Patton's Pawns: The 94th US Infantry Division at the Siegfried Line

8. Crossing the Saar

General Walker returned to XX Corps headquarters and had Field Order Number 17 drawn up, implementing Patton’s orders for the 10th Armored Division. Walker also extended the order for crossing the Saar to the 94th Infantry, ordering them to cross between Saarburg and Hamm on the night of February 21–22, with the aim of establishing a bridgehead and being “prepared to continue the advance to the northeast on Corps order.” In doing so, the men of the 94th were to maintain contact with both the 10th Armored on the left and the 3rd Cavalry on the right. Meanwhile, the other division under command, the 26th Infantry, and the 3rd Cavalry Group, to which the 5th Ranger Battalion was attached, were to maintain their defensive positions. Patton’s desire to take Trier, the ancient Roman city that was now the German communications center and the main gateway to the Rhine at Koblenz along the winding path of the Moselle, was tactically sound, and the 10th Armored Division was the instrument that could secure it for him. After their decisive defeat in the Triangle, the Germans might well be caught unprepared by this immediate follow-up. However, Patton was expecting the exhausted and depleted 94th Infantry Division, whose troops had no experience of river crossings, to negotiate a swollen, icy river that was in full ®ood from the melting snow and rains of the past two months. Further, he was sending the troops straight into the main Westwall defenses on the dominating east bank without adequate reconnaissance or intelligence of what to expect. The whole operation was nothing but a reckless gamble. Bearing in mind that these decisions and orders were made on Febru8 Crossing the Saar ary 21, it remains puzzling that more emphasis was not given to rushing the bridges across the Saar at Kanzem and Wiltingen, which were still standing and would have provided the armor more direct access to Trier. But as previously mentioned, Task Force Chamberlain, which had reached the vicinity of Tawern by the evening of February 20, did not move against these bridges until the following day. This may have been because of delays in refueling or a lack of belief that the bridges would still be standing. However , as the troops approached Wiltingen, they found that the route was blocked by a substantial mine¤eld, and just as a way through had been cleared, the Germans blew the bridge, followed shortly after by another explosion at Kanzem. Spirits rose among the troops as the 94th Infantry Division closed up to the Saar River during the afternoon of February 21, 1945. The ¤nal drive through the Saar-Moselle Triangle had been spectacular as the enemy withdrew over the Saar, blowing the few bridges, and the corps commander himself had indicated that the troops could now expect to enjoy a wellearned rest once they had completed this task and set up outposts along the river.1 As Major Harold F. Howard, S-3 of the 301st Infantry, later recorded: “The 301st Infantry continued the advance to the Saar River line on 21 February. The enemy was cleared from the zone and the towns of Kastel and Staadt were taken. The companies however were by this time down to an average strength of 120 men, and the men were extremely tired from the hard going.”2 Capt. John S. Young, S-2 (staff of¤cer for intelligence) of the 302nd Infantry , recorded: “On the morning of the 21st orders were received to push on to the river and secure the towns of Taben and Hamm. The 3d Battalion, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Otto B. Cloudt, mounted the infantry on tanks and tank destroyers and rode right down into the towns of Taben and Hamm. The enemy at this time was thoroughly disorganized and rapid progress was made against relatively no opposition. The 2d Battalion also mounted up on tanks, tank destroyers and other available vehicles and moved into Keuchlingen. The entire river line was in our hands by the evening of 21 February.”3 The 94th Division’s ¤rst intimation of this development came at 1400 that afternoon when one of its liaison of¤cers at the XX Corps command 148 / Crossing the Saar post, Lt. Harold J. Donkers, called Division Headquarters in Freudenburg , saying, “Back here they’re talking about a river crossing, and if it’s made, we’ll be...