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. 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. Meanwhile the construction of an even larger Class 40 bridge "London Bridge" continued and was completed by midnight. 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 following day Patton arrived at the pontoon bridge his engineers had constructed over the Rhine. While the fighting raged, P-47s flew repeated sorties against Bures, through which the Germans were funneling fresh troops and ammunition into the battle. 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. Altogether, the 106th Panzer Brigade lost 30 tanks and 60 halftracks, which greatly reduced the role it would play in subsequent operations. 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. After the completion of the Battle in The Ardennes, Patton and his Army turned to the south and east attacking toward the Rhine. . Our database is searchable by subject and updated continuously. The flames were transparent orange, rising with startling swiftness. This meant that two columns of tanks and half-tracks from the 113th would have to carry the objective themselves. All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB. I was certainly very full of hopes and saw myself crossing the Rhine, Patton said. Patton celebrated the victory by stopping on a treadway bridge his men had built and relieving himself into the river. You mean across the Rhine? Sure am, Patton replied, I sneaked a division over last night. Patton began drafting plans for Third Armys advance east toward the Rhine as early as September 14. By the end of the day the Germans had lost a dozen Mark IVs and six Panthers. News of the crossing made it around the world. Click here to see our comprehensive article on World War 2. 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. While we were digging in for the night, the Jerries sent over a heavy artillery barrage. 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. Opposition was negligible and within 24 hours the entire US 5th Division had crossed the river. For a five-day period at the beginning of September, Pattons Third Army remained idle as German forces to their east regrouped and entrenched behind the Moselle. The troops of the French First Army crossed the Rhine River near Philippsburg, Germany on 1 Apr. 20th Century Timeline Of World History: What Happened? US First Army attacked Paderborn, Germany. On 7 March, the 9th Armoured Division of the US 1st Army captured the partially damaged railway bridge at Remagen. 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. That remained the case in the first months of 1945. events, and resources, Patton in Lorraine: Breaking the Moselle Line. They swooped in at extremely low level, catching the German tank crews by surprise. We began to cautiously filter down through the moonlit streets toward the shingled beach. The Rhine is no ordinary river. When Manteuffel learned that the 111th had becomebogged down in Lunville, he ordered it to break off the engagement and bypass the town to the east. As Pattons Third Army approached the Meuse River in late August, it paused before pushing into the Lorraine region. 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 . 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. 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. CROSSING THE RHINE. A follow-on series of panzer brigades, numbered above 110, would contain a battalion of Panthers and a battalion of Mark IVs. By the end of 24 Mar 1945, the German airfields were so damaged that the Luftwaffe practically ceased to exist on this front. During the respite the Fifth Army was given the previous day, Manteuffel had assimilated the remnants of three battered panzer brigades into veteran divisions. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. 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. 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. Pattons troops beat Montgomery across the Rhine by one day. 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. News of the crossing made it around the world. 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. 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. The Americans sought to offset the Germans armor advantage in the sector by committing a platoon of Shermans from the 8th Tank Battalion to the fight. The delay would prove a costly one. Charging up the slope after nightfall, the Germans once again seized the crest, forcing the Americans to retreat to the northern slope. Patton had been correct that the Germans possessed no defense in depth immediately after Third Army crossed the Moselle. When Patton Enlisted the Entire Third Army to Pray for Fair Weather, California Do not sell my personal information. The Germans did not intended to give up either without a fight. In a clever move, he ordered the 110th Panzergrenadier Regiment to attack Hill 318 under cover of darkness. We've got him. US First Army captured Paderborn and Hamm, Germany. 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. 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 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. Hitler, who had never liked Blaskowitz, sacked him on September 21. Your IP address will be tracked even if you remain anonymous. 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. To ensure that the bridgehead could properly defend itself, Wood ordered Clarks CCA to send its lead elements across the bridge the following morning. He announced that the Third Army would shortly capture its 230,000th prisoner of war. Dwight Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe But by the time Eddy was ready to resume his advance, Manteuffels Fifth Army had materialized as if out of thin air. 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 Germans failed to reconnoiter enemy positions, and their replacement tank crews were no match for Leclercs veteran troops. 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. The Crossing of the Rhine River. Total losses for the day were five Shermans and more than 40 Panther and Mark IV tanks. On the day of the deadline, Patton reported to Bradley that the southern wing of Third Army had broken out of its bridgeheads and was in position to continue pushing east. With that measure of skill, the 704th managed that day to destroy eight Panthers without losing a single tank destroyer. 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. 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. If you supply any information, it would be appreciated by his family. Balck expanded the fight by committing units from Knobelsdorffs First Army to the battle on September 24. For its part, the 15th Panzergrenadier Division had three dozen Mark IV tanks. 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. British sappers built another Rhine bridge, "Blackfriars", by noon. The Panzergrenadiers methodically fought their way up the southern slope, clearing Americans from their foxholes. Brian Horrocks, Corps Commander (Magnum Books, 1977). 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. 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. All rights reserved. The Shermans then retreated behind the crest of the ridge and reappeared at another point to finish off the three remaining Panthers. The bombing started on 21 Mar, and by 24 Mar the German air force were no longer able to put up much of a resistance against its Allied counterpart; 8,000 sorties were launched between 21 Mar and 24 Mar, and Allied airmen reported only about 100 enemy aircrafts sighted. 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. For the crossing 8,000 Royal Engineers came under command of the C.E. It is thought that the accompanying photo of General George Patton documents Patton urinating into the Rhine River. Seventh Army in the invasion of Sicily in July 1943. With no ground or air bombardments, they captured 19,000 German troops and created a six-mile bridgehead in the process. Leclerc also benefited from repeated tactical air strikes by P-47 Thunderbolts of Brig. 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. All of these units suffered serious armored and antitank deficiencies. Lava's technical capabilities. Thank you. The tank battle raged well into the afternoon as Company B arrived to help Abrams hold back the Germans. 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. Again, the Germans proved they had the determination and resources to make the Americans pay heavily to get their forces across the Moselle. The historic city of Metz included an extensive system of man-made fortifications from previous wars. Some of the hardest fighting was done by the 704th Tank Destroyer (TD) Battalion. Because Knobelsdorff had no better luck than Manteuffel against the Americans, Balck returned control of the offensive back to Manteuffel. This article is also part of our extensive collection of articles on the second World War. XXX Corps. 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. It controlled the majority of American forces on the Western Front in 1944 and 1945: the U.S. First Army under Gen. Courtney H. Hodges, the Third Army under Gen. George S. Patton, the Ninth Army under Gen. William H. Simpson, and the Fifteenth Army under Gen. Leonard T. Gerow. The turning point in the battle came when a U.S. artillery observer directed more than 300 howitzer rounds onto a German column lined up on a sunken road in preparation for an assault on the village of Mairy. I want the world to know Third Army made it before Monty starts across, he shouted. 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. 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. Third Army, which formed the right wing of Bradleys 12th Army Group, was composed of Maj. Gen. Walton Walkers XX Corps and Eddys XII Corps. Pattons third corps, Troy Middletons VIII Corps, had been detached and assigned to mop up German resistance in Brittany. In Washington, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson declared, We gave Monty everything he asked forparatroopers, assault boats and even the Navy, and by God, Patton has crossed the Rhine!. We were surprised the Navy was there, he commented, and the Navy was surprised they were so far away from the ocean. 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. Even $1 per month will go a long way! This crossing was an important step in bringing the conflict to a close on May 8th, 1945. After suffering significant casualties from heavy anti-aircraft fire, the airborne infantry landed and participated in direct combat during daylight to attack the German defenders from both sides. March 22nd, 2020 - Palatinate Chapter member visits the commemorative site of Patton's historic crossing of the Rhine. WW2DB site administrators reserve the right to moderate, censor, and/or remove any comment. 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. In short order, more than a half-dozen M5 Stuart tanks sat smoldering and crumpled in fields near the town. A German counter attack from Frankfurt, Germany towards Kstrin barely got out of the city. During the fighting around Juvelize, the Americans lost 14 Shermans and 7 Stuarts. Meanwhile, US Third Army captured Ludwigshafen and Speyer, Germany. When the Germans attempted to withdraw, they found their escape route blocked by the 359th Infantry Regiment moving east to cut them off. In December he was appointed Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force and planned the July 1944 invasion of Europe (Operation Overlord). Patton received orders from Bradley on September 23 to switch to a defensive position until further notice. The Hellcats bought precious time for Companies A and B of the 37th Tank Battalion to rumble north from Lezey toward the battlefront. Third Armys advance would be further slowed by squabbles among Pattons lieutenants and by lack of training in fortress warfare on the part of its infantry. Instead, he commented, They brought up a row of trucks filled with assault boats. Through skilled use of defensive positions, the Americans stopped the Germans from capturing the town. The fighting resulted in the final destruction of two panzer brigades. ww2dbaseSources: 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. Once again, Company C of the 704th TD Battalion rushed forward to delay the advance supported by P-47s firing rockets and machine guns. Bradley told General George S. Pattonwhose U.S. Third Army had been fighting through the Palatinateto "take the Rhine on the run". The western boundary of Lorraine is formed by the Moselle Valley and the eastern boundary by the Saare River. 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