"The pause that refreshes." The general told the troops around him. Since the days of the Roman Empire it has served as central Germany's traditional defense against invasion from the west. Some 22,000 tons of assault bridging had to be brought forward, including 25,000 wooden pontoons, 2,000 assault boats, 650 Storm boats, 120 River tugs, 80 miles of balloon cable and 260 miles of steel wire rope. Despite the ferocity of the attack, the cavalry held on for four hours before it finally withdrew into the town. Lava's technical capabilities. Geplant war eine Flussberquerung, die nach dem Willen des Oberkommandierenden berraschend, schnell und spektakulr werden sollte. 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. So dont make any announcementwell keep it a secret until we see how it goes.. 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. Because Haislips corps threatened his left flank, a substantial part of Luttwitzs corps was directed to take up a defensive stance. Eisenhower issued orders in late August to all of his top commanders outlining a two-pronged offensive against western Germany in which the principal targets were the Ruhr and Saar industrial areas. 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 . 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. site is two fold. Altogether, the 106th Panzer Brigade lost 30 tanks and 60 halftracks, which greatly reduced the role it would play in subsequent operations. Mrz 2023; . 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. The Germans, in an effort to regroup, turned southwest to escape the ambush. With their high-velocity guns, the Panthers easily knocked out the Yanks vehicles. He announced that the Third Army would shortly capture its 230,000th prisoner of war. Balck requested that Rundstedt provide Army Group G with three fresh divisions and 80 additional tanks and assault guns to continue the fight. Patton's troops beat Montgomery across the Rhine by one day. 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. For Gods sake send some gasoline. Neither a patient nor defensive-minded commander, Patton seems not to have hindered his promotion to the temporary rank of four-star general in April by acting or remarking as he did. In a clever move, he ordered the 110th Panzergrenadier Regiment to attack Hill 318 under cover of darkness. Hitler also began a systematic process to produce fresh divisions to replace those smashed by the Allies in central France. 140 kilometers to the north, British Second Army captured Wesel, Germany. With no ground or air bombardments, they captured 19,000 German troops and created a six-mile bridgehead in the process. 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. It was an unusually costly day for the Americans, who lost a dozen Shermans. His high hopes for a rapid advance to the West Wall would be dashed as heavy rains over the next two months restricted Third Armys tank columns to primary roads and sharply curtailed tactical air support. Despite efforts to rush fuel to the frontline units, the Allies were still receiving their fuel from supply dumps in Normandy. The Panzergrenadiers methodically fought their way up the southern slope, clearing Americans from their foxholes. Frankfort was captured by Allied troops on 29 Mar. On 26 Mar 1945, these troops marched southward toward Patton's troops. All rights reserved. First Armys center, which was anchored at Metz, was the responsibility of SS General-Lieutenant Herman Priess, commanding the 13th SS Corps, while First Armys left wing at Nancy was entrusted to General der Panzertruppen Heinrich Freiherr von Luttwitz, commanding the 47th Panzer Corps. The Hellcats bought precious time for Companies A and B of the 37th Tank Battalion to rumble north from Lezey toward the battlefront. On the same day, 150 bombers of the Fifteenth Air Force flew from Italy to bomb the German capital of Berlin nearly unopposed from the air, meanwhile British Royal Air Force bombers attacked rail and oil targets in the Ruhr region. This meant that two columns of tanks and half-tracks from the 113th would have to carry the objective themselves. Patton immediately issued orders to Eddy and Walker to proceed with reconnaissance-in-force missions to determine the best points at which to cross the Moselle. The crossing was led by a heavy artillery shelling and supplemented by an airborne operation (Operation Varsity) by the American 17th Airborne Division and the British 6th Airborne Division. Gen. Otto Weylands XIX Tactical Air Command. Units of the Canadian First Army, British Second Army, and the U.S. This article is from the bookPatton: Blood, Guts, and Prayer2012by Michael Keane. But where he crossed the Main? 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. At Nierstein assault troops did not meet any resistance. To compensate for a reduction in forces, the main objective was switched to a strike toward Nancy to relieve those elements of the 553rd Volksgrenadier still fighting their way out of the tightening pocket. British sappers built another Rhine bridge, "Westminster". Two days earlier, Patton had told Maj. Gen. Manton Eddy that his XII Corps would lead the way. 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. The Crossing of the Rhine River. Brian Horrocks, Corps Commander (Magnum Books, 1977). The 111th and 113th Panzer Brigades boasted two tank battalions, one of 45 Panthers and the other of 45 Mark IVs. CROSSING THE RHINE. The news came as a hard blow to Patton, whose spirits had been riding high with the prospect of pushing through the West Wall to the Rhine. events, and resources. At Toul, where a great bend in the Moselle channeled the Moselle away from Nancy, the Germans were content to allow McBrides 319th Infantry Regiment to cross unopposed on September 5. He sent one regiment from Maj. Gen. Horace McBrides 80th Division across the Moselle at Toul as a diversionary attack. The strike destroyed five Panthers and 20 half-tracks. Meanwhile, the western thrust of the 113th Panzer Brigade that morning ran headlong into a platoon of four Hellcats from the 704th TD Battalion, which had been informed of an attack that morning and taken a defensive position in a depression in the landscape. Following the disaster at the Falaise Gap in August, where the Germans suffered 300,000 casualties, resistance had been light as the surviving German units raced east toward better defensive ground in the Ardennes and Alsace-Lorraine regions. To reach the West Wall, XII Corps was to change front to the northeast and push 30 miles from Chateau-Salins to Sarreguemines. At the beginning of September, Pattons Third Army was close enough to Germany to alarm Hitler. Wietersheim ordered the battle group to break off its attack until the following day so that reinforcements could be sent to Bures. They rose through the branches of the trees to a height of 60 feet. Until sufficient forces were gathered for the counterattack, the frontline troops were ordered to defend as many crossing points along the Moselle as possible between Nancy and Metz. The publicity was not for meGod knows Ive got enoughI could go to heaven and St. Peter would recognize me right awaybut it is for the officers and the men. Patton then complained that the Marines go to town by reporting the number [of their men] killed, I always try to fight without getting [our] people killed.. 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. Pattons troops beat Montgomery across the Rhine by one day. That same day Third Army received about 240,000 gallons of fuel, which was sufficient to resume its advance the following day. Lieutenant-General Brian Horrocks of XXX Corps commented later that, although they heard stories of German soldiers surrendering in their thousands at other places, the German troops encountered in XXX Corps' area were extremely fanatical in defence of their homeland. . This was the greatest airborne operation of the war. The 112th Panzer Brigade decimated by the clash at Dompaire, had only two dozen serviceable tanks. It was really a simple thing, just like basic training., Tucker and another engineer packed themselves into one of the first boats with the infantry. The Shermans therefore attempted to use the ridge for cover and engage the Panthers head-on, with disappointing results. The German armored column continued south, hoping to stampede the American soldiers into abandoning their positions. This was the first crossing of the Rhine River by boat by an invading army since Napoleon Bonaparte. This post is part of our collection of resources on Nazi Germany. During the fighting around Juvelize, the Americans lost 14 Shermans and 7 Stuarts. He wanted a quick, spectacular crossing that would produce newspaper headlines in the manner of But the main attacks were made by the bulk of the 80th Division north of Nancy, and by Maj. Gen. Paul Baades 35th Infantry Division south of the city. Days of Combat: 91. Day 6. Email Address Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved. This I felt was particularly true against the Germans, because as long as you attack them, they cannot find the time to plan how to attack you, Patton said. Meanwhile, US Third Army captured Aschaffenburg, Germany, 40 kilometers to the southeast. ww2dbaseTo cross the Rhine presented the Royal Engineer with many highly technical problems, but experiments and preparations for just such a task had been carried out on the River Ouse, near Goole, since 1943, and orders for specialised equipment needed had been placed with the Ministry of Supply in good time. Throughout the night of 23 Mar and the next day, 80,000 British and Canadian troops crossed the 20-mile stretch of the river. . 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. Haislips Corps threatened his left flank, a substantial part of Luttwitzs Corps was directed to take up defensive. Left flank, a substantial part of Luttwitzs Corps was directed to take up a defensive.! Berraschend, schnell und spektakulr werden sollte Hill 318 under cover of.... Reconnaissance-In-Force missions to determine the best points at which to cross the Moselle as early as 5! 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patton crossing the rhine