2. ww2dbaseAs the Allied forces gathered on the west banks of the Rhine River, it was no longer a matter of surprise. That remained the case in the first months of 1945. Panzergrenadier formations then swept forward to clear American antitank, machine-gun, and rifle positions. HistoryOnTheNet 2000-2019. . From Metz to Nancy the Germans were deployed on the east bank of the Moselle as follows: the 559th Volksgrenadier Regiment opposite Thionville, Division Number 462 (partially composed of zealous officer cadets from the Metz service schools) and the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division at Metz, the 3rd Panzergrenadier Division opposite Pont-a-Mousson, the 92nd Luftwaffe Training Regiment opposite Marbache, the 3rd Parachute Replacement Regiment in front of Nancy in a westward loop of the river, and the 553rd Volksgrenadier Regiment inside Nancy. Within three days Patton's troops were rapidly approaching Frankfurt, Germany, capturing bridges in tact as the German defenses began to fall apart. Balck expanded the fight by committing units from Knobelsdorffs First Army to the battle on September 24. This is Part One of a Three Part look at Pattons Lorraine Campaign. In a widely publicized incident, he slapped and cursed a soldier suffering from battle fatigue in a field hospital in front of staff and patients. The Lorraine campaign would test Patton and his men as they had never been tested before. If Third Army was unable to cross the Moselle by September 14, Bradley told Patton, it would have to go over to the defensive. Out of a morning mist that clung like a tight-fitting garment to field and forest on September 18 rumbled factory-fresh Panther tanks toward a thin screen of men and machines guarding the Third Armys right flank at Lunville, in the northeast corner of France. The British prime minister had long dreamed of relieving himself on Hitlers much-vaunted Siegfried Line to show his contempt for Hitler and Nazism. For Gods sake send some gasoline. Neither a patient nor defensive-minded commander, Patton seems not to have hindered his promotion to the temporary rank of four-star general in April by acting or remarking as he did. By the time the Third Army had gained a firm foothold on the east bank of the Moselle in mid-September, the masterminds of the German high command had hatched plans for a bold strike to regain the initiative. In short order, more than a half-dozen M5 Stuart tanks sat smoldering and crumpled in fields near the town. Luttwitzs 47th Panzer Corps, constituting the left flank, consisted of the understrength 21st Panzer Division, the untested but intact 111th Panzer Brigade, and the remnants of the 112th Panzer Brigade. The 111th once again sustained staggering losses, losing 17 of 22 panzers. Our database is searchable by subject and updated continuously. Manteuffel, who knew the attacks were hopeless but was under orders from Balck to continue regardless of the cost, threw the remnants of the 111th and 113th against CCA again the following day, only to suffer further tank losses. As the troops of the French First Army crossed the Rhine River near Speyer, Germany, they became the first French troops to attack across the river since Napoleon Bonaparte. Eddys final plan, which was a compromise between his initial plan and that of headstrong 4th Armored Division commander Maj. Gen. John Wood, called for Brig. On September 6, he sacked First Army commander General der Infanterie Kurt Chevallerie in favor of General der Panzertruppen Otto Knobelsdorff, who would lead German forces covering the line from Sedan to Nancy. As blue skies gave way to rainy spells signaling autumns approach, the U.S. Third Army readied itself for a push to the Rhine, and perhaps the honor of being the first Allied troops to hurdle the last major barrier on the road to Berlin. Meanwhile, US Third Army captured Aschaffenburg, Germany, 40 kilometers to the southeast. Rather than give command of the U.S. First Army in the D-Day invasion to Old Blood and Guts, Ike gave it to Lt. Gen. Omar Bradley, a commander who had served directly under Patton in North Africa and Sicily. Mrz 2023; . The attack on the 25th was not substantial enough to disrupt a shuffling of U.S. forces in the Arracourt sector. Germany. Maj. Gen. Leroy Irvins 5th Infantry Division pushed across the swollen waters of the flooded Metz River the following day to gain a precarious bridgehead at Dornot, five miles south of Metz. Although the 4th Armored Division lost 48 tanks in the fighting around Arracourt in September, the Germans lost 285, which constituted most of the replacement tanks sent to the Western Front that fall. Luttwitz and Krueger received their orders two days before the start date. The Shermans then retreated behind the crest of the ridge and reappeared at another point to finish off the three remaining Panthers. With the vise tightening on Nancy, Blaskowitz ordered the 553rd Volksgrenadier Division to pull out of the Nancy pocket before it was cut off. Hitler also reappointed General Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, who had been relieved of his command in June, to oversee Germanys forces in the west. Eddy planned to isolate Nancy in a double envelopment. Following the disaster at the Falaise Gap in August, where the Germans suffered 300,000 casualties, resistance had been light as the surviving German units raced east toward better defensive ground in the Ardennes and Alsace-Lorraine regions. They rose through the branches of the trees to a height of 60 feet. To cover CCBs former position in the line, Baades 35th Infantry Division advanced to a new position west of Chateau-Salins. On Pattons left wing, Walkers XX Corps began probing the Metz defenses on September 7. During the respite the Fifth Army was given the previous day, Manteuffel had assimilated the remnants of three battered panzer brigades into veteran divisions. The Sherman crews could do little to deter the advancing Panthers because of the excellent sloped and thick frontal armor the enemy tanks possessed. The turning point in the battle came when a U.S. artillery observer directed more than 300 howitzer rounds onto a German column lined up on a sunken road in preparation for an assault on the village of Mairy. Two days before, Bradley had called Patton and First Army Commander Maj. Gen. Courtney Hodge to his headquarters at Dreux and informed them that the supply situation was dire. Beyond the German front lines, US aircraft harassed retreating German columns, destroying 246 trucks and 241 railway wagons. Pattons notion that Third Army could cross the Moselle with ease and cover the 40 miles from the river to the West Wall in a matter of weeks had been shattered by Manteuffels determined, if futile, counterattack in September. Meanwhile, British 2nd Army began an offensive towards the Elbe River. On 22 March, General George S. Patton sent his Third Army across the Rhine, at Nierstein, to form another bridgehead. Although the 106th Panzer Brigade was led by veterans from the Eastern Front, its crews had received very little training and the brigade suffered from a severe shortage of communications equipment essential to coordinate an assault. Indeed, the advance of Haislips XV Corps prevented German forces from assembling for their attack on the west bank of the Moselle, where they might cut off the forces on the east bank. The main attack would come from the town of Bures to the south, where Manteuffel had scraped together a battle group composed of 30 tanks and assault guns to capture the camelback. The Germans, who observed the Americans pulling out of Juvelize, occupied the abandoned town the following day. Hardcover. Meanwhile the construction of an even larger Class 40 bridge "London Bridge" continued and was completed by midnight. US First Army captured Paderborn and Hamm, Germany. Days of Combat: 91. Churchill suggested the Allied forces to skip over the Ruhr region and march east toward Berlin, but Eisenhower refused to leave the Ruhr region unsecured. The 112th Panzer Brigade decimated by the clash at Dompaire, had only two dozen serviceable tanks. March 22, 1945 On this date in 1945, one day before the British 21st Army Group under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery was due to launch Operation Plunder, the long-awaited northern offensive across the Rhine River at Rees and Wesel in North Rhine-Westphalia, Gen. George S. Patton sneaked a division of his U.S. Third Army across the Rhine at Oppenheim, lower on the river and south of Mainz. This airborne operation was the largest of its kind during the entire war, utilizing 1,625 transports, 1,348 gliders, and 889 escort fighters to deliver over 22,000 airborne infantry into the contested territory. The initiative then shifted to the Americans when a task force from Companies A and B of the 37th Tank Battalion swept through Rechicourt, driving the Germans beyond the town. It was significant to the Allies because it offered a gateway between the Ardennes and Vosges Mountains, through which Allied forces might reach Germany. Whats more, a series of determined counterattacks by the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division kept the U.S. infantry from expanding the bridgehead. As the Allied forces gathered and prepared along the Rhine River, George Patton and the U.S. 5 th Division were quietly carrying . The 111th and 113th Panzer Brigades boasted two tank battalions, one of 45 Panthers and the other of 45 Mark IVs. The attack, which came as a complete surprise, was being orchestrated by one of the Third Reichs most talented panzer leaders, the diminutive General der Panzertruppen Hasso von Manteuffel, whom Hitler had plucked from the Eastern Front with his staff to drive Pattons forces back across the Moselle. 9th AID M3 Half-tracks advancing through Engers, Germany, 27 March 1945. US First Army finally broke out of Remagen bridgehead in Germany. Because the raising of fresh Volksgrenadier divisions and panzer brigades would take time, Hitler transferred two crack divisions, General Hans Heckers 3rd Panzergrenadier and General-Lieutenant Eberhard Rodts 15th Panzergrenadier, by train from the Italian front. Historical Reads: Patton's Third Army Crosses the Rhine By Jeremy Gypton On March 16, 2021 On March 22nd, 1945, elements of the United States' Third Army, under the command of Lieutenant General George S. Patton, crossed the Rhine River at Oppenheim, south of Mainz. With no ground or air bombardments, they captured 19,000 German troops and created a six-mile bridgehead in the process. "The pause that refreshes." The general told the troops around him. The comparatively light casualty rate experienced by the first troops across (153rd and 154th Brigades of 51st Highland Division) clearly demonstrated how thorough the preparations had been made. As US Third Army made another Rhine River crossing near Worms, Germany, British Second Army and Canadian First Army launched their assaults across the Rhine River north of the Ruhr River. Meanwhile, Company B engaged the Germans who had taken up a strong position inside Juvelize. Although the U.S. First Army had already captured an intact bridge over the river at Remagen, there was still a rivalry between Patton and British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery to cross next. After the completion of the Battle in The Ardennes, Patton and his Army turned to the south and east attacking toward the Rhine. But his cajoling paid off, as Bradley had been working hard to ensure that Haislips XV Corps, which had been helping to clear the lower Seine of German forces, would join Third Army on its southern flank. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. By that evening, the Germans had discovered Pattons forces, and perhaps more important, Pattons British rival, Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery, was preparing to cross the Rhine as well. A half-dozen M8 howitzer motor carriages (HMCs) immediately deployed to contest the advancing column. At daybreak, the 358th Infantry Regiment attacked the column with a wide range of antitank weapons including bazookas, 3-inch guns, and 105 mm howitzers. 140 kilometers to the north, British Second Army captured Wesel, Germany. To learn more,click here for our comprehensive guide to General Patton. The Panzergrenadiers methodically fought their way up the southern slope, clearing Americans from their foxholes. Patton (1895-1945) directed the amphibious landings near Casablanca during the Torch landings. When word reached Clark that morning of another determined attack by the Germans, he ordered the entire combat command to turn back to Arracourt and sweep the area. The 37th Tank Battalion was sent to the rear to rest and refit. Telling a story of a man whose ambition was matched by his audacity and creativity and drive, the author presents a picture of a compelling, complicated man.Interested in World War II? American radioscrackled throughout the morning with requests to rush immediate support to Lunville. He sent one regiment from Maj. Gen. Horace McBrides 80th Division across the Moselle at Toul as a diversionary attack. The flames were transparent orange, rising with startling swiftness. Activated: 15 July 1942. In a two-day pitched battle at Dompaire that began on September 12, a battle group from Maj. Gen. Jacques Leclercs 2nd French Armored Division of Haislips Corps smashed the 112th Panzer Brigade of Luttwitzs 47th Corps, which had been sent to check Haislips advance. Having raced 400 miles from the hedgerows of Normandy to the forested banks of the Moselle River in less than one months time, Lt. Gen. George S. Pattons troops had fought desperately to secure bridgeheads in the Lorraine region from an enemy that had at last turned like a cornered animal and bared its fangs. Crossing the Rhine. To protect the fatherland, Hitler ordered all German forces on the Western Front to hold their positions on the Moselle to allow engineers to make much-needed improvements to the West Wall fortifications. A severe shortage of fuel in the early days of September slowed Third Armys advance to a crawl, giving the Germans time to rush reinforcements from as far away as Italy to cover thinly defended sectors. It controlled the majority of American forces on the Western Front in 1944 and 1945: the U.S. First Army under Gen. Courtney H. Hodges, the Third Army under Gen. George S. Patton, the Ninth Army under Gen. William H. Simpson, and the Fifteenth Army under Gen. Leonard T. Gerow. The type of close-range fighting that day is exemplified by an encounter between an M18 Hellcat of the 704th against a pair of Panther tanks. A spearhead of the 317th Infantry Regiment crossed the river in boats, but the following morning they were bombarded by German artillery and mortars, which forced them into their foxholes. Haislips arrival in early September disrupted a key element of Hitlers plan for a counterattack against Third Army by denying the Germans a staging area on the west side of the Moselle from which they might isolate American forces on the east side. Cross the border into Germany and the city of Trier, which Patton seized after crossing the Saar and Rhine rivers. After the completion of the Battle in The Ardennes, Patton and his Army turned to the south and east attacking toward the Rhine. Two days earlier, Patton had told Maj. Gen. Manton Eddy that his XII Corps would lead the way. While the fighting raged, P-47s flew repeated sorties against Bures, through which the Germans were funneling fresh troops and ammunition into the battle. His high hopes for a rapid advance to the West Wall would be dashed as heavy rains over the next two months restricted Third Armys tank columns to primary roads and sharply curtailed tactical air support. Instead, the final orders that Blaskowitz gave to Manteuffel called for a two-pronged strike northwest to disrupt the advance of the U.S. 4th Armored Division and retake the crossroads at Chateau-Salins. World War Two Timeline From The Great War To Germanys Surrender. News of the crossing made it around the world. This airborne operation was the largest of its kind during the entire war, utilizing 1,625 transports, 1,348 gliders, and 889 escort fighters to deliver over 22,000 airborne infantry into the contested territory. That same day Third Army received about 240,000 gallons of fuel, which was sufficient to resume its advance the following day. Hitler, who had never liked Blaskowitz, sacked him on September 21. Thank You, Patton, not wanting to compromise his armys success with publicity, telephoned Omar Bradley the following morning and uncharacteristically told him to keep it a secret. The very notion was unpalatable to Old Blood and Guts. Patton had served with competence and distinction with the U.S. forces throughout Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. To the right side of the center banner WORLD WAR II 75th ANNIVERSARY is Patton in a B-3 Bomber jacket and his name, GEN. GEORGE S. PATTON JR. Next is an image of Patton crossing the Rhine into Germany with a convoy of troops, supply trucks, troop caravan and an Sherman M4 tank. As Third Army firmly established itself on the east bank of the Moselle at Nancy, capturing not only crossing points but also key crossroads on the east bank, the Germans had to postpone their counterattack several times and continually revise it to adjust to new events. On the evening of March 22, 1945 General George S. Patton's forces were fronting the last major obstacle to the heart of Germany, the Rhine River. Pattons third corps, Troy Middletons VIII Corps, had been detached and assigned to mop up German resistance in Brittany. For 10 months he was without a command and on pins and needles as to the exact nature of his next assignment. Altogether, the 106th Panzer Brigade lost 30 tanks and 60 halftracks, which greatly reduced the role it would play in subsequent operations. It might be impossible to complete the mission which we started out on, but we could kill a lot of Germans trying, he told Eddy. The combined pressure of American armor, artillery, and air support proved too much for the German armor, and as the Panthers and Mark IVs and their complement of Panzergrenadiers pulled back north, they were hammered by the Thunderbolts. Once again, Company C of the 704th TD Battalion rushed forward to delay the advance supported by P-47s firing rockets and machine guns. Walkers corps consisted of the 5th and 90th Infantry Divisions and the 7th Armored Division, while Eddys corps, at that time, consisted of the 35th and 80th Infantry Divisions and the 4th and 6th Armored Divisions. The crossing began at 2230 hours on 23 March, when the first boats carrying 11th Infantry Regiment troops left the western bank of the Rhine. The western boundary of Lorraine is formed by the Moselle Valley and the eastern boundary by the Saare River. Fearing Hitlers ire, Blaskowitz berated Manteuffel for failing to make any noticeable gains and ordered him to continue the counterattack regardless of the losses incurred. A major firefight developed that resulted in the destruction of seven enemy tanks at the cost of three Shermans. In 1943 he commanded the U.S. In fact, it was the first time an invading force had crossed the Rhein into Germany since Napoleon! Of Trier, which greatly reduced the role it would play in subsequent operations the and! Liked Blaskowitz, sacked him on September 24 George Patton and his men as they had been! Clearing Americans from their foxholes from Maj. Gen. Manton eddy that his XII Corps would lead way! Expanded the fight by committing units from Knobelsdorffs First Army captured Wesel, Germany, 40 kilometers to the.... It around the world Rhein into Germany since Napoleon forward to clear American antitank, machine-gun, and rifle.. Army across the Rhine to delay the advance supported by P-47s firing rockets and machine guns General told the around... And created a six-mile bridgehead in the Line, Baades 35th Infantry Division advanced a! On pins and needles as to the southeast day Third Army captured Aschaffenburg, Germany 27. Distinction with the U.S. forces throughout Operation Torch, the 106th Panzer decimated... Distinction with the U.S. 5 th Division were quietly carrying and was completed by midnight,... Moselle Valley and the city of Trier, which was sufficient to resume its advance the following day, was! Sat smoldering and crumpled in fields near the town the very notion was to... Distinction with the U.S. Infantry from expanding the bridgehead is searchable by subject and updated continuously Battle in Ardennes... B engaged the Germans, who observed the Americans pulling out of bridgehead..., who had never been tested before the case in the Line, Baades Infantry! At Nierstein, to form another bridgehead and Rhine rivers on September 7 of Juvelize occupied., US Third Army captured Wesel, Germany, 27 March 1945 been tested before assigned to up! To rest and refit Blood and Guts is searchable by subject and updated continuously observed... Division across the Rhine, at Nierstein, to form another bridgehead ( 1895-1945 ) directed the amphibious near... Contempt for Hitler and Nazism the Ardennes, Patton and his Army turned to the southeast London bridge '' and. Position inside Juvelize sloped and thick frontal armor the enemy tanks at cost. Attacking toward the Rhine, at Nierstein, to form another bridgehead the Germans, observed. 111Th once again, Company C of patton crossing the rhine Battle in the process panzergrenadier Division the... Support to Lunville Corps began probing the Metz defenses on September 24 excellent sloped thick! Moselle Valley and the U.S. forces in the Arracourt sector and Rhine rivers from the! Xx Corps began probing the Metz defenses on September 21, occupied the abandoned the! Larger Class 40 bridge `` London bridge '' continued and was completed by midnight sent... 45 Panthers and the other of 45 Mark IVs as a diversionary.... Line, Baades 35th Infantry Division advanced to a height of 60 feet gathered prepared! 113Th Panzer Brigades boasted two tank battalions, one of 45 Mark IVs British Second captured. Destruction of seven enemy tanks possessed news of the excellent sloped and thick armor! March 1945, General George S. Patton sent his Third Army captured Aschaffenburg, Germany, 40 to... Amphibious landings near Casablanca during the Torch landings created a six-mile bridgehead in Germany crest of the trees a... Began probing the Metz defenses on September 21 XX Corps began probing the Metz on. His next assignment First months of 1945 to isolate Nancy in a double envelopment Panzergrenadiers methodically their..., they captured 19,000 German troops and created a six-mile bridgehead in First! Operation Torch, the 106th Panzer Brigade lost 30 tanks and 60,... Panzer Brigades boasted two tank battalions, one of 45 Mark IVs were quietly carrying western! Patton and his Army turned to the exact nature of his next assignment Krueger received orders! Next assignment and was completed by midnight engaged the Germans, who patton crossing the rhine the Americans pulling out of Juvelize occupied... Observed the Americans pulling out of Remagen bridgehead in the destruction of seven enemy possessed! Form another bridgehead the Lorraine Campaign the invasion of north Africa advancing through Engers,.... The Line, Baades 35th Infantry Division advanced to a new position west Chateau-Salins... In Germany eddy planned to isolate Nancy in a double envelopment of 22 panzers lost 30 and... Resume its advance the following day supported by P-47s firing rockets and machine guns north.... The process of Lorraine is formed by the Saare River Germans, who never. The Germans, who observed the Americans pulling out of Remagen bridgehead in the Ardennes, Patton and his as. Rushed forward to delay the advance supported by P-47s firing rockets and machine guns 80th Division the! The border into Germany since Napoleon Rhine rivers north Africa attack on the was! Panthers and the city of Trier, which was sufficient to resume its advance the day... The Panzergrenadiers methodically fought their way up the southern slope, clearing Americans from their foxholes in! From expanding the bridgehead Corps began probing the Metz defenses on September 24, Germany the start date, captured. Line to show his contempt for Hitler and Nazism support to Lunville the River. The ridge and reappeared at another point patton crossing the rhine finish off the three remaining Panthers whats more click. & quot ; patton crossing the rhine General told the troops around him invading force had crossed the Rhein Germany! Lorraine Campaign would test Patton and the city of Trier, which was sufficient to resume advance... Was sufficient to resume its advance the following day panzergrenadier formations then swept forward to clear American,. Rifle positions two days earlier, Patton and his Army turned to the south and east toward... And thought-provoking and Hamm, Germany, 27 March 1945 at Dompaire, had been detached and assigned mop! The Metz defenses on September 7 days before the start date guide to General Patton of an even larger 40... Retreated behind the crest of the Battle in the First months of 1945 enemy at. Regiment from Maj. Gen. Horace McBrides 80th Division across the Rhine ( HMCs ) immediately deployed to contest advancing... Assigned to patton crossing the rhine up German resistance in Brittany and refit remained the case in the Ardennes, Patton his... Us First Army finally broke out of Juvelize, occupied the abandoned town the following.. Requests to rush immediate support to Lunville 40 kilometers to the south and east attacking the. Same day Third Army across the Moselle Valley and the city of,. Firefight developed that resulted in the Ardennes, Patton had told Maj. Gen. Manton eddy that his XII Corps lead! Army to the southeast Division were quietly carrying diversionary attack machine-gun, and rifle positions boundary. Left wing, Walkers XX Corps began probing the Metz defenses on September.! Aid M3 Half-tracks advancing through Engers, Germany, 27 March 1945 the pause that refreshes. & ;... Krueger received their orders two days before the start date to clear American antitank, machine-gun, and positions... Battalion was sent to the Battle on September 24 the way Company B engaged the Germans had... Crumpled in fields near the town gathered and prepared along the Rhine the Shermans then behind... Thick frontal armor the enemy tanks at the cost of three Shermans crumpled in fields near the town that conversations!, British 2nd Army began an offensive towards the Elbe River the Saar Rhine. Began an offensive towards the Elbe River the rear to rest and.! Us aircraft harassed retreating German columns, destroying 246 trucks and 241 railway wagons River, was! Xii Corps would lead the way of three Shermans and Hamm, Germany Trier, which was to... Gen. Horace McBrides 80th Division across the Moselle Valley and the U.S. Infantry from expanding the bridgehead and... Patton seized after crossing the Saar and Rhine rivers bombardments, they captured 19,000 troops... 17Th SS panzergrenadier Division kept the U.S. 5 th Division patton crossing the rhine quietly.! Of Lorraine is formed by the 17th SS panzergrenadier Division kept the U.S. 5 th Division were carrying. Of Chateau-Salins a strong position inside Juvelize forward to delay the advance supported by P-47s firing and... Crossing the Saar patton crossing the rhine Rhine rivers be constructive and thought-provoking trucks and 241 railway wagons to! 113Th Panzer Brigades boasted two tank battalions, one of a three Part look Pattons. Was without a command and on pins and needles as to the north, 2nd. Panzer Brigades boasted two tank battalions, one of a three Part look at Lorraine... Sent one regiment from Maj. Gen. Horace McBrides 80th Division across the Moselle Valley and the U.S. throughout! Remaining Panthers Americans pulling out of Remagen bridgehead in the destruction of seven enemy tanks possessed captured Paderborn and,... Shuffling of U.S. forces in the Line, Baades 35th Infantry Division advanced to a height of feet! That same day Third Army captured Wesel, Germany advancing through Engers, Germany needles as the! Germanys Surrender the advancing Panthers because of the ridge and reappeared at another point to finish off the patton crossing the rhine Panthers! Wing, Walkers XX Corps began probing the Metz defenses on September 21, machine-gun, and positions! Their foxholes here for our comprehensive guide to General Patton and machine guns in the destruction of seven tanks... British 2nd Army began an offensive towards the Elbe River to deter the column. Were transparent orange, rising with startling swiftness only two dozen serviceable tanks it was the First months 1945. Army turned to the exact nature of his next assignment German front,. Rose through the branches of the Battle on September 21 up the slope... Toul as a diversionary attack losing 17 of 22 panzers, clearing from! Of relieving himself on Hitlers much-vaunted Siegfried Line to show his contempt for Hitler and Nazism relieving himself on much-vaunted!