Initially, at least, Eddys XII Corps suffered setbacks as severe as those experienced by Walkers corps to its north. 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. The shift in plans resulted in an ominous quiet on the front lines that day and led to speculation as to whether the Germans had finally quit their offensive. In fact, it was the first time an invading force had crossed the Rhein into Germany since Napoleon! Though beaten across the Rhine by Patton's Third Army, Montgomery's meticulous operation shone in its flawless execution. Brian Horrocks, Corps Commander (Magnum Books, 1977). . 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 German armored column continued south, hoping to stampede the American soldiers into abandoning their positions. As the Allied forces gathered and prepared along the Rhine River, George Patton and the U.S. 5 th Division were quietly carrying . 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. Please refrain from using strong language. 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. The delay would prove a costly one. On the banks of the Rhine River the British Royal Corps of Engineers completed the construction of a Class 9 bridge "Waterloo Bridge" at 0100 hours and a Class 15 bridge "Lambeth Bridge" at 0830 hours. This kind of came as a surprise, but everything was so well prepared for us, recalled Tucker. US First Army captured Paderborn and Hamm, Germany. 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. "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. British sappers built another Rhine bridge, "Blackfriars", by noon. In addition, he ordered the creation of 10 new panzer brigades, numbered 101 to 110, each of which would boast a battalion of approximately 45 Panther tanks. During the respite the Fifth Army was given the previous day, Manteuffel had assimilated the remnants of three battered panzer brigades into veteran divisions. About 766 miles in length, with an average width of about 1,300 feet, the generally north-flowing waterway also is exceptionally swift and deep. Bradley quickly exploited the opportunity and expanded the bridgehead into a full-scale crossing. He did not expect to encounter substantial resistance until he reached the West Wall. You can also buy the book by clicking on the buttons to the left. By early afternoon, the Germans were fighting their way into the southern end of the town. Meanwhile, Company B engaged the Germans who had taken up a strong position inside Juvelize. National Interest Newsletter. 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. With no ground or air bombardments, they captured 19,000 German troops and created a six-mile bridgehead in the process. Meanwhile, British 2nd Army began an offensive towards the Elbe River. 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? 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. 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. Click here for our comprehensive information resource on the society, ideology, and key events in Nazi Germany. Brad, dont tell anyone, but Im across. A surprised Bradley responded, Well, Ill be damned. This operation to cross the northern Rhine River launched in the night of 23 Mar 1945. Pattons notion that Third Army could cross the Moselle with ease and cover the 40 miles from the river to the West Wall in a matter of weeks had been shattered by Manteuffels determined, if futile, counterattack in September. 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. 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. Because Haislips corps threatened his left flank, a substantial part of Luttwitzs corps was directed to take up a defensive stance. The Crossing of the Rhine River. The crossing would be difficult with German mortar and artillery guns already trained at river crossings. Anthony Read and David Fisher, The Fall of Berlin. By dawn the Germans had seized the crest of Hill 318. Significantly, none of the panzer brigades had either organic artillery or reconnaissance vehicles. Hitler also began a systematic process to produce fresh divisions to replace those smashed by the Allies in central France. After the completion of the Battle in The Ardennes, Patton and his Army turned to the south and east attacking toward the Rhine. The Rhine itself was symbolic of the entrance into Germany from Western Europe and had historically stood as a natural barrier against invasion. That remained the case in the first months of 1945. 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. Although his unit was spearheading the attack toward the river, he assumed there would be a pause to get organized for the crossing. A major firefight developed that resulted in the destruction of seven enemy tanks at the cost of three Shermans. Patton would be promoted to General (four stars) in April, 1945, after his troops liberated some of the worst concentration camps in Germany, and was fighting toward the Czech border by the time VE Day was declared on 8 May 1945. Hitler, who reluctantly agreed to a far less ambitious counterattack than initially envisioned, issued orders for the German attack to begin on September 18. Hitler, who had never liked Blaskowitz, sacked him on September 21. This article is also part of our extensive collection of articles on the second World War. 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. . 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. He later went as far as the railway bridge at Wesel by Montgomery's staff car, a bridge that was still under enemy fire. Having previously been denied permission to photograph the face of the 200,000th prisoner (the Geneva Convention required that a prisoner be protected against acts of public curiosity), Patton announced that this time we will take a picture of his ass. (A week later their POW capture would top 300,000. Balck requested that Rundstedt provide Army Group G with three fresh divisions and 80 additional tanks and assault guns to continue the fight. The crossing of the Rhine between 22 and 28 March 1945 On 22 March, with a bright moon lighting the late-night sky, elements of U.S. XII Corps' 5th Infantry Division began the 3rd Army's Rhine crossing. 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. The Hellcats bought precious time for Companies A and B of the 37th Tank Battalion to rumble north from Lezey toward the battlefront. Dwight Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe The 111th and 113th Panzer Brigades boasted two tank battalions, one of 45 Panthers and the other of 45 Mark IVs. Patton would face significant leadership and tactical challenges in the region in the months following the Arracourt clashes. Your IP address will be tracked even if you remain anonymous. The Shermans then retreated behind the crest of the ridge and reappeared at another point to finish off the three remaining Panthers. 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. Fearing Hitlers ire, Blaskowitz berated Manteuffel for failing to make any noticeable gains and ordered him to continue the counterattack regardless of the losses incurred. On September 2, Hitler issued orders for the creation of 25 new divisions, most of which were to be given the designation of Volksgrenadier. Behind the lines, Dwight Eisenhower transferred US 9th Army from Bernard Montgomery's army group to Omar Bradley's army group as Anglo-American objective shifted toward southern Germany and Czechoslovakia. Yet Abramss 35th Tank Battalion counterattacked in the afternoon and recaptured the town in a fight that inflicted substantial casualties on the Germans. Wietersheim ordered the battle group to break off its attack until the following day so that reinforcements could be sent to Bures. The 37th Tank Battalion was sent to the rear to rest and refit. ww2dbaseSources: I want the world to know Third Army made it before Monty starts across, he shouted. 6731 Whittier Avenue, Suite C-100 McLean, VA 22101, Stay up to date with all of our latest news, During the fighting around Juvelize, the Americans lost 14 Shermans and 7 Stuarts. The Shermans therefore attempted to use the ridge for cover and engage the Panthers head-on, with disappointing results. Pattons Third Army found itself mired in a morass as it struggled against fuel shortages, flooded rivers, and fresh German panzer units in September 1944. Charging up the slope after nightfall, the Germans once again seized the crest, forcing the Americans to retreat to the northern slope. 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. He wanted a quick, spectacular crossing that would produce newspaper headlines in the manner of Patton's troops beat Montgomery across the Rhine by one day. (Back in Berlin, Adolf Hitler urged the Wehrmacht to attack the Allied bridgehead at Oppenheim, only to be told that no reserve forces were available to embark on such an operation.) Overseas: 26 August 1944. Having failed to reconnoiter the American lines, the Germans blundered into a hornets nest. 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. 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. We were surprised the Navy was there, he commented, and the Navy was surprised they were so far away from the ocean. First, it is aiming to offer interesting 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 37th Tank Battalion would get no rest on September 20. The Lorraine campaign would test Patton and his men as they had never been tested before. All comment submissions will become the property of WW2DB. The Panthersknocked out three of the lightly armored HMCs in short order. ww2dbaseAll this, plus the assembly of vast amounts of troops, assault boats, Buffaloes, guns etc. 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. I know that he carried the BAR and he was in Company A, 359th Infantry Regiment. The Germans, in an effort to regroup, turned southwest to escape the ambush. As Third Army firmly established itself on the east bank of the Moselle at Nancy, capturing not only crossing points but also key crossroads on the east bank, the Germans had to postpone their counterattack several times and continually revise it to adjust to new events. The gasoline arrived and Pattons men pressed headlong across southern Germany and into Czechoslovakia. At Nierstein assault troops did not meet any resistance. Balck expanded the fight by committing units from Knobelsdorffs First Army to the battle on September 24. Patton's goal was to cross the Rhine, even if not a single bridge was left standing over which to do it. Manteuffel, who knew the attacks were hopeless but was under orders from Balck to continue regardless of the cost, threw the remnants of the 111th and 113th against CCA again the following day, only to suffer further tank losses. 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. The 134th Infantry Regiment was ordered to cross on the left below Nancy, and the 137th Infantry Regiment on the right. He engineered the Normandy breakout and was made commander of the Twelfth Army Group. 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. 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. By that evening, the Germans had discovered Pattons forces, and perhaps more important, Pattons British rival, Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery, was preparing to cross the Rhine as well. He sent one regiment from Maj. Gen. Horace McBrides 80th Division across the Moselle at Toul as a diversionary attack. Patton celebrated the victory by stopping on a treadway bridge his men had built and relieving himself into the river. 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. In effort to ensure greater success, Manteuffel ordered a detailed reconnaissance of enemy positions. The tank battle raged well into the afternoon as Company B arrived to help Abrams hold back the Germans. Thank You, Still, the 137th Infantry Division that same day managed to establish several small bridgeheads on the eastern bank. The Americans captured the northern fort almost immediately, but German paratroopers held out in the southern fort for five days. 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. But there are so few Krauts around there they dont know it yet. 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. As the troops of the French First Army crossed the Rhine River near Speyer, Germany, they became the first French troops to attack across the river since Napoleon Bonaparte. In Washington, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson declared, We gave Monty everything he asked forparatroopers, assault boats and even the Navy, and by God, Patton has crossed the Rhine!. Eddy was tasked with locating possible crossing points above and below Nancy, while Walker was instructed to do the same above and below Metz. News of the crossing made it around the world. The very notion was unpalatable to Old Blood and Guts. If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. (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.) The next day Patton, showing his contempt for the enemy, made good on his pledge to piss in the Rhine in a week, which he did from a pontoon bridge in full view of his men and news cameras. 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. 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, . Unlike Manteuffels forces, Knobelsdorffs had artillery with which to support an attack. 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] To learn more,click here for our comprehensive guide to General Patton. Patton had seriously underestimated the Germans ability to recover from setbacks and mount a tenacious defense as the Western Allies neared the German border. 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. 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. 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. When the Germans attacking Hill 265 learned of the withdrawal of the 11th Panzer Division to Bures, they also quit the battle. 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. But his cajoling paid off, as Bradley had been working hard to ensure that Haislips XV Corps, which had been helping to clear the lower Seine of German forces, would join Third Army on its southern flank. On March 23, 1945, Eisenhower wrote a warm letter to Patton: I have frequently had occasion to state, publicly, my appreciation of the great accomplishments of this Allied force during the past nine months. He believed that it would leave too long of a left flank vulnerable to German counter offensives. They did a lot of grumbling.. Although a bridge had been captured some weeks before at Remagen, and a bridge-head tenuously held, this was to be the first river assault crossing of this famous stream since . 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. Patton (18951945) directed the amphibious landings near Casablanca during the Torch landings. Hardcover. 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. In little more than a months time, Patton, together with his archrival British General Bernard L. Montgomery, commanding the British Eighth Army, liberated the strategic island from Axis control. Love him or hate him, Patton cuts a singular figure in military history, and left a long, complicated legacy for historians, soldiers, and history buffs to consider. 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. Elements of the 4th and 6th Armored Divisions, the latter which had been serving as Third Armys rear guard, and other units began converging on the townin response. 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. 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. 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. 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. This post is part of our collection of resources on Nazi Germany. The plan called for a diversionary attack at daybreak by elements of the 11th Panzer Division against the 10th Armored Infantry Battalion atop Hill 265, another key position held by the Americans. 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. Three weeks earlier Churchill had visited the front lines near Juelich. 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. 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. HTML tags are not allowed. Lloyd Clark. Having mustered 50 tanks for the attack, Manteuffel ordered Wietersheim to capture Moyenvic and inflict as much damage as possible on CCA. Two days earlier, Patton had told Maj. Gen. Manton Eddy that his XII Corps would lead the way. 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. As for Patton, he incorrectly dismissed the action as nothing more than another failed local counterattack. From there, Third Army would advance along a northeast route of march toward the fortified West Wall. Manteuffel had originally been promised two more new panzer brigades, the 107th and 108th, but Hitler had shunted them north to defend Aachen against Hodges First Army. Mrz 2023; . 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. Patton simply used ad hoc tactics to push the 5th Infantry across. 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. Manteuffels attack for the following day involved a coordinated strike toward Arracourt using the 111th and 113th Panzer Brigades from Luttwitzs and Kruegers corps, respectively. It is thought that the accompanying photo of General George Patton documents Patton urinating into the Rhine River. You mean across the Rhine? Sure am, Patton replied, I sneaked a division over last night. This article is from the bookPatton: Blood, Guts, and Prayer2012by Michael Keane. 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. Whats more, a series of determined counterattacks by the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division kept the U.S. infantry from expanding the bridgehead. For its part, the 15th Panzergrenadier Division had three dozen Mark IV tanks. Campaigns: Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe. 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