The 1944 Difficult Fall Operations of the Third Army Towards the German Border

"Give us gasoline; we can eat our belts."

— General George S. Patton, Fall 1944

By the end of the summer of 1944, the Third Army had moved 400 miles, liberating German-held towns, cities, ports, and people.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower informed Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall, "For some days it has been obvious that our military forces can advance almost at will, subject only to the requirement for maintenance. Resistance has largely melted all along the front…. With the advance we should use our Airborne forces to seize crossings over the Rhine and be in position to thrust deep into the Ruhr and threaten Berlin."

Whereas Patton made huge progress in France, his army was slowed by a lack of fuel. This pause allowed the Germans to order reinforcements from Italy to strengthen their eastern presence in France, with German tanks being redeployed to oppose the Allies.

Patton was fortunate to remain in command after he was almost relieved by Eisenhower for his controversies. But his armored leadership earned him considerable credibility, and he expressed the need for additional supplies to keep his army on the attack.

While he was hampered, Patton exclaimed, "Now, if Ike stops holding Monty's hand and gives the supplies, I'll go through the Siegfried Line like sht through a goose."

Patton always believed that he had his hand on the "meat grinder" to destroy the Wehrmacht, but his operations were hampered by Operation Market Garden.

Like General Ulysses S. Grant's constant belief that pressure had to be fully utilized against the Confederacy, Patton believed that the Germans were hurt but not defeated.

Patton exclaimed to his boss, "Dammit, Brad, just give me 400,000 gallons of gasoline and I'll put you inside Germany in two days."

Bradley stressed that if Patton had been given enough fuel, he would have reached the Saar in eastern France and western Germany.

The Third Army needed 450,000 gallons of fuel a day to operate. By September 2, it was allotted only 25,390 gallons.

As the British had endured the German aerial bombing campaign known as the Blitz against London earlier in the war, they now faced the threat of the flying "buzz bombs" that Hitler unleashed against English targets.

On June 13, 1944, the V-1 bombing campaign began, with 2,452 V-1 bombs launched against the British. On September 8, the V-2 rocket attacks against London began.

In total, 9,000 V-2 rockets were fired, killing more than 6,184 people in London, Southampton, Portsmouth, and Manchester.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill pressured Eisenhower to accept Montgomery's airborne operation, which targeted these rocket sites.

On September 17, three Allied airborne divisions, including the 82nd and 101st, landed in the Netherlands to capture enemy-held bridges at Eindhoven, Nijmegen, Arnhem, Veghel, and Grave.

It was an ambitious plan to land beyond the German fortifications, free the people of the Netherlands, and quickly attack into Germany's Ruhr region.

Patton was furious, and Bradley expressed to Eisenhower his belief that Montgomery's operation would fail.

Montgomery's ground forces were unable to reach Arnhem, and many believed that if Patton had been given these resources, he would have driven into Germany.

Meeting with Montgomery during this failed mission, Eisenhower was unfairly berated by the British commander for the operation's failures.

The Allies' stalled operations in the early fall allowed the Germans to regroup and Hitler to plan the surprise attack that would become the Battle of the Bulge.

With Patton fuming over the lack of supplies, it was a wasted Allied opportunity that saw airborne forces cut off from ground forces. The British 1st Airborne Division suffered 1,400 men killed and 6,000 soldiers taken as prisoners of war.

Montgomery did not fully heed the Ultra intelligence reports, and his plans were too ambitious for the paratroopers and ground forces.

They were separated from each other and opposed by 100,000 German soldiers and more armor than the British had anticipated.

Patton complained to his wife, Beatrice, that this Allied decision had led to a missed opportunity to strike into Germany.