BATTLE OF THE BULGE is scrolled underneath. Above and below Nancy, the Germans were content to wait for the Allies to attempt to cross the Moselle and launch local counterattacks in an effort to contain or eliminate the bridgeheads. 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. In effort to ensure greater success, Manteuffel ordered a detailed reconnaissance of enemy positions. ww2dbaseBetween Frankfort and the Ruhr River, the American First Army had breached the Rhine River barrier earlier in the month near Remagen. News of the crossing made it around the world. Equally devastating was the loss of both panzer brigade commanders during the two-day assault on CCAs left flank. 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. I was convinced then there were no Germans ahead of us except those we were actually fighting. He made his way halfway across the bridge before suddenly halting. The tank battle raged well into the afternoon as Company B arrived to help Abrams hold back the Germans. But there are so few Krauts around there they dont know it yet. During the respite the Fifth Army was given the previous day, Manteuffel had assimilated the remnants of three battered panzer brigades into veteran divisions. Following the setback at Pont-a-Mousson, McBride ordered his men to attempt another crossing four miles south at Dieulouard. But where he crossed the Main? 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 134th Infantry Regiment was ordered to cross on the left below Nancy, and the 137th Infantry Regiment on the right. Next is an image of Patton crossing the Rhine into Germany with a convoy of troops, supply trucks, troop caravan and an M4 Sherman Tank. He announced that the Third Army would shortly capture its 230,000th prisoner of war. For Gods sake, send some gasoline.. News of the crossing made it around the world. 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. A spearhead of the 317th Infantry Regiment crossed the river in boats, but the following morning they were bombarded by German artillery and mortars, which forced them into their foxholes. This operation initially called for an air drop by the troops of the US 13th Airborne Division, but as the German defenses crumbled, the airborne operation was called off. 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. 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. Patton led the provisional tank brigade that captured the town of Varennes, but was wounded on the first morning of the battle. If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Balck requested that Rundstedt provide Army Group G with three fresh divisions and 80 additional tanks and assault guns to continue the fight. Along the way the Third Army liberated some of the most ghastly killing and concentration camps in the Reich: Ohrdruf (a subcamp of Buchenwald), Flossenbuerg, Dachau, and Mauthausen-Gusen. 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. 6731 Whittier Avenue, Suite C-100 McLean, VA 22101, Stay up to date with all of our latest news, 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. Photo Credit: Men of the U.S. 5th Infantry Division hug the walls in one of the suburbs of Metz in early September 1944. ", ww2dbaseAdditional Contribution by Alan Chanter. Throughout the night of 23 Mar and the next day, 80,000 British and Canadian troops crossed the 20-mile stretch of the river. But the Americans stood their ground. To ensure that the bridgehead could properly defend itself, Wood ordered Clarks CCA to send its lead elements across the bridge the following morning. On Pattons left wing, Walkers XX Corps began probing the Metz defenses on September 7. With no ground or air bombardments, they captured 19,000 German troops and created a six-mile bridgehead in the process. Though Patton had hoped XII Corps would be ready to resume its advance on September 16, Eddy informed Patton that his troops would not be ready to resume their eastward advance until the 19th, after they had mopped up German forces behind their lines. Click here for parts Two and Three. 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. Patton told Wood to strike east the following day in the belief that it would keep the Germans off balance. March 22nd, 2020 - Palatinate Chapter member visits the commemorative site of Patton's historic crossing of the Rhine. This article is from the bookPatton: Blood, Guts, and Prayer2012by Michael Keane. The Germans, in an effort to regroup, turned southwest to escape the ambush. Troops of the US Ninth Army finished clearing the Duisberg Pocket in Germany. . Another 2,153 fighters supported the ground operations. 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. Click here for our comprehensive information resource on the society, ideology, and key events in Nazi Germany. Against such odds, a breakout at that location was not deemed feasible. Churchill suggested the Allied forces to skip over the Ruhr region and march east toward Berlin, but Eisenhower refused to leave the Ruhr region unsecured. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Opposition was negligible and within 24 hours the entire US 5th Division had crossed the river. Bradley quickly exploited the opportunity and expanded the bridgehead into a full-scale crossing. This meant that two columns of tanks and half-tracks from the 113th would have to carry the objective themselves. 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. 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 western boundary of Lorraine is formed by the Moselle Valley and the eastern boundary by the Saare River. 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. Look for the Monument Patton and stop by the General Patton Memorial Museum. ), Patton also requested the help of the press corps in informing the Germans that four of his armored divisions were slashing away at them. 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. The light losses suffered by Abramss battalion were a result of his crews using their mobility to offset the advantage enjoyed by the Panthers long, high-velocity 75mm gun over the Shermans short 75mm gun. Patton simply used ad hoc tactics to push the 5th Infantry across. World War Two Timeline From The Great War To Germanys Surrender. 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. After the war Eisenhower was appointed Military Governor of the U.S. At Nierstein assault troops did not meet any resistance. Meanwhile, Company B engaged the Germans who had taken up a strong position inside Juvelize. The Shermans then retreated behind the crest of the ridge and reappeared at another point to finish off the three remaining Panthers. . 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. From there, Third Army would advance along a northeast route of march toward the fortified West Wall. 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. . Whats more, a series of determined counterattacks by the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division kept the U.S. infantry from expanding the bridgehead. It was an unusually costly day for the Americans, who lost a dozen Shermans. At this location, on March 22 & 23, 1945, the 249th Engineer Combat Battalion, after supporting the U.S. Army 5th Infantry Division at Oppenheim, in the first successful Rhine river assault crossing since Napoleon, completed the construction of a 366 meter floating bridge to carry elements of General George S. Patton's 3rd Army across the Rhine. Although the Panzergrenadiers on the crest had managed to hold on during the morning, the combined pressure of American ground fire and air strikes finally broke the enemys nerve and the ground troops began retreating down the southern slope in the afternoon. 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. On the night of March 22, 1945, elements of the Third Army crossed the Rhine at the German town of Oppenheim. Having mustered 50 tanks for the attack, Manteuffel ordered Wietersheim to capture Moyenvic and inflict as much damage as possible on CCA. McLain issued orders for the nearest infantry regiments to converge on the enemy column. Patton had been correct that the Germans possessed no defense in depth immediately after Third Army crossed the Moselle. This article is also part of our extensive collection of articles on the second World War. This meant that CCA was now on the left flank of the Arracourt-Juvelize salient and CCB was on the right. Patton would now report to Bradley. From there, the vehicle fired an armor-piercing shell into the side of a Panther in a field 300 yards away. Brad, dont tell anyone, but Im across. A surprised Bradley responded, Well, Ill be damned. In other words, they had no depth, Patton said. Haislips arrival in early September disrupted a key element of Hitlers plan for a counterattack against Third Army by denying the Germans a staging area on the west side of the Moselle from which they might isolate American forces on the east side. We are now fairly started on that phase of the campaign which I hope will be the final one. "It's time for another Patton to die," he said aloud. 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. Balck expanded the fight by committing units from Knobelsdorffs First Army to the battle on September 24. Gen. Otto Weylands XIX Tactical Air Command. Irwins 5th Infantry Division made another effort to secure a bridgehead across the Moselle at Arnaville, a short march south of Dornot, on September 10. Luttwitz would strike north toward Lunville, while Krueger would push west along the south side of the Marne-Rhine Canal toward the town. But its fortune ended there. Suddenly, I saw the billowing of flames, Buss said. The day dawned with a thick blanket of fog shrouding the crest of the hill. The 37th Tank Battalion was sent to the rear to rest and refit. He engineered the Normandy breakout and was made commander of the Twelfth Army Group. Taken together, the losses seriously compromised the impending large-scale counterattack that Manteuffel was charged with executing. 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. That remained the case in the first months of 1945. Upon arriving at a dock area, Tucker and his comrades saw a group of sailors lowering a Landing Ship Tank (LST) into the water with a large crane. By dawn the Germans had seized the crest of Hill 318. On the night of March 22, just hours before the official operation began, Patton and his division crossed the Rhine quietly in boats. The fighting resulted in the final destruction of two panzer brigades. Like his counterpart, Balck was loath to go on the defensive but found he had no choice. The 134th was fortunate to find a bridge intact and threw a battalion across the river. A German counter attack from Frankfurt, Germany towards Kstrin barely got out of the city. Occupied Zone in Germany. Both sides employed heavy guns to shell enemy forces clinging to their respective slopes. 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. On the day of the deadline, Patton reported to Bradley that the southern wing of Third Army had broken out of its bridgeheads and was in position to continue pushing east. 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. Click here to see our comprehensive article on World War 2. 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. 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. 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. Still, Walkers XX Corps remained stalled before Metz, even though Eddys XII Corps had advanced well beyond its Moselle bridgeheads. 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. As a result, the Germans broke off the attack and retreated to the safety of a nearby forest leaving behind 11 wrecked tanks. 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. Operation Plunder landed over 16,000 British and American troops across the Rhine River region, allowing link ups with advancing British 21st Army Group's 4 bridgeheads. Although the day was cloudy and wet, two squadrons of P-47s from the 405th Fighter Squadron were able to navigate to the area using their cockpit instruments and instructions from ground spotters. Patton might have been destined to oversee U.S. forces in the invasion of France the following year, but his inability to control his emotional outbursts and a personal sense of honor and duty that blocked him from sympathizing with the trials and tribulations of frontline troops caused him to stumble. The initial counterattacks against Third Armys bridgeheads should have convinced him that the enemy was regaining strength. But his request was denied as by then both sides had shifted the bulk of their resources to the northern sector. The Germans did not intended to give up either without a fight. Scouts from the U.S. 42nd Cavalry Squadron detected a German column approachingfrom the south toward Lunville at 7 am on September 18. Our database is searchable by subject and updated continuously. events, and resources, Patton in Lorraine: Breaking the Moselle Line. Copyright 20122023 World War II - Day By Day. Brian Horrocks, Corps Commander (Magnum Books, 1977). 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. During the fighting around Juvelize, the Americans lost 14 Shermans and 7 Stuarts. Patton celebrated the victory by stopping on a treadway bridge his men had built and relieving himself into the river. 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. 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. Total losses for the day were five Shermans and more than 40 Panther and Mark IV tanks. Within three days Patton's troops were rapidly approaching Frankfurt, Germany, capturing bridges in tact as the German defenses began to fall apart. In short order, more than a half-dozen M5 Stuart tanks sat smoldering and crumpled in fields near the town. Shortly after crossing the Rhine river near Oppenheim, Gen. Pattons 3rd Army went into the heart of Germany as they crossed their next water barrier, the Main river. Site created in November 2000. First, it is aiming to offer interesting 6731 Whittier Avenue, Suite C-100 McLean, VA 22101, Stay up to date with all of our latest news, 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. 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. 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. Patton was relieved of command in the wake of the incident but was not dismissed from war service. Instead, he commented, They brought up a row of trucks filled with assault boats. On September 2, Hitler issued orders for the creation of 25 new divisions, most of which were to be given the designation of Volksgrenadier. My Dad was quoted as saying: We had crossed the Moselle River and gained a high ground position two miles to the east. 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. Overseas: 26 August 1944. 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. 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. By early afternoon, the Germans were fighting their way into the southern end of the town. Manteuffels plans for September 27 called for Wietersheims 11th Panzer Division to seize the camelback and Arracourt, opening the road to Nancy. The reversal of fortune gnawed at Patton from the outset of his service in France. US First Army finally broke out of Remagen bridgehead in Germany. Subsequently VIII Corps made two additional crossings downstream, to the south of Koblenz. Bradley, who found the report satisfactory, passed the news to Eisenhower that Third Army was indeed across the Moselle in strength. British sappers built another Rhine bridge, "Blackfriars", by noon. The strike destroyed five Panthers and 20 half-tracks. That same day Third Army received about 240,000 gallons of fuel, which was sufficient to resume its advance the following day. The Hellcats bought precious time for Companies A and B of the 37th Tank Battalion to rumble north from Lezey toward the battlefront. 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. When a column of tanks from the 111th Panzer Brigade appeared that morning out of the fog, it was left to the gunners of the 191st Field Artillery Battalion to fight off the attack. With their high-velocity guns, the Panthers easily knocked out the Yanks vehicles. 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. click here for our comprehensive guide to General Patton. He wanted a quick, spectacular crossing that would produce newspaper headlines in the manner of Seventh Army during the Sicilian campaign ( Operation Husky ), and in August 1944 his Third Army became operational in northern France. 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. Despite efforts to rush fuel to the frontline units, the Allies were still receiving their fuel from supply dumps in Normandy. Distinguished Unit Citations: 11. 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. But Pattons dash ground to a halt shortly after it crossed the Meuse. To their surprise, they were not opposed by enemy forces. 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