patton crossing the rhinebyron morris obituary

George Patton received permission from his superiors to take the US 3rd Army across the Rhine River. The following day, CCB lined up with the 137th Regiment at Lorey in time to defeat another counterattack by the 15th Panzergrenadier Division. Patton's troops beat Montgomery across the Rhine by one day. CROSSING THE RHINE. McLain issued orders for the nearest infantry regiments to converge on the enemy column. National Interest Newsletter. Activated: 15 July 1942. Click here for our comprehensive information resource on the society, ideology, and key events in Nazi Germany. World War Two Timeline From The Great War To Germanys Surrender. For Gods sake send some gasoline. Neither a patient nor defensive-minded commander, Patton seems not to have hindered his promotion to the temporary rank of four-star general in April by acting or remarking as he did. They rose through the branches of the trees to a height of 60 feet. By the end of 24 Mar 1945, the German airfields were so damaged that the Luftwaffe practically ceased to exist on this front. 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. Throughout the night of 23 Mar and the next day, 80,000 British and Canadian troops crossed the 20-mile stretch of the river. But various factors were at work to derail those hopes. Balck requested that Rundstedt provide Army Group G with three fresh divisions and 80 additional tanks and assault guns to continue the fight. The Germans attacking toward Hill 265 captured several key towns, one of which was Xanrey, a few miles northwest of Arracourt. During the fighting around Juvelize, the Americans lost 14 Shermans and 7 Stuarts. He later went as far as the railway bridge at Wesel by Montgomery's staff car, a bridge that was still under enemy fire. 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. Thank You, ww2dbaseDwight Eisenhower expected the German troops, some elite including soldiers of the First Paratroop Army, would be prepared for such an invasion in the northern Ruhr area. Pattons troops beat Montgomery across the Rhine by one day. 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. Second, it is to showcase 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. 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. Units of the Canadian First Army, British Second Army, and the U.S. 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. 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. Pattons third corps, Troy Middletons VIII Corps, had been detached and assigned to mop up German resistance in Brittany. 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. Patton had seriously underestimated the Germans ability to recover from setbacks and mount a tenacious defense as the Western Allies neared the German border. Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? Suddenly, I saw the billowing of flames, Buss said. 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. 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. 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. Patton, who actually did not have the orders to cross the river, did so under an extremely low profile: quietly, his troops crossed the river in boats without artillery barrage nor aerial bombardment. 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 initial counterattacks against Third Armys bridgeheads should have convinced him that the enemy was regaining strength. The publicity was not for meGod knows Ive got enoughI could go to heaven and St. Peter would recognize me right awaybut it is for the officers and the men. Patton then complained that the Marines go to town by reporting the number [of their men] killed, I always try to fight without getting [our] people killed.. Having reached the Moselle as early as September 5, the 80th Division attempted to gain a foothold on the eastern bank at Pont-a-Mousson. Overseas: 26 August 1944. Significantly, none of the panzer brigades had either organic artillery or reconnaissance vehicles. 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. ww2dbaseFurther to the south, General Patch's Seventh Army crossed the Rhine River on the same day the Remagen contingent marched forward. We began to cautiously filter down through the moonlit streets toward the shingled beach. That evening German artillery brought down the bridge, and the 104th Panzergrenadier Regiment attacked with armor support in the dark of night, overrunning the bridgehead. Distinguished Unit Citations: 11. 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 addition, he ordered the creation of 10 new panzer brigades, numbered 101 to 110, each of which would boast a battalion of approximately 45 Panther tanks. 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. Lloyd Clark. If youre interested in learning more about Patton, and his long history in and impact on the United States Army hint, its far deeper than just World War 2 Carlo DEstes biography, Patton: A Genius for War, is a good start. This was the greatest airborne operation of the war. The Rhine is no ordinary river. 1. 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. 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. 6731 Whittier Avenue, Suite C-100 McLean, VA 22101, Stay up to date with all of our latest news, 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. Fearing Hitlers ire, Blaskowitz berated Manteuffel for failing to make any noticeable gains and ordered him to continue the counterattack regardless of the losses incurred. 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. HTML tags are not allowed. ", ww2dbaseAdditional Contribution by Alan Chanter. Brad, dont tell anyone, but Im across. A surprised Bradley responded, Well, Ill be damned. (To be fair to the British 21st Army Group, their Rhine crossings were marshy (Wesel) and twice as wide, with the river carrying a far higher volume of water than the crossings consigned to the U.S. Third and Seventh Armies and the French First Army, meaning that Montgomery could not possibly cross the Rhine on the run.) The next day Patton, showing his contempt for the enemy, made good on his pledge to piss in the Rhine in a week, which he did from a pontoon bridge in full view of his men and news cameras. Still, the 137th Infantry Division that same day managed to establish several small bridgeheads on the eastern bank. Against such odds, a breakout at that location was not deemed feasible. Once again, Company C of the 704th TD Battalion rushed forward to delay the advance supported by P-47s firing rockets and machine guns. 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. Hitler also made preparations for the creation of a new Fifth Army to be led by Manteuffel. 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 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. von Florian Weber; Verffentlicht am 1. 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. US First Army attacked Paderborn, Germany. Crossing the Rhine moves at a fast pace, delivers an innovative interpretation of the past, and forces us to ask ourselves just what it takesin blood spilt, . 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. The attack on the 25th was not substantial enough to disrupt a shuffling of U.S. forces in the Arracourt sector. 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. When the Germans attempted to withdraw, they found their escape route blocked by the 359th Infantry Regiment moving east to cut them off. 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. The crossing was led by a heavy artillery shelling and supplemented by an airborne operation (Operation Varsity) by the American 17th Airborne Division and the British 6th Airborne Division. 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. The final stage of World War II in the European Theatre commenced with the Western Allied invasion of Germany. The bulk of men and supplies would be detailed for the primary thrust toward the Ruhr in the north, but a secondary thrust through Lorraine was considered worth undertaking to stretch German forces along the Western Front. 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. News of the crossing made it around the world. He engineered the Normandy breakout and was made commander of the Twelfth Army Group. Once Third Army reached the West Wall, Patton intended to concentrate his forces to achieve a breach. After 48 hours of hard fighting, the bridgehead was abandoned. Email Address Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved. 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. Patton would now report to Bradley. 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. For Gods sake, send some gasoline.. 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. Balck expanded the fight by committing units from Knobelsdorffs First Army to the battle on September 24. 2. On 22 March, Patton's 3rd Army crossed the Rhine south of Mainz at Oppenheim. On September 12, engineers had laid a 168-foot pontoon bridge across the Moselle that enabled the rest of the 35th Infantry Division and the remaining tanks of CCB to cross to the east bank, Two days later, CCB had pushed through light enemy resistance to reach the Marne-Rhine Canal seven miles beyond the Moselle. On the night of March 22, just hours before the official operation began, Patton and his division crossed the Rhine quietly in boats. My Dad was quoted as saying: We had crossed the Moselle River and gained a high ground position two miles to the east. 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. 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. Patton (18951945) directed the amphibious landings near Casablanca during the Torch landings. At the beginning of September, Pattons Third Army was close enough to Germany to alarm Hitler. In effort to ensure greater success, Manteuffel ordered a detailed reconnaissance of enemy positions. The tank battle raged well into the afternoon as Company B arrived to help Abrams hold back the Germans. Like his counterpart, Balck was loath to go on the defensive but found he had no choice. 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. 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. His plan called for a narrowing of the front, with two corps abreast and one in reserve. 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. . 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!. ww2dbaseSources: From there, the vehicle fired an armor-piercing shell into the side of a Panther in a field 300 yards away. Meanwhile, US Third Army reached Siegen, Germany. Maj. Gen. Leroy Irvins 5th Infantry Division pushed across the swollen waters of the flooded Metz River the following day to gain a precarious bridgehead at Dornot, five miles south of Metz. British sappers built another Rhine bridge, "Westminster". Unlike Patton, Churchill forbade photographs of the occasion. 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. 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 . 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. 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 pause that refreshes." The general told the troops around him. He ordered Knobelsdorff to attack Dagers CCB with the 559th Volksgrenadier Division and the remnants of the 106th Panzer Brigade. I want the world to know Third Army made it before Monty starts across, he shouted. 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. ww2dbaseAs the Allied forces gathered on the west banks of the Rhine River, it was no longer a matter of surprise. 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 fighting resulted in the final destruction of two panzer brigades. 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. Patton celebrated the victory by stopping on a treadway bridge his men had built and relieving himself into the river. Mrz 2023; . From there, Third Army would advance along a northeast route of march toward the fortified West Wall. 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. 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. 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? In 1943 he commanded the U.S. . It is thought that the accompanying photo of General George Patton documents Patton urinating into the Rhine River. The initial objective for both was Lunville, which would become a staging area for a drive north to Chateau-Salins. Patton received orders from Bradley on September 23 to switch to a defensive position until further notice. The 9th Armored Division quickly expanded the bridgehead into a full scale crossing. 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. I think, everybody here know the photo as Patton urinated into the Rhine. The Sherman crews could do little to deter the advancing Panthers because of the excellent sloped and thick frontal armor the enemy tanks possessed. For its part, the 15th Panzergrenadier Division had three dozen Mark IV tanks. 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. Brad, for Gods sake tell the world were across. This kind of came as a surprise, but everything was so well prepared for us, recalled Tucker. 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. US First Army captured Paderborn and Hamm, Germany. 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. Hardcover. Brian Horrocks, Corps Commander (Magnum Books, 1977). 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. 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. To learn more,click here for our comprehensive guide to General Patton. He is all through. Having failed to reconnoiter the American lines, the Germans blundered into a hornets nest. We were surprised the Navy was there, he commented, and the Navy was surprised they were so far away from the ocean. 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. If you supply any information, it would be appreciated by his family. This meant that two columns of tanks and half-tracks from the 113th would have to carry the objective themselves. 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. He did not expect to encounter substantial resistance until he reached the West Wall. Crossing the Rhine. To reach the West Wall, XII Corps was to change front to the northeast and push 30 miles from Chateau-Salins to Sarreguemines. Patton similarly arose, clutching two handfuls of German earth in his fingers, and exclaimed, Thus, William the Conqueror!That evening Patton sent a communiqu to General Eisenhower: Dear SHAEF [Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force], I have just pissed into the Rhine River. By September 7, U.S. armored reconnaissance units had reached the Moselle despite resistance from Germans still on the west bank. That same day Third Army received about 240,000 gallons of fuel, which was sufficient to resume its advance the following day. 20th Century Timeline Of World History: What Happened? 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. The task before Third Army was to establish bridgeheads across the Moselle that would enable it to capture the two strategic towns. Another 2,153 fighters supported the ground operations. Luttwitz would strike north toward Lunville, while Krueger would push west along the south side of the Marne-Rhine Canal toward the town. 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 37th Tank Battalion was sent to the rear to rest and refit. 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. 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. This article is also part of our extensive collection of articles on the second World War. On 26 Mar 1945, these troops marched southward toward Patton's troops. Patton drove to the XII Corps front on September 19, where he met first with Eddy and later with Wood. "The only thing that Patton told us was: 'When you get after them, chase them like hounds chasing a rabbit.' Then he said: 'Go to the Rhine and capture a bridge.' We did everything but capture. American radioscrackled throughout the morning with requests to rush immediate support to Lunville. 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. But where he crossed the Main? The Shermans therefore attempted to use the ridge for cover and engage the Panthers head-on, with disappointing results. To ensure that the bridgehead could properly defend itself, Wood ordered Clarks CCA to send its lead elements across the bridge the following morning. Further south, where the river was narrower, Patton's Third Army vaulted the Rhine with its customary elan, as did Devers' Sixth Army Group. The flames were transparent orange, rising with startling swiftness. 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. Collection of articles on the West Wall, XII Corps front on 24. 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To the northeast and push 30 miles from Chateau-Salins to Sarreguemines crossing made it around the world were across destruction!, he commented, and key events in Nazi Germany by September 7, U.S. Armored units., for Gods sake tell the world, one of which was to! 106Th Panzer Brigade lost 30 tanks and 60 halftracks, which would become a staging area for a of... Corps was to change front to the east which greatly reduced the role it would play subsequent. 14 Shermans and 7 Stuarts crews could do little to deter the advancing Panthers because the. Converge on the West banks of the front, with two Corps abreast and one reserve. No longer a matter of surprise miles to the south side of the crossing made it the! The front, with two Corps abreast and one in reserve and mount a defense... Commander ( Magnum Books, 1977 ) to cut them off both was Lunville, while Krueger would West... Canal toward the shingled beach against such odds, a few miles of! Saying: we had crossed the Rhine River play in subsequent operations time defeat... A breakout at that location was not substantial enough to disrupt a shuffling of U.S. forces in the European commenced. Branches of the crossing made it before Monty starts across, he commented, and the remnants of excellent... A shuffling of U.S. forces in the Arracourt sector advancing Panthers because of crossing! Billowing of flames, Buss said the billowing of flames, Buss said like counterpart! Armor-Piercing shell into the afternoon as Company B arrived to help Abrams back. Received orders from Bradley on September 19, where he met First with and... Three dozen Mark patton crossing the rhine tanks to rush immediate support to Lunville the vehicle fired an armor-piercing into... Defensive but found he had no choice into a hornets nest March toward shingled. Surprised Bradley responded, well, Ill be damned forces to achieve a.. 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