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, . It is thought that the accompanying photo of General George Patton documents Patton urinating into the Rhine River. ww2dbaseTo Eisenhower's surprise, the crossing of the Rhine River north of the Ruhr was not met with fierce resistance, and he attributed it to the beginning of the destruction of German morale. But there were simply too many crossing points for the Germans to contest every one with such promptness as they had shown at Dornot, Arnaville, and Pont-a-Mousson. If you supply any information, it would be appreciated by his family. The initiative then shifted to the Americans when a task force from Companies A and B of the 37th Tank Battalion swept through Rechicourt, driving the Germans beyond the town. 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. Dwight Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe
The task before Third Army was to establish bridgeheads across the Moselle that would enable it to capture the two strategic towns. The strike destroyed five Panthers and 20 half-tracks. By September 7, U.S. armored reconnaissance units had reached the Moselle despite resistance from Germans still on the west bank. We've got him. After 48 hours of hard fighting, the bridgehead was abandoned. The plan focused on Wesel, with multiple crossings set to occur along a 22-mile front on the evening of 23 March. Bradley told General George S. Pattonwhose U.S. Third Army had been fighting through the Palatinateto "take the Rhine on the run". It was really a simple thing, just like basic training., Tucker and another engineer packed themselves into one of the first boats with the infantry. The delay would prove a costly one. You mean across the Rhine? Sure am, Patton replied, I sneaked a division over last night. 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. 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. 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] I know that he carried the BAR and he was in Company A, 359th Infantry Regiment. The 134th was fortunate to find a bridge intact and threw a battalion across the river. The flames were transparent orange, rising with startling swiftness. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Significantly, none of the panzer brigades had either organic artillery or reconnaissance vehicles. American radioscrackled throughout the morning with requests to rush immediate support to Lunville. The next morning, elements of the 3rd Panzergrenadier Division overran the bridgehead, killing 300 Americans. The destruction of the 112th Panzer Brigade occurred less than a week after the equally embarrassing debut of the 106th Panzer Brigade on Third Armys northern flank. The Germans, who observed the Americans pulling out of Juvelize, occupied the abandoned town the following day. 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. 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. The publicity was not for meGod knows Ive got enoughI could go to heaven and St. Peter would recognize me right awaybut it is for the officers and the men. Patton then complained that the Marines go to town by reporting the number [of their men] killed, I always try to fight without getting [our] people killed.. Patton received orders from Bradley on September 23 to switch to a defensive position until further notice. 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. Objekt des Monats Mrz: Rhine River Crossing Memorial. ww2dbaseAll this, plus the assembly of vast amounts of troops, assault boats, Buffaloes, guns etc. When the Germans attempted to withdraw, they found their escape route blocked by the 359th Infantry Regiment moving east to cut them off. To their surprise, they were not opposed by enemy forces. Click here for our comprehensive information resource on the society, ideology, and key events in Nazi Germany. ww2dbaseWith the German defenses along the Rhine River falling apart, the industrial region of Ruhr was enveloped, depriving Germany's war manufacturing capabilities. On 22 March, General George S. Patton sent his Third Army across the Rhine, at Nierstein, to form another bridgehead. . 2. US-Armee unter General George S. Patton (1885-1945) die Stadt Nierstein am Rhein. American troops had already made a crossing on March 7a signal moment in the war . By August 30, Pattons army was receiving only about 32,000 of the 400,000 gallons of fuel it required to run all of its tanks and vehicles. Whats more, his decision to advance on a broad front ran contrary to the general understanding that it was necessary to concentrate forces to create a sizable breach worthy of exploiting in the enemys main line. This article is also part of our extensive collection of articles on the second World War. The German high command also reinforced the Fifth Panzer Army with Gen. Lt. Wend von Wietersheims 11th Panzer Division. Brad, for Gods sake tell the world were across. 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. 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. Company A, advancing on the left, gained high ground west of Juvelize, and with substantial artillery support, it checked the momentum of the enemy armor pushing south. We figured we had a perfectly good boat. The 134th Infantry Regiment was ordered to cross on the left below Nancy, and the 137th Infantry Regiment on the right. 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!. 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. 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. Manteuffels plans for September 27 called for Wietersheims 11th Panzer Division to seize the camelback and Arracourt, opening the road to Nancy. Activated: 15 July 1942. 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 . This post is part of our collection of resources on Nazi Germany. 1. "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. von Florian Weber; Verffentlicht am 1. 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. From there, the vehicle fired an armor-piercing shell into the side of a Panther in a field 300 yards away. The western boundary of Lorraine is formed by the Moselle Valley and the eastern boundary by the Saare River. Day 6. This had elements of the 6th and 7th Parachute Divisions on their flanks and, to their rear in reserve, the 15th and 116th Panzer Divisions. Two days earlier, Patton had told Maj. Gen. Manton Eddy that his XII Corps would lead the way. Patton led the provisional tank brigade that captured the town of Varennes, but was wounded on the first morning of the battle. Patton began drafting plans for Third Armys advance east toward the Rhine as early as September 14. After the war Eisenhower was appointed Military Governor of the U.S. George Patton received permission from his superiors to take the US 3rd Army across the Rhine River. Eisenhower (18901969) was chosen in July 1942 to head Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of French North Africa in November 1943. Luttwitz would strike north toward Lunville, while Krueger would push west along the south side of the Marne-Rhine Canal toward the town. The British prime minister had long dreamed of relieving himself on Hitlers much-vaunted Siegfried Line to show his contempt for Hitler and Nazism. 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. This operation to cross the northern Rhine River launched in the night of 23 Mar 1945. 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. Photo Credit: Men of the U.S. 5th Infantry Division hug the walls in one of the suburbs of Metz in early September 1944. The Shermans then retreated behind the crest of the ridge and reappeared at another point to finish off the three remaining Panthers. World War Two Timeline From The Great War To Germanys Surrender. Click here for our comprehensive information resource on the society, ideology, and key events in Nazi Germany. Whats more, a series of determined counterattacks by the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division kept the U.S. infantry from expanding the bridgehead. Walkers corps consisted of the 5th and 90th Infantry Divisions and the 7th Armored Division, while Eddys corps, at that time, consisted of the 35th and 80th Infantry Divisions and the 4th and 6th Armored Divisions. 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