US First Army finally broke out of Remagen bridgehead in Germany. 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. After the completion of the Battle in The Ardennes, Patton and his Army turned to the south and east attacking toward the Rhine. Unlike Manteuffels forces, Knobelsdorffs had artillery with which to support an attack. 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. 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. Photo Credit: Men of the U.S. 5th Infantry Division hug the walls in one of the suburbs of Metz in early September 1944. HTML tags are not allowed. 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. Meanwhile, Patton acknowledged that he might have to delay his advance east. The Germans attacked again in the vicinity of Rechicourt in the afternoon, but after losing another nine tanks they broke off the action. It is thought that the accompanying photo of General George Patton documents Patton urinating into the Rhine River. So Patton called Bradley again. All rights reserved. As for Patton, he incorrectly dismissed the action as nothing more than another failed local counterattack. Thank you. In effort to ensure greater success, Manteuffel ordered a detailed reconnaissance of enemy positions. On 22 March, General George S. Patton sent his Third Army across the Rhine, at Nierstein, to form another bridgehead. 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. The delay would prove a costly one. 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. The Rhine is no ordinary river. 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. Seventh Army in the invasion of Sicily in July 1943. Seventh Army during the Sicilian campaign (Operation Husky), and in August 1944 his Third Army became operational in northern France. A follow-on series of panzer brigades, numbered above 110, would contain a battalion of Panthers and a battalion of Mark IVs. Patton knew his entrance into German-occupied territory was of monumental historical importance. 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. The Americans captured the northern fort almost immediately, but German paratroopers held out in the southern fort for five days. 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. The German troops knew that the Allied forces were only taking a short time to gather up strength before the invasion into Germany would commence. Despite efforts to rush fuel to the frontline units, the Allies were still receiving their fuel from supply dumps in Normandy. . Occupied Zone in Germany. Activated: 15 July 1942. 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. 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. This crossing was an important step in bringing the conflict to a close on May 8th, 1945. 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 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. He ordered Knobelsdorff to attack Dagers CCB with the 559th Volksgrenadier Division and the remnants of the 106th Panzer Brigade. As a result, the 112th Panzer Brigade lost 69 of its 90 tanks. British sappers built another Rhine bridge, "Westminster". For its part, the 15th Panzergrenadier Division had three dozen Mark IV tanks. 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. 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. Near Moncourt, just east of Arracourt, a platoon of Mark IVs and towed anti-tank guns ambushed Abramss Company C, leaving a half-dozen M4 tanks mangled. It was an unusually costly day for the Americans, who lost a dozen Shermans. 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. The western boundary of Lorraine is formed by the Moselle Valley and the eastern boundary by the Saare River. While we were digging in for the night, the Jerries sent over a heavy artillery barrage. Although his unit was spearheading the attack toward the river, he assumed there would be a pause to get organized for the crossing. News of the crossing made it around the world. Pattons rapid advance across France came to an abrupt halt at Metz, due to fuel shortages, deteriorating weather conditions, and increased enemy resistance. The fight that began that morning touched off an 11-day running tank battle that raged across the hills of southern Lorraine and tested the resourcefulness of two of World War IIs most gifted practitioners of the art of mobile warfare. 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. We began to cautiously filter down through the moonlit streets toward the shingled beach. 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. 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 . First, it is aiming to offer interesting Pattons troops beat Montgomery across the Rhine by one day. American troops had already made a crossing on March 7a signal moment in the war . 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. Manteuffels goal, as head of the 5th Panzer Army on the Western Front, was to transform Lunville into a base from which to roll up Third Armys flank on the east bank of the river. Meanwhile, US Third Army reached Siegen, Germany. 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. Against light opposition, he had secured Morocco during the opening phase of Torch and ably led the U.S. II Corps when selected to replace Maj. Gen. Lloyd Fredenhall after the debacle at Kasserine Pass. That same day Third Army received about 240,000 gallons of fuel, which was sufficient to resume its advance the following day. Beyond the German front lines, US aircraft harassed retreating German columns, destroying 246 trucks and 241 railway wagons. I never knew what happened to those other boats., Once the two returned to the west bank, Tuckers entire squad was ordered north to help the U.S. Navy. 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. By the end of the day on September 22, the 111th Panzer Brigade had only seven tanks from an original strength of 90 when the offensive started a week before. To descend the ridge and maneuver against the Panthers would have exposed the Shermans to the Panthers highly effective guns. The purpose of this note is to express to you personally my deep appreciation of the splendid way in which you have conducted Third Army operations from the moment it entered battle last August 1. 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. 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. . Gen. Holmes Dagers Combat Command B (CCB) to assist the 35th Infantry Division south of Nancy, and Colonel Bruce Clarks Combat Command A (CCA) to be held in reserve to exploit whichever crossing offered the most promise for a rapid breakout. Though Gen. Patton had the blessing of Twelfth Army Group head Gen. Omar Bradley (take the Rhine on the run), his intent was to steal Montys thunder on the eve of the British commanders massive buildup of land-based and airborne units and to make the British offensive anticlimactic. I know that Third Army will be in at the finish in the same decisive way that it has performed in all the preliminary battles. 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. 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 134th Infantry Regiment was ordered to cross on the left below Nancy, and the 137th Infantry Regiment on the right. A major firefight developed that resulted in the destruction of seven enemy tanks at the cost of three Shermans. This was the first crossing of the Rhine River by boat by an invading army since Napoleon Bonaparte. The Sherman crews could do little to deter the advancing Panthers because of the excellent sloped and thick frontal armor the enemy tanks possessed. This time the engineers were able to construct a bridge under the cover of darkness, but the bridgehead was again subjected to concentrated shelling by long-range guns from the Metz defenses and also from counterattacks by various elements of all three of the German Panzergrenadier divisions defending the Moselle. The 37th Tank Battalion would get no rest on September 20. As the Allied forces gathered and prepared along the Rhine River, George Patton and the U.S. 5 th Division were quietly carrying . As US Third Army made another Rhine River crossing near Worms, Germany, British Second Army and Canadian First Army launched their assaults across the Rhine River north of the Ruhr River. Right: U.S. Army Generals Omar Bradley, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and George S. Patton. They did a lot of grumbling.. News of the crossing made it around the world. The day dawned with a thick blanket of fog shrouding the crest of the hill. 1. 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. Altogether, the 106th Panzer Brigade lost 30 tanks and 60 halftracks, which greatly reduced the role it would play in subsequent operations. The Commanders: The Leadership Journeys of George Patton, Bernard Montgomery, and Erwin Rommel. But the Americans stood their ground. Thank You, Following the setback at Pont-a-Mousson, McBride ordered his men to attempt another crossing four miles south at Dieulouard. Patton's troops beat Montgomery across the Rhine by one day. The Germans failed to reconnoiter enemy positions, and their replacement tank crews were no match for Leclercs veteran troops. Your IP address will be tracked even if you remain anonymous. Einheiten des 3. 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. 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 . To cover CCBs former position in the line, Baades 35th Infantry Division advanced to a new position west of Chateau-Salins. 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. 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. He received the Bronze Star and was shot on or about 28 September, 1944. To their credit, the RAF despatched fifty specialist within twelve hours and promised that a further 300 volunteers good be made available if required. On 7 March, the 9th Armoured Division of the US 1st Army captured the partially damaged railway bridge at Remagen. Patton was relieved of command in the wake of the incident but was not dismissed from war service. Having failed to reconnoiter the American lines, the Germans blundered into a hornets nest. 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. 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 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. The bulk of men and supplies would be detailed for the primary thrust toward the Ruhr in the north, but a secondary thrust through Lorraine was considered worth undertaking to stretch German forces along the Western Front. This article is part of our larger selection of postsabout the George S. Patton. 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. Patton would face significant leadership and tactical challenges in the region in the months following the Arracourt clashes. 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. 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. Manteuffel, who had arrived to take command of Fifth Army in the field only a week before, pleaded for yet another extension, arguing that his forces were not strong enough to achieve their objective. This article is from the bookPatton: Blood, Guts, and Prayer2012by Michael Keane. I think, everybody here know the photo as Patton urinated into the Rhine. 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. From the standpoint of losses in men and equipment, the Arracourt battles were a resounding victory for the Americans. 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. von Florian Weber; Verffentlicht am 1. ww2dbaseWith the German defenses along the Rhine River falling apart, the industrial region of Ruhr was enveloped, depriving Germany's war manufacturing capabilities. Historical Reads: Patton's Third Army Crosses the Rhine By Jeremy Gypton On March 16, 2021 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. 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. Distinguished Unit Citations: 11. The Shermans then retreated behind the crest of the ridge and reappeared at another point to finish off the three remaining Panthers. 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. Against such odds, a breakout at that location was not deemed feasible. The 37th Tank Battalion, led by the hard-charging Lt. Col. Creighton Abrams, brushed aside German resistance and turned north to gain the east-west road leading to Nomeny. With their high-velocity guns, the Panthers easily knocked out the Yanks vehicles. He did not expect to encounter substantial resistance until he reached the West Wall. On the night of March 22, 1945, with no artillery preparation or air cover, assault boats of the 5th Infantry began their quiet crossing near Oppenheim. The Panzergrenadiers methodically fought their way up the southern slope, clearing Americans from their foxholes. ww2dbaseDwight Eisenhower expected the German troops, some elite including soldiers of the First Paratroop Army, would be prepared for such an invasion in the northern Ruhr area. I was certainly very full of hopes and saw myself crossing the Rhine, Patton said. While the fighting raged, P-47s flew repeated sorties against Bures, through which the Germans were funneling fresh troops and ammunition into the battle. Subsequently VIII Corps made two additional crossings downstream, to the south of Koblenz. ww2dbaseSource: To the far left is scrolled, WARS MAY BE FOUGHT WITH . 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. Patton celebrated the victory by stopping on a treadway bridge his men had built and relieving himself into the river. Meanwhile the construction of an even larger Class 40 bridge "London Bridge" continued and was completed by midnight. 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. I was convinced then there were no Germans ahead of us except those we were actually fighting. Because Haislips corps threatened his left flank, a substantial part of Luttwitzs corps was directed to take up a defensive stance. 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. 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. 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. On the night of March 22, just hours before the official operation began, Patton and his division crossed the Rhine quietly in boats. He sent one regiment from Maj. Gen. Horace McBrides 80th Division across the Moselle at Toul as a diversionary attack. Most of CCA had shifted north to prepare for an advance east in the direction of the West Wall, leaving artillery and other support units at Arracourt. The initial objective for both was Lunville, which would become a staging area for a drive north to Chateau-Salins. Although Heckers division was at nearly full strength, Rodts had been depleted as a result of nearly a year of hard fighting. Bradley (18931981) took part in the buildup to the July 1944 Normandy landings (Operation Overlord) and was given charge of the U.S. First Army. Montgomery was supposed to make the next crossing in a complex operation utilizing ground and airborne troops. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. Germany. 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. Charging up the slope after nightfall, the Germans once again seized the crest, forcing the Americans to retreat to the northern slope. We've got him. C. Peter Chen of Lava Development, LLC. In preparation for his counterattack, Hitler made several key command changes. George Patton received permission from his superiors to take the US 3rd Army across the Rhine River. Patton was chomping at the bit to get at the Germans as soon as he arrived in France, and Bradley received permission from Ike to activate Third Army on August 1. Once again, Company C of the 704th TD Battalion rushed forward to delay the advance supported by P-47s firing rockets and machine guns. To protect the fatherland, Hitler ordered all German forces on the Western Front to hold their positions on the Moselle to allow engineers to make much-needed improvements to the West Wall fortifications. 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. 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. 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. We are now fairly started on that phase of the campaign which I hope will be the final one. 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. Finally, head to Hamm American Cemetery to visit Patton's grave. Patton, who actually did not have the orders to cross the river, did so under an extremely low profile: quietly, his troops crossed the river in boats without artillery barrage nor aerial bombardment. 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. 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. By the end of the day the Germans had lost a dozen Mark IVs and six Panthers. Hitler also made preparations for the creation of a new Fifth Army to be led by Manteuffel. However, such a strong resistance was not encountered as elements of the 21st Army Group and Ninth Army crossed the river in the north in the Ruhr River region. This operation to cross the northern Rhine River launched in the night of 23 Mar 1945. Not content to wait for the infantry, the vanguard of Dagers CCB managed to ford the Moselle at Bayon, where the rivers height was substantially lower because water was diverted to fill canals on each side. 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. Frankfort was captured by Allied troops on 29 Mar. The Crossing of the Rhine River. Yet Abramss 35th Tank Battalion counterattacked in the afternoon and recaptured the town in a fight that inflicted substantial casualties on the Germans. Still, the 137th Infantry Division that same day managed to establish several small bridgeheads on the eastern bank. TeachingAmericanHistory.org is a project of the Ashbrook Center at Ashland University, 401 College Avenue, Ashland, Ohio 44805 PHONE (419) 289-5411 TOLL FREE (877) 289-5411 EMAIL [emailprotected]. 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. 20th Century Timeline Of World History: What Happened? Copyright 20122023 World War II - Day By Day. In short order, more than a half-dozen M5 Stuart tanks sat smoldering and crumpled in fields near the town. World War Two Timeline From The Great War To Germanys Surrender. "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. World War II - day by day made it around the world Blood, Guts, and Prayer2012by Michael.! Relieved of command in the months following the Arracourt battles were a victory... Is thought that the accompanying photo of General George S. Patton resounding for! Then retreated behind the crest of the excellent sloped and thick frontal armor the tanks. 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