From there, the vehicle fired an armor-piercing shell into the side of a Panther in a field 300 yards away. In addition, the Royal Navy provided a team to construct an anti-mine boom upriver to prevent the Germans from floating demolitions down to destroy the bridges after they had been constructed. Unfortunately for the Germans, the 111th Panzer Brigade became lost in unfamiliar countryside and didnt reach the staging area at Bures until late afternoon on the 19th. The pause that refreshes. The general told the troops around him. We are now fairly started on that phase of the campaign which I hope will be the final one. Lava's technical capabilities. News of the crossing made it around the world. Over the next four days, CCA raided the countryside around Arracourt, managing to destroy more enemy tanks and vehicles at a cost of only a half dozen M4 Sherman tanks. Yet Abramss 35th Tank Battalion counterattacked in the afternoon and recaptured the town in a fight that inflicted substantial casualties on the Germans. 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. 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. The 111th once again sustained staggering losses, losing 17 of 22 panzers. 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. 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. 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. To their surprise, they were not opposed by enemy forces. From there, Third Army would advance along a northeast route of march toward the fortified West Wall. Hitler, who reluctantly agreed to a far less ambitious counterattack than initially envisioned, issued orders for the German attack to begin on September 18. Suddenly, I saw the billowing of flames, Buss said. On 22 March, General George S. Patton sent his Third Army across the Rhine, at Nierstein, to form another bridgehead. 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. Opposition was negligible and within 24 hours the entire US 5th Division had crossed the river. Join historians and history buffs alike with our Unlimited Digital Access pass to every military history article ever published (over 3,000 articles) in Sovereigns military history magazines. Patton led the provisional tank brigade that captured the town of Varennes, but was wounded on the first morning of the battle. On March 22nd, 1945, elements of the United States Third Army, under the command of Lieutenant General George S. Patton, crossed the Rhine River at Oppenheim, south of Mainz. 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. Patton arrived in France exactly one month after the D-Day invasion to set up the operational command for Third Army. Hitler also reappointed General Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, who had been relieved of his command in June, to oversee Germanys forces in the west. The Crossing of the Rhine River. ww2dbaseOn 24 Mar, Churchill crossed the Rhine River in an LCM (landing craft, mechanized), setting foot on the eastern bank of the river, symbolizing the crossing of the top British political leader over the traditional border of Germany that no foreign army had crossed in 140 years. 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. Because Haislips corps threatened his left flank, a substantial part of Luttwitzs corps was directed to take up a defensive stance. 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. Mrz 2023; . Third Army, which formed the right wing of Bradleys 12th Army Group, was composed of Maj. Gen. Walton Walkers XX Corps and Eddys XII Corps. It was an unusually costly day for the Americans, who lost a dozen Shermans. Since the days of the Roman Empire it has served as central Germany's traditional defense against invasion from the west. Patton's goal was to cross the Rhine, even if not a single bridge was left standing over which to do it. Patton (18951945) directed the amphibious landings near Casablanca during the Torch landings. When I looked for a second target, it was gone.. Some of the hardest fighting was done by the 704th Tank Destroyer (TD) Battalion. By the time the Third Army had gained a firm foothold on the east bank of the Moselle in mid-September, the masterminds of the German high command had hatched plans for a bold strike to regain the initiative. 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. 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. They did a lot of grumbling.. Dwight Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe Patton (1895-1945) directed the amphibious landings near Casablanca during the Torch landings. News of the crossing made it around the world. 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. On March 24, 1945, Patton approached a newly constructed pontoon bridge over the Rhine that his troops had placed two nights before and a Third Army division had already crossed. and useful information about WW2. Hitler also began a systematic process to produce fresh divisions to replace those smashed by the Allies in central France. National Interest Newsletter. This article is from the bookPatton: Blood, Guts, and Prayer2012by Michael Keane. XXX Corps. 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. Using speed to its advantage, Third Army roared across two bridges over the Meuse River on August 31 before German forces could demolish them and slow the American advance. 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. Brian Horrocks, Corps Commander (Magnum Books, 1977). As a result, Eisenhower ordered him to make a personal apology to the soldier and also to everyone present at the time of the incident. Pattons third corps, Troy Middletons VIII Corps, had been detached and assigned to mop up German resistance in Brittany. At Nierstein assault troops did not meet any resistance. Because Knobelsdorff had no better luck than Manteuffel against the Americans, Balck returned control of the offensive back to Manteuffel. 6731 Whittier Avenue, Suite C-100 McLean, VA 22101, Stay up to date with all of our latest news, 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. 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. Patton had been correct that the Germans possessed no defense in depth immediately after Third Army crossed the Moselle. As Pattons Third Army approached the Meuse River in late August, it paused before pushing into the Lorraine region. Days of Combat: 91. Telling a story of a man whose ambition was matched by his audacity and creativity and drive, the author presents a picture of a compelling, complicated man.Interested in World War II? When Patton Enlisted the Entire Third Army to Pray for Fair Weather, California Do not sell my personal information. Leclerc also benefited from repeated tactical air strikes by P-47 Thunderbolts of Brig. 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 . He did not expect to encounter substantial resistance until he reached the West Wall. 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. The 37th Tank Battalion would get no rest on September 20. Patton would face significant leadership and tactical challenges in the region in the months following the Arracourt clashes. To learn more,click here for our comprehensive guide to General Patton. Click here to see our comprehensive article on World War 2. 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. 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. So dont make any announcementwell keep it a secret until we see how it goes.. Eddy was tasked with locating possible crossing points above and below Nancy, while Walker was instructed to do the same above and below Metz. Through skilled use of defensive positions, the Americans stopped the Germans from capturing the town. WW2DB site administrators reserve the right to moderate, censor, and/or remove any comment. Units of the Canadian First Army, British Second Army, and the U.S. 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. 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. 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. That evening German artillery brought down the bridge, and the 104th Panzergrenadier Regiment attacked with armor support in the dark of night, overrunning the bridgehead. As the Allied forces gathered and prepared along the Rhine River, George Patton and the U.S. 5 th Division were quietly carrying . We figured we had a perfectly good boat. So he decided to imitate William the Conquerors entrance into England before leading Norman forces in their heroic conquest of the entire island in 1066. In addition, Eisenhower and Bradley had decided to transfer Haislips XV Corps to Lt. Gen. Jacob Devers Sixth Army leaving Patton once again with just two corps. 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. Seventh Army in the invasion of Sicily in July 1943. 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. 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. After 48 hours of hard fighting, the bridgehead was abandoned. When the Germans attempted to withdraw, they found their escape route blocked by the 359th Infantry Regiment moving east to cut them off. Look for the Monument Patton and stop by the General Patton Memorial Museum. In 1943 he commanded the U.S. Click here for parts Two and Three. In response to the changing circumstances, Patton issued orders on September 24 for CCA to pull back from Juvelize to Arracourt to lessen its exposure to any subsequent enemy attacks. 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. The German high command also reinforced the Fifth Panzer Army with Gen. Lt. Wend von Wietersheims 11th Panzer Division. The fighting resulted in the final destruction of two panzer brigades. Unlike Manteuffels forces, Knobelsdorffs had artillery with which to support an attack. We were surprised the Navy was there, he commented, and the Navy was surprised they were so far away from the ocean. Hitler, who had never liked Blaskowitz, sacked him on September 21. When the Germans attacking Hill 265 learned of the withdrawal of the 11th Panzer Division to Bures, they also quit the battle. On the night of March 22, 1945, elements of the Third Army crossed the Rhine at the German town of Oppenheim. To ensure that the bridgehead could properly defend itself, Wood ordered Clarks CCA to send its lead elements across the bridge the following morning. Although his unit was spearheading the attack toward the river, he assumed there would be a pause to get organized for the crossing. Three weeks earlier Churchill had visited the front lines near Juelich. ), Patton also requested the help of the press corps in informing the Germans that four of his armored divisions were slashing away at them. But there are so few Krauts around there they dont know it yet. All rights reserved. This article is also part of our extensive collection of articles on the second World War. 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. If Third Army was unable to cross the Moselle by September 14, Bradley told Patton, it would have to go over to the defensive. ww2dbaseTo assist the Engineer the RAF's No.159 Wing was approached to furnish some of the men who operated the balloons to handle the winches that were to be used to haul the ferries and rafts across. 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. The initial counterattacks against Third Armys bridgeheads should have convinced him that the enemy was regaining strength. The new panzer brigades each had a battalion of Panzergrenadiers drawn from the three Panzergrenadier divisions already in Lorraine. The plan focused on Wesel, with multiple crossings set to occur along a 22-mile front on the evening of 23 March. In other words, they had no depth, Patton said. To their credit, the RAF despatched fifty specialist within twelve hours and promised that a further 300 volunteers good be made available if required. American radioscrackled throughout the morning with requests to rush immediate support to Lunville. The 37th Tank Battalion was sent to the rear to rest and refit. The Shermans then retreated behind the crest of the ridge and reappeared at another point to finish off the three remaining Panthers. Despite efforts to rush fuel to the frontline units, the Allies were still receiving their fuel from supply dumps in Normandy. To cover CCBs former position in the line, Baades 35th Infantry Division advanced to a new position west of Chateau-Salins. With the vise tightening on Nancy, Blaskowitz ordered the 553rd Volksgrenadier Division to pull out of the Nancy pocket before it was cut off. 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