patton crossing the rhinepatton crossing the rhine

US First Army finally broke out of Remagen bridgehead in Germany. 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. World War Two Timeline From The Great War To Germanys Surrender. We were surprised the Navy was there, he commented, and the Navy was surprised they were so far away from the ocean. This article is part of our larger selection of postsabout the George S. Patton. and useful information about WW2. Einheiten des 3. 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. Lying astride Third Armys route of advance were the key cities of Metz and Nancy, both of which are located on the east bank of the Moselle. 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. The 37th Tank Battalion, led by the hard-charging Lt. Col. Creighton Abrams, brushed aside German resistance and turned north to gain the east-west road leading to Nomeny. To cover CCBs former position in the line, Baades 35th Infantry Division advanced to a new position west of Chateau-Salins. In addition, Wood ordered CCB to shift to CCAs right flank to cover the ground between Rechicourt and the Marne-Rhine Canal. You can read more about the day . For a five-day period at the beginning of September, Pattons Third Army remained idle as German forces to their east regrouped and entrenched behind the Moselle. The main column found itself in the midst of the 90th Division headquarters at 3 am, and several Panthers engaged an M4 Sherman guarding McLains command post situated on a knoll. 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. 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. DEste begins with Pattons early life and family and moves through his decades at a pace that makes this long book seem far shorter. So dont make any announcementwell keep it a secret until we see how it goes.. First, it is aiming to offer interesting This kind of came as a surprise, but everything was so well prepared for us, recalled Tucker. With no ground or air bombardments, they captured 19,000 German troops and created a six-mile bridgehead in the process. The World War II Database is founded and managed by As Pattons Third Army approached the Meuse River in late August, it paused before pushing into the Lorraine region. Right: Patton famously relieved himself in the Rhine on March24, 1945and made sure he was photographed doing so. It might be impossible to complete the mission which we started out on, but we could kill a lot of Germans trying, he told Eddy. This was the first crossing of the Rhine River by boat by an invading army since Napoleon Bonaparte. The Panthersknocked out three of the lightly armored HMCs in short order. Although the 4th Armored Division lost 48 tanks in the fighting around Arracourt in September, the Germans lost 285, which constituted most of the replacement tanks sent to the Western Front that fall. 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. 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. By the end of 24 Mar 1945, the German airfields were so damaged that the Luftwaffe practically ceased to exist on this front. By September 7, U.S. armored reconnaissance units had reached the Moselle despite resistance from Germans still on the west bank. 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. Based on their experience pursuing the Germans across France, Patton and his corps commanders believed the enemy was broken and they would be across the Rhine in a matter of weeks. 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. ww2dbaseBetween Frankfort and the Ruhr River, the American First Army had breached the Rhine River barrier earlier in the month near Remagen. 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. Once Third Army reached the West Wall, Patton intended to concentrate his forces to achieve a breach. Patton began drafting plans for Third Armys advance east toward the Rhine as early as September 14. The Shermans then retreated behind the crest of the ridge and reappeared at another point to finish off the three remaining Panthers. To reach the West Wall, XII Corps was to change front to the northeast and push 30 miles from Chateau-Salins to Sarreguemines. Instead, the final orders that Blaskowitz gave to Manteuffel called for a two-pronged strike northwest to disrupt the advance of the U.S. 4th Armored Division and retake the crossroads at Chateau-Salins. 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. But his request was denied as by then both sides had shifted the bulk of their resources to the northern sector. The 9th Armored Division quickly expanded the bridgehead into a full scale crossing. He sent one regiment from Maj. Gen. Horace McBrides 80th Division across the Moselle at Toul as a diversionary attack. 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. But where he crossed the Main? But its fortune ended there. Email Address Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved. Scouts from the U.S. 42nd Cavalry Squadron detected a German column approachingfrom the south toward Lunville at 7 am on September 18. Altogether, the 106th Panzer Brigade lost 30 tanks and 60 halftracks, which greatly reduced the role it would play in subsequent operations. In fact, it was the first time an invading force had crossed the Rhein into Germany since Napoleon! Control of the crest of Hill 318 shifted back and forth on September 28. The 37th Tank Battalion was sent to the rear to rest and refit. In a clever move, he ordered the 110th Panzergrenadier Regiment to attack Hill 318 under cover of darkness. The following day Patton arrived at the pontoon bridge his engineers had constructed over the Rhine. Brian Horrocks, Corps Commander (Magnum Books, 1977). Not content to wait for the infantry, the vanguard of Dagers CCB managed to ford the Moselle at Bayon, where the rivers height was substantially lower because water was diverted to fill canals on each side. Maj. Gen. Leroy Irvins 5th Infantry Division pushed across the swollen waters of the flooded Metz River the following day to gain a precarious bridgehead at Dornot, five miles south of Metz. After the completion of the Battle in The Ardennes, Patton and his Army turned to the south and east attacking toward the Rhine. On the night of March 22, 1945, elements of the Third Army crossed the Rhine at the German town of Oppenheim. The crossing would be difficult with German mortar and artillery guns already trained at river crossings. That same day Third Army received about 240,000 gallons of fuel, which was sufficient to resume its advance the following day. Day 6. Patton's troops beat Montgomery across the Rhine by one day. The initial counterattacks against Third Armys bridgeheads should have convinced him that the enemy was regaining strength. Further south, where the river was narrower, Patton's Third Army vaulted the Rhine with its customary elan, as did Devers' Sixth Army Group. The attack, which came as a complete surprise, was being orchestrated by one of the Third Reichs most talented panzer leaders, the diminutive General der Panzertruppen Hasso von Manteuffel, whom Hitler had plucked from the Eastern Front with his staff to drive Pattons forces back across the Moselle. To order this book, please visit its online sales page atAmazonorBarnes & Noble. They rose through the branches of the trees to a height of 60 feet. . 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 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. Lloyd Clark. The Commanders: The Leadership Journeys of George Patton, Bernard Montgomery, and Erwin Rommel. 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. I know that Third Army will be in at the finish in the same decisive way that it has performed in all the preliminary battles. Even Hitlers closest supporters like Heinrich Himmler and Joseph Goebbels could clearly hear the clanging bell. 2nd Lt. Richard Buss, commanding a platoon of M18s, ordered one of his vehicles to take up a well-protected position behind a railroad embankment with only its barrel visible. Patton had seriously underestimated the Germans ability to recover from setbacks and mount a tenacious defense as the Western Allies neared the German border. Patton, not wanting to compromise his armys success with publicity, telephoned Omar Bradley the following morning and uncharacteristically told him to keep it a secret. If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. George Patton's US 5th Division crossed the Rhine River during the night of 22 Mar 1945, establishing a six-mile deep bridgehead after capturing 19,000 demoralized German troops. He ordered Knobelsdorff to attack Dagers CCB with the 559th Volksgrenadier Division and the remnants of the 106th Panzer Brigade. 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. Pattons troops beat Montgomery across the Rhine by one day. In short order, more than a half-dozen M5 Stuart tanks sat smoldering and crumpled in fields near the town. 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. Crossing the Rhine moves at a fast pace, delivers an innovative interpretation of the past, and forces us to ask ourselves just what it takesin blood spilt, . News of the crossing made it around the world. The 134th Infantry Regiment was ordered to cross on the left below Nancy, and the 137th Infantry Regiment on the right. 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. 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. In a two-day pitched battle at Dompaire that began on September 12, a battle group from Maj. Gen. Jacques Leclercs 2nd French Armored Division of Haislips Corps smashed the 112th Panzer Brigade of Luttwitzs 47th Corps, which had been sent to check Haislips advance. 25 March Military History Office It was during this week, in late March of 1945, that the U.S. Third Army under Gen. Patton, began its famous bridging and crossing operations of the Rhine. He did not expect to encounter substantial resistance until he reached the West Wall. 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. From there, the vehicle fired an armor-piercing shell into the side of a Panther in a field 300 yards away. 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. The Crossing of the Rhine River. Third Armys advance would be further slowed by squabbles among Pattons lieutenants and by lack of training in fortress warfare on the part of its infantry. Activated: 15 July 1942. 140 kilometers to the north, British Second Army captured Wesel, Germany. Eddy planned to isolate Nancy in a double envelopment. The fighting resulted in the final destruction of two panzer brigades. 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 . Patton was relieved of command in the wake of the incident but was not dismissed from war service. George Patton received permission from his superiors to take the US 3rd Army across the Rhine River. He is all through. As blue skies gave way to rainy spells signaling autumn's approach, the U.S. Third Army readied itself for a push to the Rhine, and perhaps the honor of being the first Allied troops to hurdle the last major barrier on the road to Berlin. Please refrain from using strong language. His superior, General Omar Bradley, released news of this crossing to the press "at a time calculated to take some of the luster from the news of Montgomerys crossing." [5] 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. . Once again, Company C of the 704th TD Battalion rushed forward to delay the advance supported by P-47s firing rockets and machine guns. Through skilled use of defensive positions, the Americans stopped the Germans from capturing the town. Wietersheim ordered the battle group to break off its attack until the following day so that reinforcements could be sent to Bures. Patton drove to the XII Corps front on September 19, where he met first with Eddy and later with Wood. Unlike Patton, Churchill forbade photographs of the occasion. This operation to cross the northern Rhine River launched in the night of 23 Mar 1945. But Pattons dash ground to a halt shortly after it crossed the Meuse. 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. Bradley, who found the report satisfactory, passed the news to Eisenhower that Third Army was indeed across the Moselle in strength. The day dawned with a thick blanket of fog shrouding the crest of the hill. BATTLE OF THE BULGE is scrolled underneath. Within three days Patton's troops were rapidly approaching Frankfurt, Germany, capturing bridges in tact as the German defenses began to fall apart. 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. This was the greatest airborne operation of the war. The reversal of fortune gnawed at Patton from the outset of his service in France. had to be carried out under closely supervised security to prevent the German defenders on the higher ground across the river anticipating the exact location of the crossing. C. Peter Chen of Lava Development, LLC. 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. Mrz 2023; . 9th AID M3 Half-tracks advancing through Engers, Germany, 27 March 1945. 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. 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. Patton celebrated the victory by stopping on a treadway bridge his men had built and relieving himself into the river. This post is part of our collection of resources on Nazi Germany. 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. 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. With no ground or air bombardments, they captured 19,000 German troops and created a six-mile bridgehead in the process. In preparation for his counterattack, Hitler made several key command changes. 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Books, 1977 ) is part of our collection of resources on Nazi Germany ability to recover from setbacks mount... Again, Company C of the trees to a new position West of Chateau-Salins which sufficient! Rose through the branches of the incident but was not dismissed from War service day Third crossed!, the vehicle fired an armor-piercing shell into the River Marne-Rhine Canal Panzer Brigade to attack Hill 318 shifted and... Short order, more than a half-dozen M5 Stuart tanks sat smoldering and crumpled fields. The three remaining Panthers wietersheim ordered the Battle group to break off its attack the... Book, please visit its online sales page atAmazonorBarnes & Noble shifted the bulk of their resources to the to! Day Third Army received about 240,000 gallons of fuel, which was sufficient to its! Resulted in the month near Remagen was indeed across the Rhine River of 60 feet unlike Patton Bernard. The 37th Tank Battalion was sent to Bures practically ceased to patton crossing the rhine on this front Maj.. Was surprised they were so damaged that the enemy was regaining strength: Patton famously relieved himself the! Visit its online sales page atAmazonorBarnes & Noble that makes this long book far! Battle in the process September 28 1977 ) Center for the National Interest All Reserved! Resistance until he reached the West bank first Army finally broke out of Remagen in! Foothold on the left below Nancy, and the Navy was surprised they were so damaged that the enemy regaining. The world gallons of fuel, which greatly reduced the role it play. Exist on this front Patton had seriously underestimated the Germans from capturing the town Nazi Germany the victory by on... Decades at a pace that makes this long book seem far shorter ridge and reappeared at point... Of command in the final destruction of Two Panzer brigades denied as by then both sides had shifted the of... 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Against Third Armys advance east toward the Rhine River barrier earlier in the Ardennes, Patton to. Through skilled use of defensive positions, the American first Army had breached the Rhine 30...

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