United States Army in World War II
European Theater of Operations

Riviera to the Rhine

by
Jeffrey J. Clarke
Robert Ross Smith

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF MILITARY HISTORY
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
WASHINGTON, D.C., 1993

UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II

Advisory Committee
(As of 6 August 1990)
 
Edward M. Coffman
University of Wisconsin

 

David B. Miller, Esq.
Scranton, Pa.

 

Martin Blumenson
Washington, D.C.

 

Brig. Gen. John E. Miller
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College

 

Brig. Gen. William M. Boice
U.S. Army War College

 

Maj. Gen. James W. van Loben Sels
U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command

 

Brig. Gen. Gerald E. Galloway, Jr
U.S. Military Academy

 

William A. Walker
Archivist of the Army

 

Herman M. Hattaway
U.S. Military Academy

 

Russell F. Weigley
Temple University

 

James M. McPherson
Princeton University

 

Ernest R. May
Harvard University

 

U.S. Army Center of Military History
Brig. Gen. Harold W. Nelson, Chief of Military History

Chief Historian Jeffrey J. Clarke
Chief, Histories Division Col. Robert H. Sholly
Editor in Chief John W. Elsberg

. . . to Those Who Served

CONTENTS

Foreword vii
The Authors viii
Preface

 ix
Chapter     Page
 PART ONE
Strategy and Operations
I. The Debate Over Southern France 3
  The Protagonists 3
  TRIDENT, May 1943 5
  Another Look at Southern France 7
  The QUADRANT Conference 9
  The Cairo and Tehran Conferences 11
  ANVIL Canceled 13
  ANVIL Restored 17
  Churchill ’s Last Stand 21
II. Command and Organization 23
  The High-Level Command Structure 23
  The 6th Army Group and the First French Army 26
  Force 163 and the Seventh Army 30
III. Planning for Invasion 35
  The Main Assault Force 35
  Supporting Assault Forces 38
  French Guerrillas 41
  Organization for the Assault 42
  Organization for Logistics 46
  Supply and Shipping Problems 48
  Logistics 50
IV. German Plans and Organization 53
  German Organization and Operational Concepts 53
  German Organization and Strength 56
  The Effects of OVERLORD 62
  OB Southwest 63
  The German Nineteenth Army 65
V. The Plan of Assault 71
  Selecting the Landing Area 71
  Operational Plans 75
  Air and Naval Support Plans 81
  Beyond D-day 83
  Allied Intelligence 85
  The Role of ULTRA 87
  Final Assault Preparations 89
 

PART TWO
The Campaign for Southern France

VI. Isolating the Target Area 95
  The French Forces of the Interior 96
  Air and Naval Operations 97
  Rangers and Commandos 98
  The 1st Airborne Task Force 101
  The First German Reactions 105
VII. The ANVIL Beachhead 108
  The 3d Division Lands 108
  The Assault in the Center 112
  The 36th Division on the Right 113
  Camel Red 115
  The 1st Airborne Task Force 118
  The Advance to the Blue Line 120
  An Appraisal 122
VIII. Breakout: 17-19 August 126
  German Plans 128
  Pressing Westward 128
  The German Defense 129
  Task Force Butler 132
  Accelerating the Campaign 133
  The German Withdrawal 134
  Toulon and Marseille 137
  West to the Rhone 142
IX. The Battle of Montelimar 144
  Task Force Butler 144
  The Battle Square 147
  Initial Skirmishes 149
  Reinforcing the Square 150
  The German Reaction 153
  In the Square 154
  Both Sides Reinforce 156
  The Battle of 25 August 158
  More Reinforcements 160
  Battles on the 26th 162
  The German Withdrawal 162
  End of the Battle 166
  Montelimar: Anatomy of a Battle 167
X. Pursuit to the North 171
  Allied Plans 171
  The German Situation 173
  North to Lyon 174
  A Change in Plans 181
  Creation of the Dijon Salient 183
  The Seventh Army Attacks 186
  To the Belfort Gap 190
  An Evaluation 194
XI. Supporting the Campaign 199
  Logistical Problems 200
  Base Development 203
  Fuel and Transportation 205
  Rations 208
  Manpower 209
  Medical Support 211
  Signal Support 212
  Air Support 213
  Close Air Support 215
  Civil Affairs 216
  Civil Affairs Operations 217
  Conclusions 219
 

PART THREE
Ordeal in the Vosges

XII. Strategy and Operations 223
  SHAEF’s Operational Concepts 223
  SHAEF’s Operational Strategy 225
  Patch and Truscott 231
  Tactical Transition 232
  German Plans and Deployment 233
XIII. VI Corps at the Moselle 238
  Allied Plans and Alignment 238
  The High Vosges 240
  The 45th Division at Epinal 242
  The 36th Division in the Center 245
  The German Reaction 247
  The 3d Division on the Moselle 249
  Results 250
XIV. Approaching the Gaps: Saverne 252
  Allied Planning 253
  A Change in Command 254
  VI Corps Attacks 257
  XV Corps Before the Saverne Gap 259
  The German Situation in the Luneville Sector 261
  The Forest of Parroy 263
  The Forest and the Fight 267
  More Reorganizations 269
XV. The Road to St. Die 272
  The VI Corps 272
  The German Defenses 274
  First Try for Bruyeres and Brouvelieures 276
  The 36th Division 280
  The 3d Division 285
  Relief and Redeployment 289
  The Vosges Fighting: Problems and Solutions 291
XVI. Approaching the Gaps: Belfort 297
  The Initial French Attacks 297
  Logistical Problems 299
  French Plans 301
  The German Defense 304
  The II French Corps’ October Offensive 305
XVII. Into the High Vosges 311
  Planning the Attack 311
  German Deployments 315
  The Preliminary Attacks 318
  The 3d Division Attacks 319
XVIII. The Forests of the Meurthe 323
  DOGFACE Resumed 323
  The German Response 325
  The Attack Stalls 328
  The Lost Battalion 329
XIX. The Gates of the Vosges 334
  Planning 334
  The Attack in the North 337
  German Reorganization 338
  The Attack in the South 340
  VI Corps Resumes the Attack 341
  Operation DOGFACE Ends 342
 

PART FOUR
The November Offensive

XX. Planning the November Offensive 349
  General Planning 351
  The First French Army 355
  German Prospects 360
  The Final Allied Schedule 363
XXI. Through the Saverne Gap 365
  XV Corps Plans 365
  XV Corps Attacks 368
  The Exploitation Plan 371
  Seizing the Gap 373
  The German Response 377
  Planning the Final Stage 379
  Striking for Strasbourg 380
  The Panzer Lehr Counterattack 383
XXII. To the Plains of Alsace 387
  VI Corps Plans 387
  The German Defense 389
  The Century (100th) Division 392
  The Meurthe River Assault 396
  The 100th and 3d Divisions 399
  The 103d Division 401
  The 36th Division 402
XXIII. Through the Belfort Gap 406
  The First French Army’s Front 406
  Defending the Gap 409
  French Plans 412
  The I Corps Assault 412
  Breakthrough 416
  The Battle of the Gap 419
  The German Counterattacks 423
  The Belfort Gap Secured 428
XXIV. Lost Opportunities 433
  The Colmar Pocket 434
  A Dubious Decision 437
 

PART FIVE
The Campaign for Alsace

XXV. A Change in Direction 449
  The XV Corps Sector 449
  The VI Corps Sector 453
  The VI Corps Advance 455
  The XV Corps Moves North 459
  An Evaluation 462
XXVI. On the Siegfried Line 464
  The German Situation 466
  The XV Corps Offensive North 468
  The Fortresses of Bitche 471
  The VI Corps Offensive North 475
  VI Corps Attacks 477
  Drive to the West Wall 481
  Into Germany 482
  Stalemate at Colmar 484
  Epilogue 489
XXVII. NORTHWIND 492
  Planning Operation NORTHWIND 493
  The Defense of Strasbourg 495
  Preparations for the Attack 497
  Preparations for the Defense 499
  The New Year’s Eve Attacks 505
  Command and Control 510
XXVIII. The Battle of Alsace 513
  The VI Corps 514
  The French II Corps 516
  The XXXIX Panzer Corps Attacks 518
  The Panzer Assault 521
  The Final Attack 523
  An Analysis 527
XXIX. The Colmar Pocket 533
  Planning the Colmar Offensive 533
  The German Defense 537
  The Initial Attacks 539
  The Bridge at Maison Rouge 542
  Reorganization 547
  The February Offensive 550
  Tactics and Techniques 551
  In Retrospect 555
  Toward the Final Offensive 558
XXX. Riviera to the Rhine: An Evaluation 561
  The Campaigns 561
  The Soldier 565
  Allied Strategy and Operations 573
 
  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE 583
  BASIC MILITARY MAP SYMBOLS  
  INDEX 589

 
TABLE		  
1. Tonnages Discharged at Continental Ports: June 1944-April 1945 576

 
MAPS		  
1. Western and Central Europe, 1 September 1939 6
2. German Dispositions, Southern France, 15 August 1944 66
3. France 72
4. The Landing Area 74
5. The ANVIL Landing Plan 76
6. The Seventh Army Assault, 15-16 August 1944 109
7. Breakout From the Blue Line, 17–19 August 1944 127
8. Capture of Toulon and Marseille, French II Corps, 20–28 August 1944 139
9. Montelimar Battle Square 148
10. Pursuit to Lyon, 29 August–3 September 1944 176
11. Seventh Army Advance Toward Belfort, 4–14 September 1944 187
12. The Allied Front, 15 September 1944 227
13. Nineteenth Army Dispositions, 17 September 1944 236
14. The High Vosges Area 241
15. The VI Corps Crosses the Moselle River, 20-25 September 1944 243
16. The VI Corps Advance, 26–30 September 1944 258
17. The XV Corps Zone, 25 September 1944 260
18. 79th Infantry Division in the Parroy Forest, 25 September-9 October 1944 264
19. 45th Infantry Division Operations, 1–7 October 1944 277
20. 36th Infantry Division Operations, 1–14 October 1944 281
21. 3d Infantry Division Operations, 30 September-14 October 1944 285
22. The French II Corps Zone, 4 October 1944 303
23. The VI Corps Zone, 14 October 1944 312
24. 6th Army Group Plan of Attack, November 1944 335
25. The Western Front, 8 November 1944 350
26. The XV Corps Capture of Strasbourg, 13–23 November 1944 369
27. Panzer Lehr Counterattack, 23–25 November 1944 385
28. VI Corps Advance, 12–26 November 1944 390
29. First French Army Advance Through the Belfort Gap, 14–25 November 1944 407
30. The 6th Army Group Front, 26 November 1944 441
31. Seventh Army Attack, 27 November–4 December 1944 450
32. Seventh Army Advance to the German Border, 5–20 December 1944 469
33. The Colmar Pocket, 5 December 1944 487
34. The Last German Offensive, 31 December 1944–25 January 1945 506
35. The Colmar Pocket, 20 January-5 February 1945 540
 

ILLUSTRATIONS		  
Members of U.S. and British Staff Conferring 10
Lt. Gen. Jacob L . Devers 25
Lt. Gen. Ira C. Eaker, Maj. Gen. John K. Cannon, General Devers, and Maj. Gen. Thomas B . Larkin 26
Lt. Gen. Alexander M. Patch 32
General Patch, Air Marshal Sir John C. Slessor, General Devers, General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, and Maj. Gen. Lowell W. Rooks 33
Maj. Gen. Robert T. Frederick 39
FFI Partisan Group, August 1944 43
General Johannes Blaskowitz 57
General Friedrich Wiese 58
German Armor Passing Through Toulouse 61
Maj. Gen. Wend von Wietersheim 67
Defensive Emplacement of a 65-mm. Italian Howitzer 69
45th Infantry Division Troops Load Up at Bagnoli, Italy, August 1944 90
ANVIL Convoy En Route to Southern France, August 1944 91
Cape Negre 100
American and British Paratroopers Take a Short Break, D-day 1944 103
Pillbox Guards Bridge to St. Raphael 116
Maj. Gen. Ludwig Bieringer, A Prisoner of War 119
Troops of 45th Division Wade Ashore Near St. Maxime 120
Troops and Tank Destroyers Move Through Salernes 130
French Troops in Marseille, August 1944 141
American Armor Moves Inland 146
157th Infantry, 45th Division, Passes Through Bourg, September 1944 181
30th Infantry, 3d Division, Crosses Doubs River at Besancon, September 1944 189
Tanks of 45th Division Advance in Vicinity of Baume-les-Dames 190
The Champagne Campaign Comes to a Close 193
French Civilians Restoring Railway in Seventh Army Area 203
"The Long and the Short and the Tall" 210
Lt. Gen. Lucian K. Truscott, General Patch, and General Devers, October 1944 231
Troops of 36th Infantry Division Cross the Moselle 247
Maj. Gen. Wade H. Haislip 255
General Leclerc and Staff at Rambouillet 257
Parroy Forest 265
83d Chemical (Mortar) Battalion, 45th Division, Fires 4.2-Inch Mortars 279
4.2-Inch Mortars Hit Le Tholy 288
Artillery Munitions: Vital in the Vosges 293
Generals Marshall, de Lattre, and Devers Visit French First Army Headquarters 300
3d Algerian Division Moves Up to the Rupt Area 304
Japanese-American Infantry (442d RCT) in Hills Around Bruyeres 319
Dominiale de Champ Forest 330
Men From the Lost Battalion 332
General Patch and Maj. Gen. Edward H. Brooks 337
Maj. Gen. Withers A. Burress 342
Company L, 142d Regiment, 36th Division, Pulls Back to Rear in Snowfall 345
French North African Soldiers 356
Generals Spragins, Haislip, and Wyche at XV Corps Command Post 366
Saverne 367
French 2d Armored Division Moves Through Strasbourg 381
398th Infantry, 100th Division, in Raon-l’Etape Area 393
411th Infantry, 103d Division, in Vicinity of St. Michel 401
German Assault Gun Knocked Out by 76-mm. M4 Tank 404
French Light Tanks at Huningue 418
Infantry-Tank Team of French 5th Armored Division 424
French Troops Raise Tricolor Over Chateau de Belfort 431
Selestat 458
Soldier and Pack Mule Make Their Way in Heavy Snowfall 462
Brig. Gen. Albert C. Smith 465
Maj. Gen. Roderick R. Allen 466
Commanding Generals Contemplate the Next Move 471
71st Regiment, 44th Division, Fort Simserhof, November 1944 473
313th Regiment, 79th Division, in the Vicinity of Bischwiller 479
Troops of the 45th Division Make House-to-House Search 485
Brig. Gen. Henry H. Linden 500
Brig. Gen. Frederick M. Harris 501
Brig. Gen. Thomas W. Herren 502
Building Defensive Works in the Snow 503
Generals Devers and Patch Confer at Luneville 504
Men of the 100th Division Maintain Heavy Machine-Gun Position 507
Gambsheim-Rhine River Area 514
714th Tank Battalion, 12th Armored Division, Near Bischwiller, France 516
Rifleman of 70th Division Searching for Snipers 517
48th Tank Battalion, 14th Armored Division, Outside of Rittershoffen 519
Herrlisheim 524
Railway Bridge at Neuf-Brisach Finally Destroyed 550
Neuf-Brisach (Old Fortress Town) 552
French Infantry Advances Into Colmar 553
American Infantrymen 566

All photographs are from the Department of Defense files except those appearing on pages 57, 58, and 67, which are the courtesy of the Militaergeschichtliches Forschungsamt.

Transcribed and formatted for HTML by Jerry Holden for the HyperWar Foundation