The crossing would be difficult with German mortar and artillery guns already trained at river crossings. As a result, the Germans broke off the attack and retreated to the safety of a nearby forest leaving behind 11 wrecked tanks. 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. As expected, the Germans counterattacked at 1 pm on September 13 just as CCA began crossing the bridge. It is thought that the accompanying photo of General George Patton documents Patton urinating into the Rhine River. By dawn the Germans had seized the crest of Hill 318. site is two fold. 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. Despite the ferocity of the attack, the cavalry held on for four hours before it finally withdrew into the town. Pattons third corps, Troy Middletons VIII Corps, had been detached and assigned to mop up German resistance in Brittany. 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. When the Germans attempted to withdraw, they found their escape route blocked by the 359th Infantry Regiment moving east to cut them off. For Gods sake, send some gasoline.. 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. But where he crossed the Main? 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. 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. 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. Occupied Zone in Germany. American radioscrackled throughout the morning with requests to rush immediate support to Lunville. Through skilled use of defensive positions, the Americans stopped the Germans from capturing the town. Please use this data for any reference citations. 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. Meanwhile, British 2nd Army began an offensive towards the Elbe River. If Third Army was unable to cross the Moselle by September 14, Bradley told Patton, it would have to go over to the defensive. But Pattons dash ground to a halt shortly after it crossed the Meuse. They rose through the branches of the trees to a height of 60 feet. 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. 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. 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 news came as a hard blow to Patton, whose spirits had been riding high with the prospect of pushing through the West Wall to the Rhine. When he reached the other side of the river, Patton pretended to stumble, imitating William the Conqueror, who famously fell on his face when landing in England but transformed the bad omen into a propitious one by leaping to his feet with a handful of English soil, claiming it portended his complete possession of the country. While we were digging in for the night, the Jerries sent over a heavy artillery barrage. This dramatic entrance to the battle by CCA caught the Germans off guard and paid large dividends. Left: Keeping a low profile, soldiers of the U.S. Third Armys 89th Infantry Division cross the Rhine in assault boats under intense German fire, March1945. Under extremely tough and experienced Parachute and Panzer officers and NCOs new replacements (many dedicated Nazis) had been moulded into a formidable fighting force. 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. The 134th was fortunate to find a bridge intact and threw a battalion across the river. . Patton drove to the XII Corps front on September 19, where he met first with Eddy and later with Wood. The Hellcats bought precious time for Companies A and B of the 37th Tank Battalion to rumble north from Lezey toward the battlefront. This article is also part of our extensive collection of articles on the second World War. On 22 March, General George S. Patton sent his Third Army across the Rhine, at Nierstein, to form another bridgehead. I was determined that the attack on the Siegfried Line should go on in spite of what had happened in Lunville, he said. 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. 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. 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. 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. Frankfort was captured by Allied troops on 29 Mar. Hitler, who had never liked Blaskowitz, sacked him on September 21. DEste begins with Pattons early life and family and moves through his decades at a pace that makes this long book seem far shorter. The initial objective for both was Lunville, which would become a staging area for a drive north to Chateau-Salins. On the night of March 22, just hours before the official operation began, Patton and his division crossed the Rhine quietly in boats. 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. 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. 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. It was significant to the Allies because it offered a gateway between the Ardennes and Vosges Mountains, through which Allied forces might reach Germany. A follow-on series of panzer brigades, numbered above 110, would contain a battalion of Panthers and a battalion of Mark IVs. Like his counterpart, Balck was loath to go on the defensive but found he had no choice. This meant that two columns of tanks and half-tracks from the 113th would have to carry the objective themselves. After two days of hard fighting, the two sides braced for more of the same. Scouts from the U.S. 42nd Cavalry Squadron detected a German column approachingfrom the south toward Lunville at 7 am on September 18. . 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? Leslie Mansfield, (daughter). This paratrooper operation was not a typical one where troops were dropped a distance behind enemy lines before the operation to disrupt communications; this time, Bernard Montgomery chose to drop the paratroopers immediately behind the enemy lines after the conventional infantry had already crossed the Rhine River under the cover of darkness. All rights reserved. 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. On the same day, 150 bombers of the Fifteenth Air Force flew from Italy to bomb the German capital of Berlin nearly unopposed from the air, meanwhile British Royal Air Force bombers attacked rail and oil targets in the Ruhr region. Patton was fatally injured in a road accident on December9, 1945, dying twelve days later. I think, everybody here know the photo as Patton urinated into the Rhine. We figured we had a perfectly good boat. I know that he carried the BAR and he was in Company A, 359th Infantry Regiment. Brad, for Gods sake tell the world were across. 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. 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. 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 type of close-range fighting that day is exemplified by an encounter between an M18 Hellcat of the 704th against a pair of Panther tanks. Objekt des Monats Mrz: Rhine River Crossing Memorial. Once Third Army reached the West Wall, Patton intended to concentrate his forces to achieve a breach. 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. The Shermans, which went into action in the morning, knocked out eight enemy tanks in quick order. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. All of these units suffered serious armored and antitank deficiencies. Meanwhile, US Third Army captured Aschaffenburg, Germany, 40 kilometers to the southeast. 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. Against such odds, a breakout at that location was not deemed feasible. 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. They swooped in at extremely low level, catching the German tank crews by surprise. When I looked for a second target, it was gone.. Before more German tanks could ascend the hill, P-47s swooped in with bombs and rockets after the fog burned off, breaking up a counterattack. His pleas fell on deaf ears, and he prepared to make do with the untrained and understrength units he had been given. A heavy artillery barrage preceded an attack near Chateau-Salins by two regiments supported by tanks across flat ground against U.S. forces in defensive positions on a long ridge. Another 2,153 fighters supported the ground operations. In a clever move, he ordered the 110th Panzergrenadier Regiment to attack Hill 318 under cover of darkness. 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. This article is from the bookPatton: Blood, Guts, and Prayer2012by Michael Keane. Seventh Army in the invasion of Sicily in July 1943. The 134th Infantry Regiment was ordered to cross on the left below Nancy, and the 137th Infantry Regiment on the right. 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. 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. 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. Luttwitz and Krueger received their orders two days before the start date. For its part, the 15th Panzergrenadier Division had three dozen Mark IV tanks. He received the Bronze Star and was shot on or about 28 September, 1944. 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. 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. Patton would now report to Bradley. 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. 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. Instead, he commented, They brought up a row of trucks filled with assault boats. That same day Third Army received about 240,000 gallons of fuel, which was sufficient to resume its advance the following day. The Germans, who observed the Americans pulling out of Juvelize, occupied the abandoned town the following day. In effort to ensure greater success, Manteuffel ordered a detailed reconnaissance of enemy positions. 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. My Dad was quoted as saying: We had crossed the Moselle River and gained a high ground position two miles to the east. This meant that CCA was now on the left flank of the Arracourt-Juvelize salient and CCB was on the right. Patton's goal was to cross the Rhine, even if not a single bridge was left standing over which to do it. Lava's technical capabilities. Even $1 per month will go a long way! 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. "My dear General", Winston Churchill said to the American general as they met the next morning, "the German is whipped. The media and public back home were outraged that a general would treat an enlisted man in such a manner. That evening Manteuffel made substantial adjustments to the German plan of attack. 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. 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]. Patton's troops beat Montgomery across the Rhine by one day. Meanwhile the construction of an even larger Class 40 bridge "London Bridge" continued and was completed by midnight. Balck expanded the fight by committing units from Knobelsdorffs First Army to the battle on September 24. CROSSING THE RHINE. To the far left is scrolled, WARS MAY BE FOUGHT WITH . 20th Century Timeline Of World History: What Happened? The Rhine is no ordinary river. C. Peter Chen of Lava Development, LLC. The strike destroyed five Panthers and 20 half-tracks. 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. (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.) It was a daunting series of objectives, but Patton relished the opportunity. To their surprise, they were not opposed by enemy forces. Although his unit was spearheading the attack toward the river, he assumed there would be a pause to get organized for the crossing. 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. For inquiries about military records for members of the World War II armed forces, please see our FAQ. 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. The final stage of World War II in the European Theatre commenced with the Western Allied invasion of Germany. The fighting resulted in the final destruction of two panzer brigades. The World War II Database is founded and managed by 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 . To learn more,click here for our comprehensive guide to General Patton. To cover CCBs former position in the line, Baades 35th Infantry Division advanced to a new position west of Chateau-Salins. and useful information about WW2. But its fortune ended there. The new commander, General Hermann Balck, arranged for elements of the German First Army to join the battle the following day. Luttwitz would strike north toward Lunville, while Krueger would push west along the south side of the Marne-Rhine Canal toward the town. 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. 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. Two days earlier, Patton had told Maj. Gen. Manton Eddy that his XII Corps would lead the way. 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. Opposition was negligible and within 24 hours the entire US 5th Division had crossed the river. To descend the ridge and maneuver against the Panthers would have exposed the Shermans to the Panthers highly effective guns. Right: Patton famously relieved himself in the Rhine on March24, 1945and made sure he was photographed doing so. Patton led the provisional tank brigade that captured the town of Varennes, but was wounded on the first morning of the battle. 2nd Lt. Richard Buss, commanding a platoon of M18s, ordered one of his vehicles to take up a well-protected position behind a railroad embankment with only its barrel visible. Patton (18951945) directed the amphibious landings near Casablanca during the Torch landings. Total losses for the day were five Shermans and more than 40 Panther and Mark IV tanks. You have made your Army a fighting force that is not excelled in effectiveness by any other of equal size in the world, and I am very proud of the fact that you, as one of the fighting commanders who has been with me from the beginning of the African campaign, have performed so brilliantly throughout. The 111th and 113th Panzer Brigades boasted two tank battalions, one of 45 Panthers and the other of 45 Mark IVs. Unlike Manteuffels forces, Knobelsdorffs had artillery with which to support an attack. 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. Eddy planned to isolate Nancy in a double envelopment. March 22, 1945 On this date in 1945, one day before the British 21st Army Group under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery was due to launch Operation Plunder, the long-awaited northern offensive across the Rhine River at Rees and Wesel in North Rhine-Westphalia, Gen. George S. Patton sneaked a division of his U.S. Third Army across the Rhine at Oppenheim, lower on the river and south of Mainz. 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. "It's time for another Patton to die," he said aloud. The delay would prove a costly one. The tank battle raged well into the afternoon as Company B arrived to help Abrams hold back the Germans. Second, it is to showcase 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. 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. You can read more about the day . 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