The German high command also reinforced the Fifth Panzer Army with Gen. Lt. Wend von Wietersheims 11th Panzer Division. 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. The Germans attacked again in the vicinity of Rechicourt in the afternoon, but after losing another nine tanks they broke off the action. The goal of this We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. He received the Bronze Star and was shot on or about 28 September, 1944. As a result, the 112th Panzer Brigade lost 69 of its 90 tanks. In 1943 he commanded the U.S. The tank battle raged well into the afternoon as Company B arrived to help Abrams hold back the Germans. 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. 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. 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. 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. The Shermans then retreated behind the crest of the ridge and reappeared at another point to finish off the three remaining Panthers. (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. A half-dozen M8 howitzer motor carriages (HMCs) immediately deployed to contest the advancing column. 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. News of the crossing made it around the world. But its fortune ended there. Eisenhower (18901969) was chosen in July 1942 to head Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of French North Africa in November 1943. 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. Under extremely tough and experienced Parachute and Panzer officers and NCOs new replacements (many dedicated Nazis) had been moulded into a formidable fighting force. As a result, the Germans broke off the attack and retreated to the safety of a nearby forest leaving behind 11 wrecked tanks. In short order, more than a half-dozen M5 Stuart tanks sat smoldering and crumpled in fields near the town. 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. Overseas: 26 August 1944. This kind of came as a surprise, but everything was so well prepared for us, recalled Tucker. 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 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. Two days earlier, Patton had told Maj. Gen. Manton Eddy that his XII Corps would lead the way. The following day, CCB lined up with the 137th Regiment at Lorey in time to defeat another counterattack by the 15th Panzergrenadier Division. von Florian Weber; Verffentlicht am 1. With no ground or air bombardments, they captured 19,000 German troops and created a six-mile bridgehead in the process. The Hellcats bought precious time for Companies A and B of the 37th Tank Battalion to rumble north from Lezey toward the battlefront. On 26 Mar 1945, these troops marched southward toward Patton's troops. The Lorraine campaign would test Patton and his men as they had never been tested before. 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. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was the supreme commander of Allied forces in North Africa at the time, picked Patton to lead the U.S. 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. 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. Patton's troops beat Montgomery across the Rhine by one day. World War Two Timeline From The Great War To Germanys Surrender. The Panzergrenadiers methodically fought their way up the southern slope, clearing Americans from their foxholes. and useful information about WW2. He is all through. 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 . 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. Both sides employed heavy guns to shell enemy forces clinging to their respective slopes. Right: Patton famously relieved himself in the Rhine on March24, 1945and made sure he was photographed doing so. At daybreak, the 358th Infantry Regiment attacked the column with a wide range of antitank weapons including bazookas, 3-inch guns, and 105 mm howitzers. 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. ", ww2dbaseAdditional Contribution by Alan Chanter. 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, 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 Germans attacked along the entire line on September 29, and Wietersheim committed his final reserve of 40 tanks to the fight for Hill 318. 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. For the Allied high command, the all-out assault across the Rhine was hugely important because crossing the river, the historic boundary of German power in the west, rang the death knell on the lunacy and bestiality of Hitlers Thousand Year Reich. This is Part One of a Three Part look at Pattons Lorraine Campaign. In a clever move, he ordered the 110th Panzergrenadier Regiment to attack Hill 318 under cover of darkness. Patton celebrated the victory by stopping on a treadway bridge his men had built and relieving himself into the river. Campaigns: Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe. The Rhine itself was symbolic of the entrance into Germany from Western Europe and had historically stood as a natural barrier against invasion. Click here for parts Two and Three. The attack on the 25th was not substantial enough to disrupt a shuffling of U.S. forces in the Arracourt sector. 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. Click here for our comprehensive information resource on the society, ideology, and key events in Nazi Germany. Email Address Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved. 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. But where he crossed the Main? 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. Cross the border into Germany and the city of Trier, which Patton seized after crossing the Saar and Rhine rivers. The 111th once again sustained staggering losses, losing 17 of 22 panzers. Meanwhile, British 2nd Army began an offensive towards the Elbe 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. North of Metz, Third Armys left flank lay exposed, and Knobelsdorff sent the 106th Panzer Brigade to attack the Americans in an effort to keep them off balance and slow their efforts to cross the Moselle. 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. Our database is searchable by subject and updated continuously. 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. As he came closer to the German lines, He immediately became calm, shaking off tremors of fear. 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. With the vise tightening on Nancy, Blaskowitz ordered the 553rd Volksgrenadier Division to pull out of the Nancy pocket before it was cut off. 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. In late March 1945, Gen. George Patton crossed the Rhine River on World War II veteran Glenn Chaney's bridge, pausing for the most famous bathroom break of t. Eddys final plan, which was a compromise between his initial plan and that of headstrong 4th Armored Division commander Maj. Gen. John Wood, called for Brig. But Pattons dash ground to a halt shortly after it crossed the Meuse. In December he was appointed Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force and planned the July 1944 invasion of Europe (Operation Overlord). HTML tags are not allowed. 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. This dramatic entrance to the battle by CCA caught the Germans off guard and paid large dividends. The plan focused on Wesel, with multiple crossings set to occur along a 22-mile front on the evening of 23 March. . In Germany, US Third Army captured Darmstadt and reached Main, allowing the linking up with US Seventh Army near Worms. 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. ww2dbaseThe river on XXX Corps' front was 500 yards across and defended on its eastern bank by the German 8th Parachute Division, in and around the town of Rees. Mrz 2023; . I was determined that the attack on the Siegfried Line should go on in spite of what had happened in Lunville, he said. 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. To cover CCBs former position in the line, Baades 35th Infantry Division advanced to a new position west of Chateau-Salins. To their surprise, they were not opposed by enemy forces. If Third Army was unable to cross the Moselle by September 14, Bradley told Patton, it would have to go over to the defensive. During the fighting around Juvelize, the Americans lost 14 Shermans and 7 Stuarts. Our database is searchable by subject and updated continuously. CROSSING THE RHINE. Still, the 137th Infantry Division that same day managed to establish several small bridgeheads on the eastern bank. Brad, for Gods sake tell the world were across. From there, Third Army would advance along a northeast route of march toward the fortified West Wall. Thank You, This was because Third Army, and the other Allied armies racing to its north, had stretched their supply lines until they snapped. Nevertheless, the Germans established strong defensive positions in two dilapidated French fortresses that effectively blocked the western approaches to the city. 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. They rose through the branches of the trees to a height of 60 feet. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Like his counterpart, Balck was loath to go on the defensive but found he had no choice. 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. 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. 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. While waiting for fuel to arrive with which to resume his eastward advance, Patton received good news from Bradley on September 4 that he would soon receive reinforcements in the form of Maj. Gen. Wade Haislips XV Corps, which would guard his right flank against German forces retreating up the Rhone Valley. 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. 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. Still, Walkers XX Corps remained stalled before Metz, even though Eddys XII Corps had advanced well beyond its Moselle bridgeheads. 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. Eddy was tasked with locating possible crossing points above and below Nancy, while Walker was instructed to do the same above and below Metz. 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. 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. 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. Hitler also began a systematic process to produce fresh divisions to replace those smashed by the Allies in central France. "It's time for another Patton to die," he said aloud. 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. 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. Scouts from the U.S. 42nd Cavalry Squadron detected a German column approachingfrom the south toward Lunville at 7 am on September 18. Another 2,153 fighters supported the ground operations. Photo Credit: Men of the U.S. 5th Infantry Division hug the walls in one of the suburbs of Metz in early September 1944. This crossing was an important step in bringing the conflict to a close on May 8th, 1945. 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. Click here to see our comprehensive article on World War 2. Although ordered to avoid German forces concentrated at Chateau-Salins, Abrams nevertheless overtook an armored column from the 15th Panzergrenadier Division and, in another stunning attack, captured or destroyed 26 armored vehicles and took 400 prisoners. The Americans captured the northern fort almost immediately, but German paratroopers held out in the southern fort for five days. . George Patton received permission from his superiors to take the US 3rd Army across the Rhine River. Further south, where the river was narrower, Patton's Third Army vaulted the Rhine with its customary elan, as did Devers' Sixth Army Group. Control of the crest of Hill 318 shifted back and forth on September 28. All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB. The new panzer brigades each had a battalion of Panzergrenadiers drawn from the three Panzergrenadier divisions already in Lorraine. 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. 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. Ahead of the Allies were the remains of the German forces, often no more than Volkssturm or Hitlerjugend, determined to resist for as long as possible so that their Fu hrer had time to unleash his super . BATTLE OF THE BULGE is scrolled underneath. The 37th Tank Battalion would get no rest on September 20. C. Peter Chen of Lava Development, LLC. 6731 Whittier Avenue, Suite C-100 McLean, VA 22101, Stay up to date with all of our latest news, Activated: 15 July 1942. 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 want the world to know Third Army made it before Monty starts across, he shouted. His high hopes for a rapid advance to the West Wall would be dashed as heavy rains over the next two months restricted Third Armys tank columns to primary roads and sharply curtailed tactical air support. Eddy planned to isolate Nancy in a double envelopment. This was the greatest airborne operation of the war. Copyright 2004-2023 Lava Development, LLC., all rights reserved, See all 47 photographs of Crossing the Rhine, Message from George Patton to US 5th Infantry Division. On 7 March, the 9th Armoured Division of the US 1st Army captured the partially damaged railway bridge at Remagen. Two days earlier, Patton had told Maj. Gen. Manton Eddy that his XII Corps would lead the way. US First Army attacked Paderborn, Germany. But various factors were at work to derail those hopes. 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. XXX Corps. This meant that CCA was now on the left flank of the Arracourt-Juvelize salient and CCB was on the right. British sappers built another Rhine bridge, "Westminster". 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 fighting resulted in the final destruction of two panzer brigades. After the completion of the Battle in The Ardennes, Patton and his Army turned to the south and east attacking toward the Rhine. 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. Units of the Canadian First Army, British Second Army, and the U.S. Instead, he commented, They brought up a row of trucks filled with assault boats. The historic city of Metz included an extensive system of man-made fortifications from previous wars. To their surprise, they were not opposed by enemy forces. 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. As blue skies gave way to rainy spells signaling autumn's 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. Although the crossing was uneventful and drew no enemy fire, Tucker remembered, We swore not to push our boat into the water., Instead, once the infantrymen scrambled onto the shore, Tucker and his fellow engineer simply got back into their boat and paddled back across. British sappers built another Rhine bridge, "Blackfriars", by noon. Pattons rapid advance across France came to an abrupt halt at Metz, due to fuel shortages, deteriorating weather conditions, and increased enemy resistance. Lloyd Clark. You mean across the Rhine? Sure am, Patton replied, I sneaked a division over last night. The Germans failed to reconnoiter enemy positions, and their replacement tank crews were no match for Leclercs veteran troops. Nevertheless, Knobelsdorff secured permission from Hitler to use the brigade for a quick strike provided he return it to First Army reserve within 48 hours. To reach the West Wall, XII Corps was to change front to the northeast and push 30 miles from Chateau-Salins to Sarreguemines. The Sherman crews could do little to deter the advancing Panthers because of the excellent sloped and thick frontal armor the enemy tanks possessed. The 111th once again sustained staggering losses, losing 17 of 22 panzers the safety of a Part... And forth on September 18 tank crews were no match for Leclercs veteran troops Army captured the damaged! Corps remained stalled before Metz, even though Eddys XII Corps would lead the way various factors at... This We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking Battalion to North. To rumble North from Lezey toward the fortified West Wall, XII would. 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Is Part one of a three Part look at Pattons Lorraine campaign the plan focused on,! The Great War to Germanys Surrender get no rest on September 28 the 137th Regiment at Lorey in to. Patton to die, & quot ; he said aloud the Meuse Fifth Panzer Army with Gen. Lt. Wend Wietersheims... Line, Baades 35th Infantry Division advanced to a close on May 8th, 1945 slope, clearing Americans their... Built and relieving himself into the afternoon, but German paratroopers held out in final... Blocked the Western approaches to the German lines, he immediately became,!