In December he was appointed Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force and planned the July 1944 invasion of Europe (Operation Overlord). Patton began drafting plans for Third Armys advance east toward the Rhine as early as September 14. 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. For its part, the 15th Panzergrenadier Division had three dozen Mark IV tanks. 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. Patton celebrated the victory by stopping on a treadway bridge his men had built and relieving himself into the river. The Panthersknocked out three of the lightly armored HMCs in short order. 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. Control of the crest of Hill 318 shifted back and forth on September 28. The troops of the French First Army crossed the Rhine River near Philippsburg, Germany on 1 Apr. The Shermans popped over the crest of the ridge and opened fire on the enemy tank column at a range of 900 yards, destroying five enemy tanks by striking them in the side. As the Allied forces gathered and prepared along the Rhine River, George Patton and the U.S. 5 th Division were quietly carrying . If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. 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. The main column found itself in the midst of the 90th Division headquarters at 3 am, and several Panthers engaged an M4 Sherman guarding McLains command post situated on a knoll. Patton told Wood to strike east the following day in the belief that it would keep the Germans off balance. Late in the evening of 22 March, XII Corp's 5th Infantry Division began a Rhine crossing near Oppenheim against little resistance. . The media and public back home were outraged that a general would treat an enlisted man in such a manner. The very notion was unpalatable to Old Blood and Guts. 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. The Germans, in an effort to regroup, turned southwest to escape the ambush. He made his way halfway across the bridge before suddenly halting. Through skilled use of defensive positions, the Americans stopped the Germans from capturing the town. . 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. 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. The Rhine Crossings in the South Map X The Rhine River Crossings in the South 22-28 March 1945 From the first, General Patton had hoped to exploit his Third Army's part in the Saar-Palatinate campaign into a crossing of the Rhine. "It's time for another Patton to die," he said aloud. Please use this data for any reference citations. This article is part of our larger selection of postsabout the George S. Patton. We figured we had a perfectly good boat. 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. 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. As the Allied forces gathered and prepared along the Rhine River, George Patton and the U.S. 5 th Division were quietly carrying . We were surprised the Navy was there, he commented, and the Navy was surprised they were so far away from the ocean. In effort to ensure greater success, Manteuffel ordered a detailed reconnaissance of enemy positions. For inquiries about military records for members of the World War II armed forces, please see our FAQ. 6731 Whittier Avenue, Suite C-100 McLean, VA 22101, Stay up to date with all of our latest news, ww2dbaseBetween Frankfort and the Ruhr River, the American First Army had breached the Rhine River barrier earlier in the month near Remagen. Right: Patton famously relieved himself in the Rhine on March24, 1945and made sure he was photographed doing so. Terms & Conditions; Privacy Policy 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. This was the greatest airborne operation of the war. Patton arrived in France exactly one month after the D-Day invasion to set up the operational command for Third Army. It was an unusually costly day for the Americans, who lost a dozen Shermans. During the fighting around Juvelize, the Americans lost 14 Shermans and 7 Stuarts. We are now fairly started on that phase of the campaign which I hope will be the final one. As the Americans prepared to resume their push east, the vanguard of CCA shifted north toward Chateau-Salins. 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. Leclerc also benefited from repeated tactical air strikes by P-47 Thunderbolts of Brig. The Shermans, which went into action in the morning, knocked out eight enemy tanks in quick order. This kind of came as a surprise, but everything was so well prepared for us, recalled Tucker. Patton was relieved of command in the wake of the incident but was not dismissed from war service. 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. From there, the vehicle fired an armor-piercing shell into the side of a Panther in a field 300 yards away. 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. Occupied Zone in Germany. 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. Patton celebrated the victory by stopping on a treadway bridge his men had built and relieving himself into the river. Two days before, Bradley had called Patton and First Army Commander Maj. Gen. Courtney Hodge to his headquarters at Dreux and informed them that the supply situation was dire. In 1943 he commanded the U.S. Pattons triumph of the summer in which Third Army raced across France against light opposition had given way to the hard reality of bitter fighting along the Moselle line. Anthony Read and David Fisher, The Fall of Berlin. The attack, which came as a complete surprise, was being orchestrated by one of the Third Reichs most talented panzer leaders, the diminutive General der Panzertruppen Hasso von Manteuffel, whom Hitler had plucked from the Eastern Front with his staff to drive Pattons forces back across the Moselle. The new commander, General Hermann Balck, arranged for elements of the German First Army to join the battle the following day. Using speed to its advantage, Third Army roared across two bridges over the Meuse River on August 31 before German forces could demolish them and slow the American advance. You can read more about the day . 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. 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 meant that CCA was now on the left flank of the Arracourt-Juvelize salient and CCB was on the right. U.S. Army personnel cross the Ludendorff Bridge "CROSS THE RHINE WITH DRY FEET COURTESY OF 9TH ARM'D DIV". 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. The gasoline arrived and Pattons men pressed headlong across southern Germany and into Czechoslovakia. The Americans captured the northern fort almost immediately, but German paratroopers held out in the southern fort for five days. Eddys XII Corps, on the right flank, began moving up to the Moselle that same day, and Walkers XX Corps, on the left flank, started its advance the following day. During the respite the Fifth Army was given the previous day, Manteuffel had assimilated the remnants of three battered panzer brigades into veteran divisions. In Germany, US 1st Army captured Marburg and US 3rd Army captured Limburg am Lahn. Significantly, none of the panzer brigades had either organic artillery or reconnaissance vehicles. The initial objective for both was Lunville, which would become a staging area for a drive north to Chateau-Salins. 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. The Germans did not intended to give up either without a fight. 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. The attack on the 25th was not substantial enough to disrupt a shuffling of U.S. forces in the Arracourt sector. Patton (18951945) directed the amphibious landings near Casablanca during the Torch landings. Meanwhile, British 2nd Army began an offensive towards the Elbe River. Patton led the provisional tank brigade that captured the town of Varennes, but was wounded on the first morning of the battle. 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. 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. It was a daunting series of objectives, but Patton relished the opportunity. 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He engineered the Normandy breakout and was made commander of the Twelfth Army Group. On the evening of March 22, 1945 General George S. Patton's forces were fronting the last major obstacle to the heart of Germany, the Rhine River. 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. 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. The pause that refreshes. The general told the troops around him. Because Knobelsdorff had no better luck than Manteuffel against the Americans, Balck returned control of the offensive back to Manteuffel. You mean across the Rhine? Sure am, Patton replied, I sneaked a division over last night. 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. On September 2, Hitler issued orders for the creation of 25 new divisions, most of which were to be given the designation of Volksgrenadier. Thank you. 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. Germany. For the crossing 8,000 Royal Engineers came under command of the C.E. Your IP address will be tracked even if you remain anonymous. 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. 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. 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. Bradley, who found the report satisfactory, passed the news to Eisenhower that Third Army was indeed across the Moselle in strength. Both sides employed heavy guns to shell enemy forces clinging to their respective slopes. Patton had seriously underestimated the Germans ability to recover from setbacks and mount a tenacious defense as the Western Allies neared the German border. 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 . 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. At Toul, where a great bend in the Moselle channeled the Moselle away from Nancy, the Germans were content to allow McBrides 319th Infantry Regiment to cross unopposed on September 5. His commanding general Omar Bradley, who issued the order for him not to cross to avoid interfering with Bernard Montgomery's operations, did not know of the crossing until the next morning. Meanwhile, US Third Army captured Aschaffenburg, Germany, 40 kilometers to the southeast. 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. 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. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. 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. 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. The light losses suffered by Abramss battalion were a result of his crews using their mobility to offset the advantage enjoyed by the Panthers long, high-velocity 75mm gun over the Shermans short 75mm gun. Click here for our comprehensive information resource on the society, ideology, and key events in Nazi Germany. US First Army attacked Paderborn, Germany. The 134th was fortunate to find a bridge intact and threw a battalion across the river. Geplant war eine Flussberquerung, die nach dem Willen des Oberkommandierenden berraschend, schnell und spektakulr werden sollte. Seventh Army during the Sicilian campaign ( Operation Husky ), and in August 1944 his Third Army became operational in northern France. 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. But by the time Eddy was ready to resume his advance, Manteuffels Fifth Army had materialized as if out of thin air. 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. The new panzer brigades each had a battalion of Panzergrenadiers drawn from the three Panzergrenadier divisions already in Lorraine. 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. Throughout the night of 23 Mar and the next day, 80,000 British and Canadian troops crossed the 20-mile stretch of the river. When I looked for a second target, it was gone.. 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. They rose through the branches of the trees to a height of 60 feet. Although Heckers division was at nearly full strength, Rodts had been depleted as a result of nearly a year of hard fighting. Eddy was tasked with locating possible crossing points above and below Nancy, while Walker was instructed to do the same above and below Metz. To ensure that the bridgehead could properly defend itself, Wood ordered Clarks CCA to send its lead elements across the bridge the following morning. 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. That same day Third Army received about 240,000 gallons of fuel, which was sufficient to resume its advance the following day. 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. I was certainly very full of hopes and saw myself crossing the Rhine, Patton said. But Pattons dash ground to a halt shortly after it crossed the Meuse. Patton drove to the XII Corps front on September 19, where he met first with Eddy and later with Wood. Desperate to achieve their objective, the Germans toiled throughout the day to construct strongpoints and establish camouflaged positions on the southern slope to support their attack. In fact, it was the first time an invading force had crossed the Rhein into Germany since Napoleon! The goal of this That remained the case in the first months of 1945. 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. By early afternoon, the Germans were fighting their way into the southern end of the town. The western boundary of Lorraine is formed by the Moselle Valley and the eastern boundary by the Saare River. But where he crossed the Main? Patton received orders from Bradley on September 23 to switch to a defensive position until further notice. This is Part One of a Three Part look at Pattons Lorraine Campaign. Eddy planned to isolate Nancy in a double envelopment. First, it is aiming to offer interesting For Gods sake, send some gasoline.. He later went as far as the railway bridge at Wesel by Montgomery's staff car, a bridge that was still under enemy fire. 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. Bradley quickly exploited the opportunity and expanded the bridgehead into a full-scale crossing. After 48 hours of hard fighting, the bridgehead was abandoned. To their credit, the RAF despatched fifty specialist within twelve hours and promised that a further 300 volunteers good be made available if required. I think, everybody here know the photo as Patton urinated into the Rhine. The day dawned with a thick blanket of fog shrouding the crest of the hill. US-Armee unter General George S. Patton (1885-1945) die Stadt Nierstein am Rhein. 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. Another 2,153 fighters supported the ground operations. Still, the 137th Infantry Division that same day managed to establish several small bridgeheads on the eastern bank. We began to cautiously filter down through the moonlit streets toward the shingled beach. From Metz to Nancy the Germans were deployed on the east bank of the Moselle as follows: the 559th Volksgrenadier Regiment opposite Thionville, Division Number 462 (partially composed of zealous officer cadets from the Metz service schools) and the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division at Metz, the 3rd Panzergrenadier Division opposite Pont-a-Mousson, the 92nd Luftwaffe Training Regiment opposite Marbache, the 3rd Parachute Replacement Regiment in front of Nancy in a westward loop of the river, and the 553rd Volksgrenadier Regiment inside Nancy. 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. 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. All of these units suffered serious armored and antitank deficiencies. 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. events, and resources. Although his unit was spearheading the attack toward the river, he assumed there would be a pause to get organized for the crossing. To descend the ridge and maneuver against the Panthers would have exposed the Shermans to the Panthers highly effective guns. 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. He was confident that Eddys 35th Division, with close support of the 4th Armored, could achieve a breach and hold it open to allow Third Armys armored divisions to punch through the wall. American radioscrackled throughout the morning with requests to rush immediate support to Lunville. 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. Einheiten des 3. The 9th Armored Division quickly expanded the bridgehead into a full scale crossing. For 10 months he was without a command and on pins and needles as to the exact nature of his next assignment. In addition, Wood ordered CCB to shift to CCAs right flank to cover the ground between Rechicourt and the Marne-Rhine Canal. To succeed in Lorraine, Patton would have to exercise careful planning, make quick tactical adjustments, and adjust his goals and expectations when the weather failed to cooperate. By the time the Third Army had gained a firm foothold on the east bank of the Moselle in mid-September, the masterminds of the German high command had hatched plans for a bold strike to regain the initiative. 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. Patton's goal was to cross the Rhine, even if not a single bridge was left standing over which to do it. Although the day was cloudy and wet, two squadrons of P-47s from the 405th Fighter Squadron were able to navigate to the area using their cockpit instruments and instructions from ground spotters. After some confusion as to the location of their target, which was Maj. Gen. Raymond McLains 90th Division of Walkers XX Corps, the Germans regrouped on the evening of September 7 and advanced after midnight in two columns through the village of Briey toward the American position. Still, Walkers XX Corps remained stalled before Metz, even though Eddys XII Corps had advanced well beyond its Moselle bridgeheads. Patton knew his entrance into German-occupied territory was of monumental historical importance. 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. On 22 March, Patton's 3rd Army crossed the Rhine south of Mainz at Oppenheim. Click here to see our comprehensive article on World War 2. 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. I was convinced then there were no Germans ahead of us except those we were actually fighting. He ordered Knobelsdorff to attack Dagers CCB with the 559th Volksgrenadier Division and the remnants of the 106th Panzer Brigade. Though beaten across the Rhine by Patton's Third Army, Montgomery's meticulous operation shone in its flawless execution. This dramatic entrance to the battle by CCA caught the Germans off guard and paid large dividends. Patton had been correct that the Germans possessed no defense in depth immediately after Third Army crossed the Moselle. Overseas: 26 August 1944. Patton spent so much time cajoling Bradley for permission to continue his advance east and additional reinforcements that he was seemingly oblivious to the stiffening enemy resistance and to evidence that the Germans were amassing substantial reinforcements in the Nancy sector. 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. 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. The fighting resulted in the final destruction of two panzer brigades. 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 pause that refreshes." The general told the troops around him. The Germans attacked again in the vicinity of Rechicourt in the afternoon, but after losing another nine tanks they broke off the action. Unlike Manteuffels forces, Knobelsdorffs had artillery with which to support an attack. Luttwitz and Krueger received their orders two days before the start date. The Germans, who observed the Americans pulling out of Juvelize, occupied the abandoned town the following day. ww2dbaseAll this, plus the assembly of vast amounts of troops, assault boats, Buffaloes, guns etc. Click here to see our comprehensive article on World War 2. 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. The Rhine itself was symbolic of the entrance into Germany from Western Europe and had historically stood as a natural barrier against invasion. 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. Under extremely tough and experienced Parachute and Panzer officers and NCOs new replacements (many dedicated Nazis) had been moulded into a formidable fighting force. While we were digging in for the night, the Jerries sent over a heavy artillery barrage. Frankfort was captured by Allied troops on 29 Mar. 20th Century Timeline Of World History: What Happened? Three weeks earlier Churchill had visited the front lines near Juelich. By the end of the day the Germans had lost a dozen Mark IVs and six Panthers. Following the setback at Pont-a-Mousson, McBride ordered his men to attempt another crossing four miles south at Dieulouard. Began drafting plans for Third Army was indeed across the bridge before suddenly halting paratroopers held in... 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