patton crossing the rhine
U.S. Army personnel cross the Ludendorff Bridge "CROSS THE RHINE WITH DRY FEET COURTESY OF 9TH ARM'D DIV". In 1943 he commanded the U.S. The day dawned with a thick blanket of fog shrouding the crest of the hill. Having reached the Moselle as early as September 5, the 80th Division attempted to gain a foothold on the eastern bank at Pont-a-Mousson. Still, the 137th Infantry Division that same day managed to establish several small bridgeheads on the eastern bank. Occupied Zone in Germany. 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. After the war Eisenhower was appointed Military Governor of the U.S. The comparatively light casualty rate experienced by the first troops across (153rd and 154th Brigades of 51st Highland Division) clearly demonstrated how thorough the preparations had been made. 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. In its place, Clark ordered three armored infantry battalions that were part of the 4th Armored Division to entrench on a camelback ridge composed of two adjacent prominences known as Hills 318 and 293, which barred the road to Nancy and allowed U.S. guns to sweep German positions to the east and south. We are now fairly started on that phase of the campaign which I hope will be the final one. Distinguished Unit Citations: 11. Had I not secured a good bridgehead by that time, I was to stop arguing and assume the mournful role of a defender, Patton said. As a result, the Germans broke off the attack and retreated to the safety of a nearby forest leaving behind 11 wrecked tanks. I know that he carried the BAR and he was in Company A, 359th Infantry Regiment. Charging up the slope after nightfall, the Germans once again seized the crest, forcing the Americans to retreat to the northern slope. 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. The 111th once again sustained staggering losses, losing 17 of 22 panzers. This was the greatest airborne operation of the war. After some confusion as to the location of their target, which was Maj. Gen. Raymond McLains 90th Division of Walkers XX Corps, the Germans regrouped on the evening of September 7 and advanced after midnight in two columns through the village of Briey toward the American position. The reconstituted Fifth Panzer Army was inserted into Blaskowitzs Army Group G between First Army to the north and the Nineteenth Army to the south. 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. Both sides employed heavy guns to shell enemy forces clinging to their respective slopes. McLain issued orders for the nearest infantry regiments to converge on the enemy column. Patton celebrated the victory by stopping on a treadway bridge his men had built and relieving himself into the river. By dawn the Germans had seized the crest of Hill 318. On March 23, 1945, Eisenhower wrote a warm letter to Patton: I have frequently had occasion to state, publicly, my appreciation of the great accomplishments of this Allied force during the past nine months. 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. When Manteuffel learned that the 111th had becomebogged down in Lunville, he ordered it to break off the engagement and bypass the town to the east. 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. Hitler, who had never liked Blaskowitz, sacked him on September 21. Our orders were to get the infantry to the east bank, then push our boat back into the river and let it float downstream., To prevent beached boats from blocking follow-up waves, the engineers were ordered to push as many boats back into the river as possible and then gather up the rest of the engineers who landed and pile into a single boat to return. The Commanders: The Leadership Journeys of George Patton, Bernard Montgomery, and Erwin Rommel. Instead, he commented, They brought up a row of trucks filled with assault boats. The destruction of the 112th Panzer Brigade occurred less than a week after the equally embarrassing debut of the 106th Panzer Brigade on Third Armys northern flank. von Florian Weber; Verffentlicht am 1. Desperate to achieve their objective, the Germans toiled throughout the day to construct strongpoints and establish camouflaged positions on the southern slope to support their attack. 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. ", ww2dbaseAdditional Contribution by Alan Chanter. It was an unusually costly day for the Americans, who lost a dozen Shermans. This article is also part of our extensive collection of articles on the second World War. Crossing the Rhine 24 -31 March 1945: C-47 transport planes release hundreds of paratroops and their supplies over the Rees-Wesel area to the east of the Rhine. 6731 Whittier Avenue, Suite C-100 McLean, VA 22101, Stay up to date with all of our latest news, ww2dbaseThe river on XXX Corps' front was 500 yards across and defended on its eastern bank by the German 8th Parachute Division, in and around the town of Rees. In Germany, US Third Army captured Frankfurt and Wiesbaden and US Seventh Army captured Mannheim. After suffering significant casualties from heavy anti-aircraft fire, the airborne infantry landed and participated in direct combat during daylight to attack the German defenders from both sides. It began with the crossing of the River Rhine in March 1945, with forces fanning out and overrunning all of Western Germany until their final surrender on May 8, 1945. Weeks ahead of his rival, British Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, Patton fought his own higher command structure nearly as hard as he did the Germans, making impolitic comments in public, moving farther and more aggressively than ordered, and even having his troops pose as First Army soldiers in order to steal fuel from that units stores in order to maintain their own advance to the east. Right: Patton famously relieved himself in the Rhine on March24, 1945and made sure he was photographed doing so. Although the 106th Panzer Brigade was led by veterans from the Eastern Front, its crews had received very little training and the brigade suffered from a severe shortage of communications equipment essential to coordinate an assault. events, and resources, Patton in Lorraine: Breaking the Moselle Line. This adventurous expedition, however, was later criticized by Eisenhower as far too daring, and noted that had Eisenhower been there he would never have permitted Churchill to cross the river at that time, just as Eisenhower had fought to stop Churchill from observing the Normandy landings in France. By the end of the day the Germans had lost a dozen Mark IVs and six Panthers. Nevertheless, Knobelsdorff secured permission from Hitler to use the brigade for a quick strike provided he return it to First Army reserve within 48 hours. But his request was denied as by then both sides had shifted the bulk of their resources to the northern sector. Because Knobelsdorff had no better luck than Manteuffel against the Americans, Balck returned control of the offensive back to Manteuffel. Finally, head to Hamm American Cemetery to visit Patton's grave. 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. The US 3rd Army crossed the Rhine River west of Mainz and near Oppenheim just before midnight; the Americans had beaten the British in crossing the river. Pattons triumph of the summer in which Third Army raced across France against light opposition had given way to the hard reality of bitter fighting along the Moselle line. A follow-on series of panzer brigades, numbered above 110, would contain a battalion of Panthers and a battalion of Mark IVs. 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. Abrams received orders from Wood to pivot south toward Arracourt, where he would be in a position to link up with CCB and complete the encirclement of Nancy. His plan called for a narrowing of the front, with two corps abreast and one in reserve. Patton would face significant leadership and tactical challenges in the region in the months following the Arracourt clashes. Site created in November 2000. Scouts from the U.S. 42nd Cavalry Squadron detected a German column approachingfrom the south toward Lunville at 7 am on September 18. When a column of 11 panzers appeared out of the mist that morning, three were immediately knocked out at close range by Shermans belonging to 1st Platoon, Company C, of Abramss 37th Tank Battalion in concealed positions. 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. 1. This article is from the bookPatton: Blood, Guts, and Prayer2012by Michael Keane. His training and experience in cavalry operations and his experience serving with the U.S. tank forces in World War I served as solid preparation for the challenges he would face as a commander when the United States declared war on Japan and Germany in December 1941. That remained the case in the first months of 1945. Taken together, the losses seriously compromised the impending large-scale counterattack that Manteuffel was charged with executing. ww2dbaseAs the Allied forces gathered on the west banks of the Rhine River, it was no longer a matter of surprise. This post is part of our collection of resources on Nazi Germany. Patton had seriously underestimated the Germans ability to recover from setbacks and mount a tenacious defense as the Western Allies neared the German border. Bradley (18931981) took part in the buildup to the July 1944 Normandy landings (Operation Overlord) and was given charge of the U.S. First Army. He engineered the Normandy breakout and was made commander of the Twelfth Army Group. Mrz 2023; . 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. While waiting for fuel to arrive with which to resume his eastward advance, Patton received good news from Bradley on September 4 that he would soon receive reinforcements in the form of Maj. Gen. Wade Haislips XV Corps, which would guard his right flank against German forces retreating up the Rhone Valley. Pattons notion that Third Army could cross the Moselle with ease and cover the 40 miles from the river to the West Wall in a matter of weeks had been shattered by Manteuffels determined, if futile, counterattack in September. The main attack would come from the town of Bures to the south, where Manteuffel had scraped together a battle group composed of 30 tanks and assault guns to capture the camelback. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. A week before the Rhine crossing, Patton had held a press conference in which he delivered a classic performance, mixing the humorous, provocative, and the profane. Great article cannot wait for the rest of the battle, I am trying to find out more about where and in what battle my Dad, Donald Mansfield was shot. Patton began drafting plans for Third Armys advance east toward the Rhine as early as September 14. This was the greatest airborne operation of the war. Out of the fog on September 22, the remaining tanks of the 111th Panzer Brigade punched like a steel fist through CCAs cavalry screen around Juvelize. Pattons rapid advance across France came to an abrupt halt at Metz, due to fuel shortages, deteriorating weather conditions, and increased enemy resistance. XXX Corps. To cover CCBs former position in the line, Baades 35th Infantry Division advanced to a new position west of Chateau-Salins. The Shermans then retreated behind the crest of the ridge and reappeared at another point to finish off the three remaining Panthers. Activated: 15 July 1942. Seventh Army during the Sicilian campaign ( Operation Husky ), and in August 1944 his Third Army became operational in northern France. This article is part of our larger selection of postsabout the George S. Patton. Email Address Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved. Thank you. But there are so few Krauts around there they dont know it yet. Events in the northern sector made it necessary to divert precious fuel and ammunition to British and American units in that sector, which meant that Third Army would have insufficient resources to sustain prolonged offensive action. Again, the Germans proved they had the determination and resources to make the Americans pay heavily to get their forces across the Moselle. Constant shelling from German long-range guns stationed at Fort Driant, an elevated outpost on the west bank of the Moselle, made it impossible for U.S. engineers to lay a bridge at that crossing. Right: U.S. Army Generals Omar Bradley, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and George S. Patton. As expected, the Germans counterattacked at 1 pm on September 13 just as CCA began crossing the bridge. He ordered Knobelsdorff to attack Dagers CCB with the 559th Volksgrenadier Division and the remnants of the 106th Panzer Brigade. Patton's goal was to cross the Rhine, even if not a single bridge was left standing over which to do it. In preparation for his counterattack, Hitler made several key command changes. The type of close-range fighting that day is exemplified by an encounter between an M18 Hellcat of the 704th against a pair of Panther tanks. Even $1 per month will go a long way! US First Army attacked Paderborn, Germany. Still, Walkers XX Corps remained stalled before Metz, even though Eddys XII Corps had advanced well beyond its Moselle bridgeheads. In 1943 he commanded the U.S. To succeed in Lorraine, Patton would have to exercise careful planning, make quick tactical adjustments, and adjust his goals and expectations when the weather failed to cooperate. Balck expanded the fight by committing units from Knobelsdorffs First Army to the battle on September 24. "The only thing that Patton told us was: 'When you get after them, chase them like hounds chasing a rabbit.' Then he said: 'Go to the Rhine and capture a bridge.' We did everything but capture. From there, Third Army would advance along a northeast route of march toward the fortified West Wall. World war to converge on the west banks of the Twelfth Army Group post! 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