The very notion was unpalatable to Old Blood and Guts. The reconstituted Fifth Panzer Army was inserted into Blaskowitzs Army Group G between First Army to the north and the Nineteenth Army to the south. Eisenhower (18901969) was chosen in July 1942 to head Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of French North Africa in November 1943. The strike destroyed five Panthers and 20 half-tracks. Campaigns: Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe. Although Heckers division was at nearly full strength, Rodts had been depleted as a result of nearly a year of hard fighting. Copyright 20122023 World War II - Day By Day. Although the U.S. First Army had already captured an intact bridge over the river at Remagen, there was still a rivalry between Patton and British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery to cross next. site is two fold. So dont make any announcementwell keep it a secret until we see how it goes.. Dwight Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe BATTLE OF THE BULGE is scrolled underneath. Click here to see our comprehensive article on World War 2. 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. To the north, German infantry launched a determined attack to seize Hill 265, but they could not prevail against entrenched forces with a clear advantage in artillery support. When the Germans attempted to withdraw, they found their escape route blocked by the 359th Infantry Regiment moving east to cut them off. Thank You, The goal of this This was the greatest airborne operation of the war. 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. On March 24, 1945, Patton approached a newly constructed pontoon bridge over the Rhine that his troops had placed two nights before and a Third Army division had already crossed. Objekt des Monats Mrz: Rhine River Crossing Memorial. 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. The pause that refreshes. The general told the troops around him. The next morning, elements of the 3rd Panzergrenadier Division overran the bridgehead, killing 300 Americans. The German armored column continued south, hoping to stampede the American soldiers into abandoning their positions. Finally, head to Hamm American Cemetery to visit Patton's grave. Distinguished Unit Citations: 11. The day dawned with a thick blanket of fog shrouding the crest of the hill. 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 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. 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. 1. Some of the hardest fighting was done by the 704th Tank Destroyer (TD) Battalion. Meanwhile, Company B engaged the Germans who had taken up a strong position inside Juvelize. This kind of came as a surprise, but everything was so well prepared for us, recalled Tucker. The crossing of the Rhine between 22 and 28 March 1945 On 22 March, with a bright moon lighting the late-night sky, elements of U.S. XII Corps' 5th Infantry Division began the 3rd Army's Rhine crossing. 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. Frankfort was captured by Allied troops on 29 Mar. 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. Patton had served with competence and distinction with the U.S. forces throughout Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. 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. 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. 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. On the same day, 150 bombers of the Fifteenth Air Force flew from Italy to bomb the German capital of Berlin nearly unopposed from the air, meanwhile British Royal Air Force bombers attacked rail and oil targets in the Ruhr region. ww2dbaseWith the German defenses along the Rhine River falling apart, the industrial region of Ruhr was enveloped, depriving Germany's war manufacturing capabilities. By the end of 24 Mar 1945, the German airfields were so damaged that the Luftwaffe practically ceased to exist on this front. Balck expanded the fight by committing units from Knobelsdorffs First Army to the battle on September 24. McLain issued orders for the nearest infantry regiments to converge on the enemy column. Once again, Company C of the 704th TD Battalion rushed forward to delay the advance supported by P-47s firing rockets and machine guns. The western boundary of Lorraine is formed by the Moselle Valley and the eastern boundary by the Saare River. Site created in November 2000. 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. Brian Horrocks, Corps Commander (Magnum Books, 1977). So he decided to imitate William the Conquerors entrance into England before leading Norman forces in their heroic conquest of the entire island in 1066. 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. 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. 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. Bradley quickly exploited the opportunity and expanded the bridgehead into a full-scale crossing. A German counter attack from Frankfurt, Germany towards Kstrin barely got out of the city. But various factors were at work to derail those hopes. Since the days of the Roman Empire it has served as central Germany's traditional defense against invasion from the west. Click here to see our comprehensive article on World War 2. Despite the ferocity of the attack, the cavalry held on for four hours before it finally withdrew into the town. We are now fairly started on that phase of the campaign which I hope will be the final one. Like his counterpart, Balck was loath to go on the defensive but found he had no choice. 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. Patton (1895-1945) directed the amphibious landings near Casablanca during the Torch landings. I never knew what happened to those other boats., Once the two returned to the west bank, Tuckers entire squad was ordered north to help the U.S. Navy. The American tank crews also benefited from a hydraulic turret that allowed them to swing into firing position faster than the Germans slower hand-cranked traverse. 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? The Germans attacking toward Hill 265 captured several key towns, one of which was Xanrey, a few miles northwest of Arracourt. 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. ", ww2dbaseAdditional Contribution by Alan Chanter. But the Americans stood their ground. Our database is searchable by subject and updated continuously. When a column of 11 panzers appeared out of the mist that morning, three were immediately knocked out at close range by Shermans belonging to 1st Platoon, Company C, of Abramss 37th Tank Battalion in concealed positions. As the Allied forces gathered and prepared along the Rhine River, George Patton and the U.S. 5 th Division were quietly carrying . The men of the 317th Infantry Regiment managed to cross a bridge left intact and braced themselves for a counterattack. 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. But there are so few Krauts around there they dont know it yet. 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. As Pattons Third Army approached the Meuse River in late August, it paused before pushing into the Lorraine region. The 134th was fortunate to find a bridge intact and threw a battalion across the river. The eastern thrust of the 113th Panzer Brigades attack that day was aimed at Companies C and D of the 37th Tank Battalion guarding the eastern and southern approaches to Arracourt. By September 7, U.S. armored reconnaissance units had reached the Moselle despite resistance from Germans still on the west bank. The crossing would be difficult with German mortar and artillery guns already trained at river crossings. Hardcover. 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. National Interest Newsletter. On September 2, Hitler issued orders for the creation of 25 new divisions, most of which were to be given the designation of Volksgrenadier. On the night of March 22, just hours before the official operation began, Patton and his division crossed the Rhine quietly in boats. Your IP address will be tracked even if you remain anonymous. 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. Though Gen. Patton had the blessing of Twelfth Army Group head Gen. Omar Bradley (take the Rhine on the run), his intent was to steal Montys thunder on the eve of the British commanders massive buildup of land-based and airborne units and to make the British offensive anticlimactic. 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. 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. 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. Units of the Canadian First Army, British Second Army, and the U.S. A severe shortage of fuel in the early days of September slowed Third Armys advance to a crawl, giving the Germans time to rush reinforcements from as far away as Italy to cover thinly defended sectors. Equally devastating was the loss of both panzer brigade commanders during the two-day assault on CCAs left flank. Patton drove to the XII Corps front on September 19, where he met first with Eddy and later with Wood. 140 kilometers to the north, British Second Army captured Wesel, Germany. You can also buy the book by clicking on the buttons to the left. In fact, it was the first time an invading force had crossed the Rhein into Germany since Napoleon! To ensure that the bridgehead could properly defend itself, Wood ordered Clarks CCA to send its lead elements across the bridge the following morning. 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. The task before Third Army was to establish bridgeheads across the Moselle that would enable it to capture the two strategic towns. 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. As a result, the 112th Panzer Brigade lost 69 of its 90 tanks. 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. Despite efforts to rush fuel to the frontline units, the Allies were still receiving their fuel from supply dumps in Normandy. But by the time Eddy was ready to resume his advance, Manteuffels Fifth Army had materialized as if out of thin air. He wanted a quick, spectacular crossing that would produce newspaper headlines in the manner of Captain Richard Lamison, commanding Company C, took four Shermans and raced south along a ridge to another ambush position. 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. 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. They did a lot of grumbling.. But his request was denied as by then both sides had shifted the bulk of their resources to the northern sector. From there, Third Army would advance along a northeast route of march toward the fortified West Wall. Chosen in July 1942 to head Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of French North Africa North... Nearest Infantry regiments to converge on the buttons to the left patton crossing the rhine 1945... Engaged the Germans attacking toward hill 265 captured several key towns, one of was! 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