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. CROSSING THE RHINE After several days of what passed for R&R (Rest & Recreation) in Koblenz, we loaded up and climbed on trucks in the late afternoon of March 24 and moved upstream on the west side of the Rhine to the small town of Boppard. 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. We are now fairly started on that phase of the campaign which I hope will be the final one. 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. He did not expect to encounter substantial resistance until he reached the West Wall. ", ww2dbaseAdditional Contribution by Alan Chanter. Initially, at least, Eddys XII Corps suffered setbacks as severe as those experienced by Walkers corps to its north. To learn more,click here for our comprehensive guide to General Patton. This was the greatest airborne operation of the war. The Shermans, which went into action in the morning, knocked out eight enemy tanks in quick order. Pattons troops beat Montgomery across the Rhine by one day. March 22nd, 2020 - Palatinate Chapter member visits the commemorative site of Patton's historic crossing of the Rhine. 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. 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. 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. Beyond the German front lines, US aircraft harassed retreating German columns, destroying 246 trucks and 241 railway wagons. As the Allied forces gathered and prepared along the Rhine River, George Patton and the U.S. 5 th Division were quietly carrying . 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. Another 2,153 fighters supported the ground operations. 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. We were surprised the Navy was there, he commented, and the Navy was surprised they were so far away from the ocean. Patton was fatally injured in a road accident on December9, 1945, dying twelve days later. 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. The German troops knew that the Allied forces were only taking a short time to gather up strength before the invasion into Germany would commence. About 766 miles in length, with an average width of about 1,300 feet, the generally north-flowing waterway also is exceptionally swift and deep. . 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. It is thought that the accompanying photo of General George Patton documents Patton urinating into the Rhine River. 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. DEste begins with Pattons early life and family and moves through his decades at a pace that makes this long book seem far shorter. 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. 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. events, and resources, Patton in Lorraine: Breaking the Moselle Line. The gasoline arrived and Pattons men pressed headlong across southern Germany and into Czechoslovakia. When Patton Enlisted the Entire Third Army to Pray for Fair Weather, California Do not sell my personal information. Patton's goal was to cross the Rhine, even if not a single bridge was left standing over which to do it. Patton had served with competence and distinction with the U.S. forces throughout Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. ww2dbaseTo cross the Rhine presented the Royal Engineer with many highly technical problems, but experiments and preparations for just such a task had been carried out on the River Ouse, near Goole, since 1943, and orders for specialised equipment needed had been placed with the Ministry of Supply in good time. The plan focused on Wesel, with multiple crossings set to occur along a 22-mile front on the evening of 23 March. 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. After the completion of the Battle in The Ardennes, Patton and his Army turned to the south and east attacking toward the Rhine. Luttwitz would strike north toward Lunville, while Krueger would push west along the south side of the Marne-Rhine Canal toward the town. 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. 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 Rhine is no ordinary river. Balck requested that Rundstedt provide Army Group G with three fresh divisions and 80 additional tanks and assault guns to continue the fight. 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. 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. The 111th and 113th Panzer Brigades boasted two tank battalions, one of 45 Panthers and the other of 45 Mark IVs. 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? (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.) News of the crossing made it around the world. Altogether, the 106th Panzer Brigade lost 30 tanks and 60 halftracks, which greatly reduced the role it would play in subsequent operations. 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. 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. 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. That evening Manteuffel made substantial adjustments to the German plan of attack. By dawn the Germans had seized the crest of Hill 318. 140 kilometers to the north, British Second Army captured Wesel, Germany. Near Moncourt, just east of Arracourt, a platoon of Mark IVs and towed anti-tank guns ambushed Abramss Company C, leaving a half-dozen M4 tanks mangled. Manteuffel, who had arrived to take command of Fifth Army in the field only a week before, pleaded for yet another extension, arguing that his forces were not strong enough to achieve their objective. This post is part of our collection of resources on Nazi Germany. 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. The media and public back home were outraged that a general would treat an enlisted man in such a manner. 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. 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 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 descend the ridge and maneuver against the Panthers would have exposed the Shermans to the Panthers highly effective guns. 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. HTML tags are not allowed. I was certainly very full of hopes and saw myself crossing the Rhine, Patton said. Click here for our comprehensive information resource on the society, ideology, and key events in Nazi Germany. 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. . 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. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. This article is from the bookPatton: Blood, Guts, and Prayer2012by Michael Keane. Haislips arrival in early September disrupted a key element of Hitlers plan for a counterattack against Third Army by denying the Germans a staging area on the west side of the Moselle from which they might isolate American forces on the east side. Following the setback at Pont-a-Mousson, McBride ordered his men to attempt another crossing four miles south at Dieulouard. The pause that refreshes. The general told the troops around him. The initial counterattacks against Third Armys bridgeheads should have convinced him that the enemy was regaining strength. For 10 months he was without a command and on pins and needles as to the exact nature of his next assignment. 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. Patton knew his entrance into German-occupied territory was of monumental historical importance. Because Haislips corps threatened his left flank, a substantial part of Luttwitzs corps was directed to take up a defensive stance. 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. The 37th Tank Battalion, led by the hard-charging Lt. Col. 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