In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

7 The Drive to the Rhine March 6-25, 1945 OPERATIONAL BACKGROUND While the men of G Company were spending an uneasy interlude in the cellars of suburban Saarlautern, events had been transpiring slightly to the north that were to lead to a sweeping Allied breakthrough to the Rhine. In mid-January the front covered by the Third Army's XX Corps stretched southwesterly along the west bank of the Moselle River from the point of its confluence with the Saar River to approximately the southern border of Luxembourg, then eastward to the Saar, which it followed southward to just below Saarlautern. The area from where the Saar River emptied into the Moselle in the north to where the XX Corps line cut eastward between the two rivers was known to the Allies as the SaarMoselle Triangle. The base of this one-hundred-square-mile triangle was a westerly reaching extension of the West Wall called the Orscholz Switch (see Map 9). In mid-January, while the Battle of the Bulge was winding down in the north, the XX Corps commander, General Walker, had ordered the green 94th Division to undertake a series of probes against the western end of the Orscholz Switch. Though these were limited in scope and the advance was slowed by the weather, by mid-February it had become clear that the opportunity to clear the entire Saar-Moselle Triangle lay at hand. Walker and Patton readily agreed that the 94th should give it a try and Patton, after much hassle, managed to procure the 10th Armored Division from SHAEF reserve to exploit a breakthrough should it occur. The 94th Division launched its big attack on February 19, breaching the German defenses so decisively that the next morning the 10th Armored rolled into action. Sweeping northward in three fast-striking columns, the tankers met so little organized resistance that they reached the apex of the triangle on February 22. The next day elements of the 94th Division secured bridgeheads across the Saar River at Serrig and Taben, in the strongest sectors of the West Wall. The 10th Armored crossed the river on the 26th, quickly ripped through the German fortifications, and struck north toward Trier on the upper Moselle River, securing that ancient city in the early morn- THE DRIVE TO THE RHINE • 205 ing hours of March 2. The Third Army had torn a gaping hole in the West Wall. General Patton, the most aggressive and daring of the Allied generals, was now formulating a bold plan that was destined to destroy the bulk of the German armies west of the Rhine and south of the Moselle. It was toward that end that on March 6 the 26th Division was moved north to the Serrig bridgehead on the east bank of the Saar River.1 [P.R.] Mar. 6-7, 1945. The men of Company G, sleepless and exhausted, relieve elements of the 94th Division outside Serrig. EGGER We rode in a northerly direction until late afternoon, through parts of the Siegfried Line* and past numerous pillboxes and dragons teeth (concrete tank barriers) that had been demolished with explosives. There had obviously been some heavy fighting in this area. We unloaded at Kastel, which was on a high hill on the west side of the Saar River not far from Trier, and waited until dark. Lt. Schulze was on pass so Pete Ruffin briefed the platoon. We were to relieve the 94th Division on a heavily wooded hill where the German positions were just fifty yards away. All the men with coughs, which included Moores and Scheufler, were to stay with the Company CP' This is one time a smoker's cough paid off. We started out in the rain shortly after dark. The road was muddy and full of puddles and our feet were soon wet. We crossed the river on a pontoon bridge marked at the water's edge with white engineering tape and passed through the town of Serrig in a column of platoons. Some of the houses were lit up and we could hear men laughing and singing. I sure wished we could join them. We walked until 2000 before stopping at a barn to wait to be led into position. The pace quickened after the guides joined us, and a number of men fell behind. I knew the guides were in a hurry to carry out the relief before daylight. I just hoped that the Germans would never attack us...

Share