bigpigeon.us webpage WWII Germany > ETO > To the Rhine > Mid-Rhineland February 1945, updated by RAC 15 Jun 2022.
In the mid-Rhineland in early February 1945, General George Patton's Third Army faced the German-held Siegfried Line. For most of February, Patton was cautioned not launch major offensive action, lest it interfere with the build-up in the north Rhineland preliminary to a Rhine crossing.
Fortunately Patton chose to work around Eisenhower's stated instructions. During February, each of his Patton's three corps, VIII XII, and XX, launched major offensives that carried them through the Siegfried Line and beyond, positioning the Third Army for its rapid advance to the Rhine in March. (III Corps, previously part of the Third Army, had been moved north to First Army control, but at least two of its divisions remained with the Third Army.)
In the mid-Rhineland in early February 1945, General George Patton's Third Army faced the German-held Siegfried Line. For most of February, Patton was cautioned not launch major offensive action, lest it interfere with the build-up in the north Rhineland preliminary to a Rhine crossing.
Fortunately Patton chose to work around Eisenhower's stated instructions. During February, each of his Patton's three corps, VIII XII, and XX, launched major offensives that carried them through the Siegfried Line and beyond, positioning the Third Army for its rapid advance to the Rhine in March. (III Corps, previously part of the Third Army, had been moved north to First Army control, but at least two of its divisions remained with the Third Army.)
Part 1 - The VIII Corps on the Third Army's left wing penetrated the Siegfrield Line in the Schnee Eifel region of Germany's Rhineland Palatinate and advanced easward towards Prum.
Part 2 - The XII Corps in the Third Army's middle crossed the swollen Our and Sauer Rivers from Luxemburg into Germany and advanced eastward towards Bitburg.
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Part 3 - The XX Corps on the Third Army's right wing attacked northward, advanced to Trier. (For personal reasons, I am providing additional detail about the XX Corps operation.)
14 Jan: XX Corps' 94th Infantry Division begins probing attacks on the Siegfried Switch, aka the Orscholz Switch, a fortified area reaching from Nennig on the Moselle River to Orscholz at a bend in the Saar River. The Switch forms the base of the Saar-Moselle triangle, the other sides being the Moselle River and its major tributary, the Saar. The 94th Division continues its costly attacks for a month. 19 Feb: The 94th Infantry completes penetration of the western portion of the Switch. 20 & 21 Feb: The 10th Armored Division, supported by additional units, overruns the Saar-Moselle Triangle. 22 Feb: XX Corps begins crossing the Saar River near Saarburg. 22-25 Feb: XX Corps penetrates the Siegfried line, with elements advancing east to the road junction of Niederzerf. Spearheaded by elements of the 10th Armored Division, XX Corps moves northward from Niederzerf, capturing Trier and a bridge from Trier across the Moselle River to the north. XX Corps clears German troops from improvised positions in the Hunsruck woods to facilitate the XX Corps mid-March breakout east to the Rhine River. |
Clearing the Saar-Moselle Triangle
The Advance to Zerf
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Sources for the WWII - Mid-Rhineland February 1945 webpage:
Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead - The ETO > To the Rhine > Mid-Rhineland February 1945:
† Armstrong, Kenneth Burton, SN 37-735-072, US Army, Harrison Co.
- The page header image Saar River at Orscholz was found at https://www.dw.com/en/the-saar-river-bend/a-18925431.
- My major source for XX Corps activity during this period was https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-E-Last/USA-E-Last-7.html.
- The Clearing the Triangle map is courtesy of http://www.94thinfdiv.com.
- The Siegfried Switch map is courtesy of http://www.94thinfdiv.com. Not in use.
- The Advance to Zerf map is taken from the article by Robert W. Jones Jr. From Omaha Beach to the Rhine - The 5th Ranger battalion in the European Theater and was found in the ARmy Special Operations Force website at https://arsof-history.org/articles/v5n2_from_omaha_to_rhine_page_3.html.
Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead - The ETO > To the Rhine > Mid-Rhineland February 1945:
- Taken from the bigpigeon.us WWII Roster module.
† Armstrong, Kenneth Burton, SN 37-735-072, US Army, Harrison Co.
- Co. F, 319th Inf. Regt., 80th Inf. Div., XII Corps, Third Army; KIA 6 Feb 1945 Luxembourg, near German Border, at Sauer River NW of Wallendorf, Eifel, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany; Rhineland 1945 > Mid-Rhineland February 1945.
- Co. I, 301st Inf. Regt., 94th Inf. Div., XX Corps, Third Army; KIA 6 Mar 1945 near Zerf, S of Trier, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany; Rhineland 1945 > Mid-Rhineland February 1945.
- 346th Inf. Regt., 87th Inf. Div., VIII Corps, Third Army; KIA 2 Mar 1945 near Ormont, NW of Prüm, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany; Rhineland 1945 > Mid Rhineland Feb 1945.
- Co. F, 319th Inf. Regt., 80th Inf. Div., XII Corps, Third Army; KIA 7 Feb 1945 Luxembourg, near German Border, at Sauer River NW of Wallendorf, Eifel, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany; Rhineland 1945 > Mid-Rhineland February 1945.
- Co. K, 319th Inf. Regt., 80th Inf. Div., XII Corps, Third Army; KIA 13/15 Feb 1945 E of Sauer River, near Wallendorf, Eifel, Rhineland-Palatinate; Germany; attack on Siegfried Line - Rhineland 1945 > Mid-Rhineland February 1945.
- Co. K, 318th Inf. Regt., 80th Inf. Div., XII Corps, Third Army; KIA 11 Feb 1945 near Sauer and Our River junction, Luxembourg; Rhineland 1945 > Mid-Rhineland February 1945.