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. Behind the lines, Dwight Eisenhower transferred US 9th Army from Bernard Montgomery's army group to Omar Bradley's army group as Anglo-American objective shifted toward southern Germany and Czechoslovakia. 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. 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. Company A, advancing on the left, gained high ground west of Juvelize, and with substantial artillery support, it checked the momentum of the enemy armor pushing south. 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. Tom Tucker was one of the first men from Pattons Third Army to cross the Rhine River, the last natural barrier to the heart of Germany. Lloyd Clark. Meanwhile, US Third Army reached Siegen, Germany. Further south, where the river was narrower, Patton's Third Army vaulted the Rhine with its customary elan, as did Devers' Sixth Army Group. Until now, I cant find a webpage, book or other source for an . Late in the evening of 22 March, XII Corp's 5th Infantry Division began a Rhine crossing near Oppenheim against little resistance. and useful information about WW2. The goal of this 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. 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. 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. Patton's troops beat Montgomery across the Rhine by one day. Brian Horrocks, Corps Commander (Magnum Books, 1977). Another 2,153 fighters supported the ground operations. Brad, dont tell anyone, but Im across. A surprised Bradley responded, Well, Ill be damned. 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. This meant that two columns of tanks and half-tracks from the 113th would have to carry the objective themselves. He believed that it would leave too long of a left flank vulnerable to German counter offensives. Our database is searchable by subject and updated continuously. 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. 2. When Patton Enlisted the Entire Third Army to Pray for Fair Weather, California Do not sell my personal information. Occupied Zone in Germany. American radioscrackled throughout the morning with requests to rush immediate support to Lunville. But Pattons dash ground to a halt shortly after it crossed the Meuse. WW2DB site administrators reserve the right to moderate, censor, and/or remove any comment. 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. It was an unusually costly day for the Americans, who lost a dozen Shermans. 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. This kind of came as a surprise, but everything was so well prepared for us, recalled Tucker. World War Two Timeline From The Great War To Germanys Surrender. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. He sent one regiment from Maj. Gen. Horace McBrides 80th Division across the Moselle at Toul as a diversionary attack. Following the disaster at the Falaise Gap in August, where the Germans suffered 300,000 casualties, resistance had been light as the surviving German units raced east toward better defensive ground in the Ardennes and Alsace-Lorraine regions. Patton had served with competence and distinction with the U.S. forces throughout Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. 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. In Germany, US Third Army captured Frankfurt and Wiesbaden and US Seventh Army captured Mannheim. If Third Army was unable to cross the Moselle by September 14, Bradley told Patton, it would have to go over to the defensive. Significantly, none of the panzer brigades had either organic artillery or reconnaissance vehicles. Geplant war eine Flussberquerung, die nach dem Willen des Oberkommandierenden berraschend, schnell und spektakulr werden sollte. Although his unit was spearheading the attack toward the river, he assumed there would be a pause to get organized for the crossing. I was certainly very full of hopes and saw myself crossing the Rhine, Patton said. 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. But by the time Eddy was ready to resume his advance, Manteuffels Fifth Army had materialized as if out of thin air. Manteuffels plans for September 27 called for Wietersheims 11th Panzer Division to seize the camelback and Arracourt, opening the road to Nancy. Manteuffel, who knew the attacks were hopeless but was under orders from Balck to continue regardless of the cost, threw the remnants of the 111th and 113th against CCA again the following day, only to suffer further tank losses. Activated: 15 July 1942. By the end of 24 Mar 1945, the German airfields were so damaged that the Luftwaffe practically ceased to exist on this front. 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. Frankfort was captured by Allied troops on 29 Mar. The World War II Database is founded and managed by 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. (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. Email Address Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved. Hitler, who had never liked Blaskowitz, sacked him on September 21. To their surprise, they were not opposed by enemy forces. For Gods sake, send some gasoline.. 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. Dwight Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe On March 23, 1945, Eisenhower wrote a warm letter to Patton: I have frequently had occasion to state, publicly, my appreciation of the great accomplishments of this Allied force during the past nine months. Germany. 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. We figured we had a perfectly good boat. He received the Bronze Star and was shot on or about 28 September, 1944. Click here for our comprehensive information resource on the society, ideology, and key events in Nazi Germany. This crossing was an important step in bringing the conflict to a close on May 8th, 1945. 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. The Sherman crews could do little to deter the advancing Panthers because of the excellent sloped and thick frontal armor the enemy tanks possessed. Because Knobelsdorff had no better luck than Manteuffel against the Americans, Balck returned control of the offensive back to Manteuffel. The Shermans then retreated behind the crest of the ridge and reappeared at another point to finish off the three remaining Panthers. The 37th Tank Battalion would get no rest on September 20. Patton immediately issued orders to Eddy and Walker to proceed with reconnaissance-in-force missions to determine the best points at which to cross the Moselle. The Commanders: The Leadership Journeys of George Patton, Bernard Montgomery, and Erwin Rommel. His superior, General Omar Bradley, released news of this crossing to the press "at a time calculated to take some of the luster from the news of Montgomerys crossing." [5] When word reached Clark that morning of another determined attack by the Germans, he ordered the entire combat command to turn back to Arracourt and sweep the area. 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. Patton had seriously underestimated the Germans ability to recover from setbacks and mount a tenacious defense as the Western Allies neared the German border. Once Third Army reached the West Wall, Patton intended to concentrate his forces to achieve a breach. His high hopes for a rapid advance to the West Wall would be dashed as heavy rains over the next two months restricted Third Armys tank columns to primary roads and sharply curtailed tactical air support. Since the days of the Roman Empire it has served as central Germany's traditional defense against invasion from the west. Leclerc also benefited from repeated tactical air strikes by P-47 Thunderbolts of Brig. 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. Troops of the US Ninth Army finished clearing the Duisberg Pocket in Germany. 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. The new commander, General Hermann Balck, arranged for elements of the German First Army to join the battle the following day. Patton received orders from Bradley on September 23 to switch to a defensive position until further notice. Meanwhile the construction of an even larger Class 40 bridge "London Bridge" continued and was completed by midnight. 6731 Whittier Avenue, Suite C-100 McLean, VA 22101, Stay up to date with all of our latest news, The final stage of World War II in the European Theatre commenced with the Western Allied invasion of Germany. 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