patton crossing the rhinepatton crossing the rhine

The Third Army did just that on the night of 22/23 March, crossing the river with a hasty assault south of Mainz at Oppenheim. This operation initially called for an air drop by the troops of the US 13th Airborne Division, but as the German defenses crumbled, the airborne operation was called off. 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. However, Patton was aware that this would be obvious to the Germans, and therefore he and his staff made rapid plans for another site at Nierstein and Oppenheim, about 12 miles south of Mainz. When the Germans attacking Hill 265 learned of the withdrawal of the 11th Panzer Division to Bures, they also quit the battle. This meant that CCA was now on the left flank of the Arracourt-Juvelize salient and CCB was on the right. As blue skies gave way to rainy spells signaling autumns 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. Pattons rapid advance across France came to an abrupt halt at Metz, due to fuel shortages, deteriorating weather conditions, and increased enemy resistance. 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 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. Elements of the 4th and 6th Armored Divisions, the latter which had been serving as Third Armys rear guard, and other units began converging on the townin response. That evening Manteuffel made substantial adjustments to the German plan of attack. Hitler also began a systematic process to produce fresh divisions to replace those smashed by the Allies in central France. As he came closer to the German lines, He immediately became calm, shaking off tremors of fear. 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 task before Third Army was to establish bridgeheads across the Moselle that would enable it to capture the two strategic towns. The 134th Infantry Regiment was ordered to cross on the left below Nancy, and the 137th Infantry Regiment on the right. 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. Indeed, the advance of Haislips XV Corps prevented German forces from assembling for their attack on the west bank of the Moselle, where they might cut off the forces on the east bank. The Hellcats bought precious time for Companies A and B of the 37th Tank Battalion to rumble north from Lezey toward the battlefront. On the banks of the Rhine River the British Royal Corps of Engineers completed the construction of a Class 9 bridge "Waterloo Bridge" at 0100 hours and a Class 15 bridge "Lambeth Bridge" at 0830 hours. This crossing was an important step in bringing the conflict to a close on May 8th, 1945. 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. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. 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. So Patton called Bradley again. 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. 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. The plan focused on Wesel, with multiple crossings set to occur along a 22-mile front on the evening of 23 March. Pattons notion that Third Army could cross the Moselle with ease and cover the 40 miles from the river to the West Wall in a matter of weeks had been shattered by Manteuffels determined, if futile, counterattack in September. Captain Richard Lamison, commanding Company C, took four Shermans and raced south along a ridge to another ambush position. Patton would face significant leadership and tactical challenges in the region in the months following the Arracourt clashes. Thank you. All rights reserved. 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. His pleas fell on deaf ears, and he prepared to make do with the untrained and understrength units he had been given. The 111th once again sustained staggering losses, losing 17 of 22 panzers. Hitler, who reluctantly agreed to a far less ambitious counterattack than initially envisioned, issued orders for the German attack to begin on September 18. Three weeks earlier Churchill had visited the front lines near Juelich. 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. The gasoline arrived and Pattons men pressed headlong across southern Germany and into Czechoslovakia. Because Knobelsdorff had no better luck than Manteuffel against the Americans, Balck returned control of the offensive back to Manteuffel. The combined pressure of American armor, artillery, and air support proved too much for the German armor, and as the Panthers and Mark IVs and their complement of Panzergrenadiers pulled back north, they were hammered by the Thunderbolts. The Germans, in an effort to regroup, turned southwest to escape the ambush. If Third Army was unable to cross the Moselle by September 14, Bradley told Patton, it would have to go over to the defensive. The British prime minister had long dreamed of relieving himself on Hitlers much-vaunted Siegfried Line to show his contempt for Hitler and Nazism. The 37th Tank Battalion, led by the hard-charging Lt. Col. Creighton Abrams, brushed aside German resistance and turned north to gain the east-west road leading to Nomeny. The troops of the French First Army crossed the Rhine River near Philippsburg, Germany on 1 Apr. This was the greatest airborne operation of the war. As for Patton, he incorrectly dismissed the action as nothing more than another failed local counterattack. click here for our comprehensive guide to General Patton. Frankfort was captured by Allied troops on 29 Mar. The reversal of fortune gnawed at Patton from the outset of his service in France. ww2dbaseFurther to the south, General Patch's Seventh Army crossed the Rhine River on the same day the Remagen contingent marched forward. 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. Once it captured the section of the West Wall protecting the Saar factories, Third Armys next objective would be to cross the Rhine and seize Frankfurt. This was the first crossing of the Rhine River by boat by an invading army since Napoleon Bonaparte. We began to cautiously filter down through the moonlit streets toward the shingled beach. 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. 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. Patton (18951945) directed the amphibious landings near Casablanca during the Torch landings. By the end of 24 Mar 1945, the German airfields were so damaged that the Luftwaffe practically ceased to exist on this front. Against such odds, a breakout at that location was not deemed feasible. Some 22,000 tons of assault bridging had to be brought forward, including 25,000 wooden pontoons, 2,000 assault boats, 650 Storm boats, 120 River tugs, 80 miles of balloon cable and 260 miles of steel wire rope. In 1943 he commanded the U.S. On September 2, Hitler issued orders for the creation of 25 new divisions, most of which were to be given the designation of Volksgrenadier. Suddenly, I saw the billowing of flames, Buss said. I want the world to know Third Army made it before Monty starts across, he shouted. 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. 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. He did not expect to encounter substantial resistance until he reached the West Wall. When a column of tanks from the 111th Panzer Brigade appeared that morning out of the fog, it was left to the gunners of the 191st Field Artillery Battalion to fight off the attack. 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. Patton knew his entrance into German-occupied territory was of monumental historical importance. Because the raising of fresh Volksgrenadier divisions and panzer brigades would take time, Hitler transferred two crack divisions, General Hans Heckers 3rd Panzergrenadier and General-Lieutenant Eberhard Rodts 15th Panzergrenadier, by train from the Italian front. 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. Having mustered 50 tanks for the attack, Manteuffel ordered Wietersheim to capture Moyenvic and inflict as much damage as possible on CCA. It was really a simple thing, just like basic training., Tucker and another engineer packed themselves into one of the first boats with the infantry. Patton drove to the XII Corps front on September 19, where he met first with Eddy and later with Wood. 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. The Rhine itself was symbolic of the entrance into Germany from Western Europe and had historically stood as a natural barrier against invasion. Despite the impressive numbers, the only armored unit initially available to Knobelsdorff was the 106th Panzer Brigade, one of the first of the newly formed panzer units with a full battalion of Panther tanks, which constituted First Armys thin operational reserve. The crossing began at 2230 hours on 23 March, when the first boats carrying 11th Infantry Regiment troops left the western bank of the Rhine. They did a lot of grumbling.. The Panthersknocked out three of the lightly armored HMCs in short order. Throughout the night of 23 Mar and the next day, 80,000 British and Canadian troops crossed the 20-mile stretch of the river. I think, everybody here know the photo as Patton urinated into the Rhine. All comment submissions will become the property of WW2DB. 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. The 37th Tank Battalion was sent to the rear to rest and refit. The final stage of World War II in the European Theatre commenced with the Western Allied invasion of Germany. Since the days of the Roman Empire it has served as central Germany's traditional defense against invasion from the west. Look for the Monument Patton and stop by the General Patton Memorial Museum. The Shermans then retreated behind the crest of the ridge and reappeared at another point to finish off the three remaining Panthers. The fighting resulted in the final destruction of two panzer brigades. Although Heckers division was at nearly full strength, Rodts had been depleted as a result of nearly a year of hard fighting. At Nierstein assault troops did not meet any resistance. 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. But various factors were at work to derail those hopes. 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. Another 2,153 fighters supported the ground operations. The 37th Tank Battalion would get no rest on September 20. Though beaten across the Rhine by Patton's Third Army, Montgomery's meticulous operation shone in its flawless execution. 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. 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