton, Bernard Montgomery, and Erwin Rommel. In preparation for his counterattack, Hitler made several key command changes. It was significant to the Allies because it offered a gateway between the Ardennes and Vosges Mountains, through which Allied forces might reach Germany. For inquiries about military records for members of the World War II armed forces, please see our FAQ. Luttwitz and Krueger received their orders two days before the start date. But Pattons dash ground to a halt shortly after it crossed the Meuse. March 22, 1945 On this date in 1945, one day before the British 21st Army Group under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery was due to launch Operation Plunder, the long-awaited northern offensive across the Rhine River at Rees and Wesel in North Rhine-Westphalia, Gen. George S. Patton sneaked a division of his U.S. Third Army across the Rhine at Oppenheim, lower on the river and south of Mainz. Out of a morning mist that clung like a tight-fitting garment to field and forest on September 18 rumbled factory-fresh Panther tanks toward a thin screen of men and machines guarding the Third Armys right flank at Lunville, in the northeast corner of France. To the north, German infantry launched a determined attack to seize Hill 265, but they could not prevail against entrenched forces with a clear advantage in artillery support. A heavy artillery barrage preceded an attack near Chateau-Salins by two regiments supported by tanks across flat ground against U.S. forces in defensive positions on a long ridge. Patton spent so much time cajoling Bradley for permission to continue his advance east and additional reinforcements that he was seemingly oblivious to the stiffening enemy resistance and to evidence that the Germans were amassing substantial reinforcements in the Nancy sector. At Nierstein assault troops did not meet any resistance. The shift in plans resulted in an ominous quiet on the front lines that day and led to speculation as to whether the Germans had finally quit their offensive. HistoryOnTheNet 2000-2019. Meanwhile, US Third Army reached Siegen, Germany. The historic city of Metz included an extensive system of man-made fortifications from previous wars. Montgomery was supposed to make the next crossing in a complex operation utilizing ground and airborne troops. At daybreak, the 358th Infantry Regiment attacked the column with a wide range of antitank weapons including bazookas, 3-inch guns, and 105 mm howitzers. With the vise tightening on Nancy, Blaskowitz ordered the 553rd Volksgrenadier Division to pull out of the Nancy pocket before it was cut off. It controlled the majority of American forces on the Western Front in 1944 and 1945: the U.S. First Army under Gen. Courtney H. Hodges, the Third Army under Gen. George S. Patton, the Ninth Army under Gen. William H. Simpson, and the Fifteenth Army under Gen. Leonard T. Gerow. Another 2,153 fighters supported the ground operations. Two days earlier, Patton had told Maj. Gen. Manton Eddy that his XII Corps would lead the way. Having raced 400 miles from the hedgerows of Normandy to the forested banks of the Moselle River in less than one months time, Lt. Gen. George S. Pattons troops had fought desperately to secure bridgeheads in the Lorraine region from an enemy that had at last turned like a cornered animal and bared its fangs. Patton's troops beat Montgomery across the Rhine by one day. Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? In late March 1945, Gen. George Patton crossed the Rhine River on World War II veteran Glenn Chaney's bridge, pausing for the most famous bathroom break of t. The media and public back home were outraged that a general would treat an enlisted man in such a manner. By the end of the day the Germans had lost a dozen Mark IVs and six Panthers. Brad, for Gods sake tell the world were across. Until now, I cant find a webpage, book or other source for an . This had elements of the 6th and 7th Parachute Divisions on their flanks and, to their rear in reserve, the 15th and 116th Panzer Divisions. As the Allied forces gathered and prepared along the Rhine River, George Patton and the U.S. 5 th Division were quietly carrying . To descend the ridge and maneuver against the Panthers would have exposed the Shermans to the Panthers highly effective guns. The fight that began that morning touched off an 11-day running tank battle that raged across the hills of southern Lorraine and tested the resourcefulness of two of World War IIs most gifted practitioners of the art of mobile warfare. This operation to cross the northern Rhine River launched in the night of 23 Mar 1945. Most of CCA had shifted north to prepare for an advance east in the direction of the West Wall, leaving artillery and other support units at Arracourt. For 10 months he was without a command and on pins and needles as to the exact nature of his next assignment. This dramatic entrance to the battle by CCA caught the Germans off guard and paid large dividends. In little more than a months time, Patton, together with his archrival British General Bernard L. Montgomery, commanding the British Eighth Army, liberated the strategic island from Axis control. For Gods sake, send some gasoline.. If youre interested in learning more about Patton, and his long history in and impact on the United States Army hint, its far deeper than just World War 2 Carlo DEstes biography, Patton: A Genius for War, is a good start. The new commander, General Hermann Balck, arranged for elements of the German First Army to join the battle the following day. As a result, the 112th Panzer Brigade lost 69 of its 90 tanks. The turning point in the battle came when a U.S. artillery observer directed more than 300 howitzer rounds onto a German column lined up on a sunken road in preparation for an assault on the village of Mairy. Luttwitzs 47th Panzer Corps, constituting the left flank, consisted of the understrength 21st Panzer Division, the untested but intact 111th Panzer Brigade, and the remnants of the 112th Panzer Brigade. Ive been looking forward to this for a long time, Patton said as he unzipped his fly and urinated into the river while an Army photographer recorded the moment for posterity. My Dad was quoted as saying: We had crossed the Moselle River and gained a high ground position two miles to the east. As US Third Army made another Rhine River crossing near Worms, Germany, British Second Army and Canadian First Army launched their assaults across the Rhine River north of the Ruhr River. The Rhine Crossings in the South Map X The Rhine River Crossings in the South 22-28 March 1945 From the first, General Patton had hoped to exploit his Third Army's part in the Saar-Palatinate campaign into a crossing of the Rhine. Although a bridge had been captured some weeks before at Remagen, and a bridge-head tenuously held, this was to be the first river assault crossing of this famous stream since . His commanding general Omar Bradley, who issued the order for him not to cross to avoid interfering with Bernard Montgomery's operations, did not know of the crossing until the next morning. By that evening, the Germans had discovered Pattons forces, and perhaps more important, Pattons British rival, Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery, was preparing to cross the Rhine as well. The crossing would be difficult with German mortar and artillery guns already trained at river crossings. C. Peter Chen of Lava Development, LLC. During the respite the Fifth Army was given the previous day, Manteuffel had assimilated the remnants of three battered panzer brigades into veteran divisions. But his cajoling paid off, as Bradley had been working hard to ensure that Haislips XV Corps, which had been helping to clear the lower Seine of German forces, would join Third Army on its southern flank. Although his unit was spearheading the attack toward the river, he assumed there would be a pause to get organized for the crossing. You mean across the Rhine? Sure am, Patton replied, I sneaked a division over last night. The events on the French front in World War II during September 1944, specifically Patton's inability to progress beyond the Metz fortress complex and, most importantly, the failure of British General Bernard Montgomery's attempted Rhine crossing in Operation Market Garden, would appear as evidence that such hopes of lightning victories . Control of the crest of Hill 318 shifted back and forth on September 28. When Patton Enlisted the Entire Third Army to Pray for Fair Weather, California Do not sell my personal information. The American tank crews also benefited from a hydraulic turret that allowed them to swing into firing position faster than the Germans slower hand-cranked traverse. Altogether, the 106th Panzer Brigade lost 30 tanks and 60 halftracks, which greatly reduced the role it would play in subsequent operations. German scouts reported to the Fifth Army commander that the crossroads of Moyenvic, four miles northeast of Arracourt and three miles west of Juvelize, was unguarded and could readily serve as the gateway for an attack. Patton similarly arose, clutching two handfuls of German earth in his fingers, and exclaimed, Thus, William the Conqueror!That evening Patton sent a communiqu to General Eisenhower: Dear SHAEF [Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force], I have just pissed into the Rhine River. The eastern thrust of the 113th Panzer Brigades attack that day was aimed at Companies C and D of the 37th Tank Battalion guarding the eastern and southern approaches to Arracourt. Photo Credit: Men of the U.S. 5th Infantry Division hug the walls in one of the suburbs of Metz in early September 1944. Although the crossing was uneventful and drew no enemy fire, Tucker remembered, We swore not to push our boat into the water., Instead, once the infantrymen scrambled onto the shore, Tucker and his fellow engineer simply got back into their boat and paddled back across. Though Gen. Patton had the blessing of Twelfth Army Group head Gen. Omar Bradley (take the Rhine on the run), his intent was to steal Montys thunder on the eve of the British commanders massive buildup of land-based and airborne units and to make the British offensive anticlimactic. In addition, he ordered the creation of 10 new panzer brigades, numbered 101 to 110, each of which would boast a battalion of approximately 45 Panther tanks. This post is part of our collection of resources on Nazi Germany. Whats more, his decision to advance on a broad front ran contrary to the general understanding that it was necessary to concentrate forces to create a sizable breach worthy of exploiting in the enemys main line. In the first day alone, CCAs vanguard had advanced nearly 20 miles and destroyed a dozen enemy tanks and 85 half-tracks and captured 350 prisoners. This kind of came as a surprise, but everything was so well prepared for us, recalled Tucker. Most of the forces opposite Pattons Third Army belonged to the German First Army, which was part of General-Colonel Johannes Blaskowitzs Army Group G. Hitler planned to increase the forces opposite Patton to the point that they would be capable of launching a strong counterattack that would rock Third Army back on its heels. Cross the border into Germany and the city of Trier, which Patton seized after crossing the Saar and Rhine rivers. World War Two Timeline From The Great War To Germanys Surrender. The Germans did not intended to give up either without a fight. News of the crossing made it around the world. Please refrain from using strong language. Meanwhile, the main attack that morning by the Germans against the 51st Armored Infantry Battalion of Dagers CCB occupying the camelback was broken up by the concentrated fire of six artillery battalions. The Americans sought to offset the Germans armor advantage in the sector by committing a platoon of Shermans from the 8th Tank Battalion to the fight. Unlike Patton, Churchill forbade photographs of the occasion. Distinguished Unit Citations: 11. After the war Eisenhower was appointed Military Governor of the U.S. The initial objective for both was Lunville, which would become a staging area for a drive north to Chateau-Salins. Operation Plunder landed over 16,000 British and American troops across the Rhine River region, allowing link ups with advancing British 21st Army Group's 4 bridgeheads. The Germans gained considerable ground on the morning of September 25, but the attack ground to a halt when the Germans were unable to dislodge CCA units from high ground northeast of Arracourt. TeachingAmericanHistory.org is a project of the Ashbrook Center at Ashland University, 401 College Avenue, Ashland, Ohio 44805 PHONE (419) 289-5411 TOLL FREE (877) 289-5411 EMAIL [emailprotected]. When he reached the other side of the river, Patton pretended to stumble, imitating William the Conqueror, who famously fell on his face when landing in England but transformed the bad omen into a propitious one by leaping to his feet with a handful of English soil, claiming it portended his complete possession of the country. Patton would be promoted to General (four stars) in April, 1945, after his troops liberated some of the worst concentration camps in Germany, and was fighting toward the Czech border by the time VE Day was declared on 8 May 1945. They did a lot of grumbling.. Meanwhile, US Third Army captured Aschaffenburg, Germany, 40 kilometers to the southeast. This article is from the bookPatton: Blood, Guts, and Prayer2012by Michael Keane. We began to cautiously filter down through the moonlit streets toward the shingled beach. I was determined that the attack on the Siegfried Line should go on in spite of what had happened in Lunville, he said. Like his counterpart, Balck was loath to go on the defensive but found he had no choice. ww2dbaseDwight Eisenhower expected the German troops, some elite including soldiers of the First Paratroop Army, would be prepared for such an invasion in the northern Ruhr area. Ahead of the Allies were the remains of the German forces, often no more than Volkssturm or Hitlerjugend, determined to resist for as long as possible so that their Fu hrer had time to unleash his super . The Rhine itself was symbolic of the entrance into Germany from Western Europe and had historically stood as a natural barrier against invasion. Rather than give command of the U.S. First Army in the D-Day invasion to Old Blood and Guts, Ike gave it to Lt. Gen. Omar Bradley, a commander who had served directly under Patton in North Africa and Sicily. Click here for our comprehensive information resource on the society, ideology, and key events in Nazi Germany. Left: Keeping a low profile, soldiers of the U.S. Third Armys 89th Infantry Division cross the Rhine in assault boats under intense German fire, March1945. Germany. U.S. Army personnel cross the Ludendorff Bridge "CROSS THE RHINE WITH DRY FEET COURTESY OF 9TH ARM'D DIV". Beyond the German front lines, US aircraft harassed retreating German columns, destroying 246 trucks and 241 railway wagons. On 26 Mar 1945, these troops marched southward toward Patton's troops. Dwight Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe
That same day Third Army received about 240,000 gallons of fuel, which was sufficient to resume its advance the following day. Indeed, the advance of Haislips XV Corps prevented German forces from assembling for their attack on the west bank of the Moselle, where they might cut off the forces on the east bank. Love him or hate him, Patton cuts a singular figure in military history, and left a long, complicated legacy for historians, soldiers, and history buffs to consider. DEste begins with Pattons early life and family and moves through his decades at a pace that makes this long book seem far shorter. To order this book, please visit its online sales page atAmazonorBarnes & Noble. A follow-on series of panzer brigades, numbered above 110, would contain a battalion of Panthers and a battalion of Mark IVs. The Germans attacked along the entire line on September 29, and Wietersheim committed his final reserve of 40 tanks to the fight for Hill 318. Although ordered to avoid German forces concentrated at Chateau-Salins, Abrams nevertheless overtook an armored column from the 15th Panzergrenadier Division and, in another stunning attack, captured or destroyed 26 armored vehicles and took 400 prisoners. In 1943 he commanded the U.S. Balck expanded the fight by committing units from Knobelsdorffs First Army to the battle on September 24. He was confident that Eddys 35th Division, with close support of the 4th Armored, could achieve a breach and hold it open to allow Third Armys armored divisions to punch through the wall. This was the first crossing of the Rhine River by boat by an invading army since Napoleon Bonaparte. Patton's goal was to cross the Rhine, even if not a single bridge was left standing over which to do it. But the Americans stood their ground. Right: U.S. Army Generals Omar Bradley, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and George S. Patton. Within three days Patton's troops were rapidly approaching Frankfurt, Germany, capturing bridges in tact as the German defenses began to fall apart. Meanwhile, US Third Army captured Ludwigshafen and Speyer, Germany. The delay would prove a costly one. By dawn the Germans had seized the crest of Hill 318. Look for the Monument Patton and stop by the General Patton Memorial Museum. He received the Bronze Star and was shot on or about 28 September, 1944. A severe shortage of fuel in the early days of September slowed Third Armys advance to a crawl, giving the Germans time to rush reinforcements from as far away as Italy to cover thinly defended sectors. To the right side of the center banner WORLD WAR II 75th ANNIVERSARY is Patton in a B-3 Bomber jacket and his name, GEN. GEORGE S. PATTON JR. Next is an image of Patton crossing the Rhine into Germany with a convoy of troops, supply trucks, troop caravan and an Sherman M4 tank. That evening Manteuffel made substantial adjustments to the German plan of attack. Total losses for the day were five Shermans and more than 40 Panther and Mark IV tanks. The 111th and 113th Panzer Brigades boasted two tank battalions, one of 45 Panthers and the other of 45 Mark IVs. Subsequently VIII Corps made two additional crossings downstream, to the south of Koblenz. The Germans failed to reconnoiter enemy positions, and their replacement tank crews were no match for Leclercs veteran troops. By the end of the day on September 22, the 111th Panzer Brigade had only seven tanks from an original strength of 90 when the offensive started a week before. Patton drove to the XII Corps front on September 19, where he met first with Eddy and later with Wood. Further south, where the river was narrower, Patton's Third Army vaulted the Rhine with its customary elan, as did Devers' Sixth Army Group. Gen. Holmes Dagers Combat Command B (CCB) to assist the 35th Infantry Division south of Nancy, and Colonel Bruce Clarks Combat Command A (CCA) to be held in reserve to exploit whichever crossing offered the most promise for a rapid breakout. While we were digging in for the night, the Jerries sent over a heavy artillery barrage. Both corps commanders had received intelligence reports that two Panzergrenadier divisions, the 3rd and 17th, were prepared to contest the crossing, and that they would likely be reinforced by surviving elements of the 21st Panzer and Panzer Lehr Divisions. Once it captured the section of the West Wall protecting the Saar factories, Third Armys next objective would be to cross the Rhine and seize Frankfurt. Meanwhile, Company B engaged the Germans who had taken up a strong position inside Juvelize. CROSSING THE RHINE. Although Heckers division was at nearly full strength, Rodts had been depleted as a result of nearly a year of hard fighting. Major General Clarence Huebner's V Corps made rapid advances with relative ease. Eddy planned to isolate Nancy in a double envelopment. So dont make any announcementwell keep it a secret until we see how it goes.. The 134th Infantry Regiment was ordered to cross on the left below Nancy, and the 137th Infantry Regiment on the right. On September 6, he sacked First Army commander General der Infanterie Kurt Chevallerie in favor of General der Panzertruppen Otto Knobelsdorff, who would lead German forces covering the line from Sedan to Nancy.