-
5 Concentrate, General Bradley
- Indiana University Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
144 5 Concentrate, General Bradley September was the month of the Big Bust. Omar Bradley Handicapping the West Wall Race Still in pursuit mode during the last days of August, most American tactical commanders viewed the West Wall as the last major obstacle before the Rhine. If only the Americans could beat the Germans to its fortifications! But First Army was creaking for lack of maintenance and was running out of gas. And it was about to hit some speed bumps few thought the Wehrmacht capable of emplacing. Bradley’s overarching directive, “go as far as practicable ,” kept adrenaline-filled officers plowing ahead around each successive bend in the road.1 Virtually nothing except cheering Europeans hindered First Army’s advance during the last week of August. By the end of September’s first week “the enemy began to resist the progress with some stubbornness.”2 Beginning the 1st another pocket of Germans began to form due north of Hodges’s army’s northeast advance. Army documents demonstrate that the army staff “aimed at our enemy, not at the terrain.”3 On 3 September, VII Corps was held up for lack of gas. When it did get under way, lead elements ran into retreating German columns. In one case, 160 horse drawn vehicles were smashed, leaving the putrid smell of burning animal flesh. Thousands of additional prisoners were rounded up. VII Corps alone counted 7,093 POWs that day. That evening, the Americans left the killing grounds around Mons and headed toward the Meuse. (See map 1.2.) But Germans cut off elements of 3rd Armored Division, further delaying the delivery of gas.4 Germans still had teeth and the will to use them. Collins Concentrate, General Bradley · 145 had instructions to move via Liege and Aachen toward a Rhine crossing in the vicinity of Bonn, south of the Ruhr. The corps commander expected to cross the Meuse within twenty-four hours. But a large number of roadblocks slowed the advance. Intelligence officers should have read the omen. On the 4th, while Pip Roberts was leading his armor into Antwerp, VII Corps ran into small groups of German tanks. Ten were destroyed. Resistance was described as “moderately heavy.”5 VII Corps reached the Meuse on the 5th. 3rd Armored (“Spearhead”) crossed at Namur to the cheers of a large Belgian crowd. Tankers had little trouble advancing down both banks of the Meuse to Liege. East of Namur, CCA (Combat Command A) found themselves “fighting a sharp battle.” Dog faces experienced “stiff resistance” while cleaning out defenders bypassed by Spearhead’s lead elements. Third Armored continued to roll forward, “but with new caution.”6 At Liege self propelled guns of the 67th Armored Field Artillery won a duel with 88mm flak pieces attempting to bar the way. Both 1st and 9th Infantry Divisions encountered heavy resistance as they attempted to cross the Meuse. Germans mounted several counterattacks . More than 10,000 prisoners entered First Army cages that day. Prisoners reported reinforcements from within Germany were headed toward Aachen.7 Spot shortages of fuel plagued American efforts to maneuver. Moving east of Liege, CCB met “organized and heavy resistance” around 1100 on 9 September.8 As the tankers approached the German border , town names sounded more German. The civilian population became noticeably more sullen. No more cheering crowds. Intermittent gas deliveries remained a primary problem. All VII Corps divisions had elements that ran out of gas. March serials became strung out along the line of advance from Mons to the Meuse. To the south, 9ID met quite a different reception when it crossed the Meuse at Dinat. Elements of 2SS and 12SS Panzer Divisions bottled up 9th Infantry’s crossing for thirty-six hours. It was VII Corps’s toughest fight since the Seine. Again, astute observers recognized that the Nazis weren’t giving up. Finally Collins had a task force from 3rd Armored move south on the east bank of the river to break 9th Infantry free. If First Army needed a wake-up call, this was it. For the first time since the Seine, Americans encountered defensive positions strong enough to stall a division cold for more than a day. German resistance was increasing. Here was clear evidence the Germans had a lot of fight left in them and were not about to collapse. Now the military forecast was unmistakable: More fighting ahead. [34.237.245.80] Project MUSE (2024-03-19 03:12 GMT) 146 · The Battle for Western...