on this date Mar. 7 1945 broke thru 3 weak German divisions in the Eifel (the German end of the Ardennes Forest) and raced 60 miles in 3 days to the Rhine River. They were checked there by the blown bridges but further north one of First Armys armored spearheads reached Remagen & took the bridge before the Germans could blow it. The unstopable flood became a race to the wars end 2 months later. Thanks fellas, wherever you are.
- Thread starter 2x4
- Start date
The story of the Remagen bridge is awesome. For those interested in WWII history it's something that you should read. The movie was OK but wasn't really close to the actual story.
A foot note here too. The 9th Armor division (they took the Remagen bridge) was equipped with the M26 Pershing Tank. The M26 came out right at the end of the war and very few units had them, most were equipped with the M4 Sherman right up to the end of the war. The M26 was rated to be better than the Tiger tank and almost as good as the Panther, based on mobility, firepower and protection. It was equipped with the 90MM gun.
Rick
lee little
Member
Dad was in Pattons outfit. He never talked a lot about it. Once in a while he would open up a little . He did say he went several days without sleep during the Battle of the Bulge. He got some damage done to his feet but would never even talk about disability. I lost him in 1979 but he is still a huge influence on my life.
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
Patton was one of the greatest generals this country ever had. Too bad he is side stepped in favor of some lesser generals.
I knew 2 brothers that were infantry men under General Bradley; they saw him often near the front. He told the infantry men that if his tanks were moving to the front, they were to climb on the tanks and ride to save their strength for the battle.
When they were transferred to Patton's command, his exact words to the infantry men were: "You SOB's are getting my tanks all muddy; get off and walk to the front you lazy SOB's." They never saw Patton anywhere near the front at any time.
When they were transferred to Patton's command, his exact words to the infantry men were: "You SOB's are getting my tanks all muddy; get off and walk to the front you lazy SOB's." They never saw Patton anywhere near the front at any time.
Ultradog MN
Well-known Member
- Location
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Thanks 2x4.
60 miles doesn't seem that far but moving armor that fast is quite a feat.
60 miles doesn't seem that far but moving armor that fast is quite a feat.
Texasmark1
Well-known Member
He was and he did have a determination about himself and his men. Yes he got adverse publicity about how he handled the coward but I can't blame him for his actions. Probably 80% of anyone in any condition where you are under fire and especially in adverse conditions like were present then would scare the heck out of you but you had to press on if you were going to win......and we HAD to win.
On the humorous side, I saw a picture taken from the aft quarter where he was "relieving himself" in the Rhine prior to their crossing.
Mark
On the humorous side, I saw a picture taken from the aft quarter where he was "relieving himself" in the Rhine prior to their crossing.
Mark
Patton's greatest trait was his understanding that once you force the enemy out of a prepared defensive position you should never give him time to prepared another. Much harder to make a fighting withdrawal that it is to defend a prepared position.
Dick: I not calling anyone a liar here but when they were advancing at the rates that Patton and others were there is no way the infantry soldiers walked and kept up with the tanks. Another thing that smells about that is tanks get muddy just by driving them in muddy terrain. A lot of people don't like Patton or MacArthur for that matter so a lot of derogatory things have been said. I recreantly read a book that was supposed to be a real book on some oddities in history. The author is a current high school history teacher. He claims in his book that MacArthur voluntarily fled the Philippines and abandoned his solders there and was stupid. A lot of general officers were relieved during WWII, reduced to permanent ranks of Ltc or COl, returned to the US and put in charge of training, supply depots or POW camps. Had Patton or MacArthur been as bad as claimed both would have been sacked.
Rick
Go to the library and have them get you the book KILLING PATTON. Most of the book is about him and how he operated and what a good general he really was. The last part is about how he probably was killed because he was able to see what a lot of folks couldn't or wouldn't see about how Russia, while on our side during the war, was really our enemy. This book is an easy read and something everybody should read.
Read it. Don't buy into it. By the end of WWII more than just Patton didn't trust the Russians. MacArthur refused to let them into Japan even thought Russia declared war on Japan before the surrender and wanted their piece of the pie. So why didn't they kill him to? Truman didn't trust the Russians either. And a lot of senior officers didn't trust them besides those listed.
When someone brings forth "take it to court without a doubt going to get a conviction" evidence "Killing Patton" is interesting reading but that's all. I'm more inclined to believe that Truman waited to relieve MacArthur until after it was too late for Mac to win the nnalert nomination. They claim he was afraid of the political backlash.
Rick
ObsoElitist
Member
I was there in 1972 and 1994. I crawled throught the ruins of the falseworks, which are now gone. At a campground nearby i discovered an American jeep restored, and the owner of the campground introduced me to his english speaking son who showed me his collection of American military vehicles, I owned a 1943 IHC M2-4 at the time. He told me his dad was a child- soldier and spent most of thebattle for the bridge hiding in the tunnel and was one of those captured. Not much of a story, darkness and Terror. I asked how his dad felt about him and his friends collecting primarily American equipment and uniforms,and he said that dad knew he was onthe wrong side.
John in Ct
Member
My father was there then in the 4th Armored division. He served under Patton. He didn't think much of him. He use to say that he was a little pip squeak. My Father even told Patton off one day. They were being strafed by a plane, everyone left their vehicles and ran for cover and Patton said to my father "disperse those vehicles". My father said "You do it" and Patton said "I will have your stripes". My father never heard from him again. My father figured he will be killed anyway like the rest of the men he served with so what did it matter. My father felt that if he came home with one arm and one leg, he would be lucky. Nobody talks about the raid to rescue Patton's son in law and how many casualties.
That raid was a fiasco! But Patton had his moments too. Like him disengaging and moving as fast as he did to relieve Bastogne. Ike's other generals said they couldn't do it and also said he couldn't. Oldest daughter's grand father in law served under Patton from North Africa till the end of the war. He has nothing but good things to say about being an enlisted man under Patton's command. He was a tanker.
That being said Patton was a successful battle field commander. Where he stood out was after the battle started. He could make good command decisions on the fly. He was almost returned to the US over the slapping incident but the decision to keep him was made by people senior to him who decided they couldn't do without him as a corps then army commander.
Rick
I knew Ken Heckler when he was a delegate in the WV Legislature. Dad (a WW2 vet) took me to his office in Parkersburg, the first time I met him. He was all over WV in his red Jeep; he worked for a number of people just to get the experience. Also read his book; it's a good read.
When it comes down to tactics Patton was tops.Could he have filled Ike's shoes?Hard to say.
As to Mac:a great general but one the most pompous,arrogant people in creation.Going so far as writing letters to USMA football coach with advice on how to make the team a winner.There was no end to how much Mac loved Mac!
Ike's job was more of the diplomat rather than a military commander. He had to keep everyone happy. Patton would have been terrible at it. Diplomacy was not in his vocabulary! His strongest leadership trait was his ability to adapt to changing situations on the battlefield. As a wise man once said even the best plan is good only until contact with the enemy is made.
Gotta agree, Mac was good but he was in love with himself! His landing at Inchon during the Korean was brilliant! It was the last place the NK's would have expected a landing, perfect place to cut off the supply routes south and could trap a large number of NK forces.
Rick
buickanddeere
Well-known Member
What would have wrapped up WWII months sooner with fewer casualties is if all Sherman tanks had been built as recommended with the 17pound gun and Diesel engines .
If you want a pair of vilians that are responsable for Americans and Allied troup being maimed and killed. The graves of a Lt Gen Jacob L Devers and Gen Lestly J McNair should be pizzed on.
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