As blue skies gave way to rainy spells signaling autumns 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. ww2dbasePrior to crossing the Rhine, the Allied forces were already bombing German airfields to reduce the capability for the Luftwaffe to interfere with the plans. 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. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, Against All Odds: A True Story of Ultimate Courage and Survival in World War II, Forgotten: The Untold Story of D-Day's Black Heroes, at Home and at War, A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II, The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz: A True Story of Family and Survival, Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 19411942 (The Pacific War Trilogy, 1), Facing the Mountain: An Inspiring Story of Japanese American Patriots in World War II, Sons and Soldiers: The Untold Story of the Jews Who Escaped the Nazis and Returned with the U.S. Army to Fight Hitler, Hitler's American Gamble: Pearl Harbor and Germanys March to Global War, The Bedford Boys: One American Town's Ultimate D-day Sacrifice, A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II, The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz, Potsdam: The End of World War II and the Remaking of Europe. Eddy planned to isolate Nancy in a double envelopment. DEste begins with Pattons early life and family and moves through his decades at a pace that makes this long book seem far shorter. 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. 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. So Patton called Bradley again. But Pattons dash ground to a halt shortly after it crossed the Meuse. To descend the ridge and maneuver against the Panthers would have exposed the Shermans to the Panthers highly effective guns. Copyright 20122023 World War II - Day By Day. With that measure of skill, the 704th managed that day to destroy eight Panthers without losing a single tank destroyer. 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. 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. So dont make any announcementwell keep it a secret until we see how it goes.. However, Patton was aware that this would be obvious to the Germans, and therefore he and his staff made rapid plans for another site at Nierstein and Oppenheim, about 12 miles south of Mainz. The crossing would be difficult with German mortar and artillery guns already trained at river crossings. Click here for parts Two and Three. In a widely publicized incident, he slapped and cursed a soldier suffering from battle fatigue in a field hospital in front of staff and patients. Thank you. Throughout the night of 23 Mar and the next day, 80,000 British and Canadian troops crossed the 20-mile stretch of the river. To their credit, the RAF despatched fifty specialist within twelve hours and promised that a further 300 volunteers good be made available if required. Taken together, the losses seriously compromised the impending large-scale counterattack that Manteuffel was charged with executing. The 37th Tank Battalion would get no rest on September 20. Total losses for the day were five Shermans and more than 40 Panther and Mark IV tanks. Patton would now report to Bradley. 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. Patton began drafting plans for Third Armys advance east toward the Rhine as early as September 14. Left: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, in the company of Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery and a party of U.S. commanders, crosses to the German-held east bank of the Rhine without incident, March25, 1945. 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. On 26 Mar 1945, these troops marched southward toward Patton's troops. HTML tags are not allowed. 140 kilometers to the north, British Second Army captured Wesel, Germany. Bradley did not announce this crossing until the night of 23 Mar; Patton had wished the Americans to announce that they had crossed the Rhine River before the British. 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. 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. He is all through. Patton, not wanting to compromise his army's success with publicity, telephoned Omar Bradley the following morning and uncharacteristically told him to keep it a secret. The troops of the French First Army crossed the Rhine River near Philippsburg, Germany on 1 Apr. It was an unusually costly day for the Americans, who lost a dozen Shermans. General der Panzertruppen Walter Kruegers 58th Corps, which formed the right wing, comprised the 15th Panzergrenadier Division and the also untested but intact 113th Panzer Brigade. 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. Equally devastating was the loss of both panzer brigade commanders during the two-day assault on CCAs left flank. This dramatic entrance to the battle by CCA caught the Germans off guard and paid large dividends. Seventh Army in the invasion of Sicily in July 1943. events, and resources. I want the world to know Third Army made it before Monty starts across, he shouted. Because of the heavy losses the Germans had sustained after the Normandy breakout, the Allies enjoyed a substantial advantage over the Germans in equipment, which amounted to a 2-to-1 advantage in artillery and nearly a 20-to-1 advantage in tanks. events, and resources, Patton in Lorraine: Breaking the Moselle Line. Lorraine, situated in northeastern France, consists of a large plateau interspersed with forests, lakes, fields, and towns, through which the upper stretches of the Meuse and Moselle Rivers flow. Opposition was negligible and within 24 hours the entire US 5th Division had crossed the river. 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. The reversal of fortune gnawed at Patton from the outset of his service in France. We were surprised the Navy was there, he commented, and the Navy was surprised they were so far away from the ocean. Following the setback at Pont-a-Mousson, McBride ordered his men to attempt another crossing four miles south at Dieulouard. To order this book, please visit its online sales page atAmazonorBarnes & Noble. The pause that refreshes. The general told the troops around him. But by the time Eddy was ready to resume his advance, Manteuffels Fifth Army had materialized as if out of thin air. . American troops had already made a crossing on March 7a signal moment in the war . This airborne operation was the largest of its kind during the entire war, utilizing 1,625 transports, 1,348 gliders, and 889 escort fighters to deliver over 22,000 airborne infantry into the contested territory. When word reached Clark that morning of another determined attack by the Germans, he ordered the entire combat command to turn back to Arracourt and sweep the area. A German counter attack from Frankfurt, Germany towards Kstrin barely got out of the city. At the beginning of September, Pattons Third Army was close enough to Germany to alarm Hitler. 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. Since the days of the Roman Empire it has served as central Germany's traditional defense against invasion from the west. 6731 Whittier Avenue, Suite C-100 McLean, VA 22101, Stay up to date with all of our latest news, Gen. Otto Weylands XIX Tactical Air Command. News of the crossing made it around the world. 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. Some of the hardest fighting was done by the 704th Tank Destroyer (TD) Battalion. 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. After two days of hard fighting, the two sides braced for more of the same. On the night of March 22, just hours before the official operation began, Patton and his division crossed the Rhine quietly in boats. In Berlin, Adolf Hitler wanted to counterattack at the Allied bridgehead at Oppenheim, but he was told that no reserve forces were available to embark on such an operation. The German high command also reinforced the Fifth Panzer Army with Gen. Lt. Wend von Wietersheims 11th Panzer Division. 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. Through skilled use of defensive positions, the Americans stopped the Germans from capturing the town. 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. They did a lot of grumbling.. 1. To learn more,click here for our comprehensive guide to General Patton. We figured we had a perfectly good boat. A major firefight developed that resulted in the destruction of seven enemy tanks at the cost of three Shermans. (To be fair to the British 21st Army Group, their Rhine crossings were marshy (Wesel) and twice as wide, with the river carrying a far higher volume of water than the crossings consigned to the U.S. Third and Seventh Armies and the French First Army, meaning that Montgomery could not possibly cross the Rhine on the run.) 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