Out Of Gas

In September 1944, General Eisenhower decided to let British General
Montgomery put together a massive attack called Operation Market
Garden. Because of this, a large part of all available supplies were
diverted to the British Second Army. This included supplies that
should have gone to the Third Army. Eisenhower's decision created a
shortage of gasoline and other necessary supplies that were badly
needed by the Third Army to keep up its fast-paced advance. Without
these supplies the Third Army was forced to slow down and finally to
halt its rapid advance.

This was another decision made by Eisenhower and his officers at SHAEF
(Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force) that would become
very controversial later. Many people thought, and still think, that
if the Third Army had not been stopped when it was, it might have been
able to bring the war to a close by the end of 1944, instead of the
middle of 1945.

One thing was for certain; General Montgomery's plan was a failure. It
not only failed to encircle and trap the Germans, it also failed in
that it lost and wasted thousands of tons of supplies that could have
been used by other armies (especially the Third Army) to continue
their successful attacks. Because none of the plans were accomplished,
it was also a waste of many soldier's lives. Lastly, it caused
unnecessary destruction in the Netherlands. After it was all over,
Prince Bernard of the Netherlands said, "My country can never again
afford the luxury of another Montgomery success."

Since the Germans opposing General Patton's soldiers were not stupid,
they were took full advantage of the opportunity given to them by
Eisenhower's orders to stop the Third Army.

Without the Third Army chasing them, destroying their equipment, and
killing them, German soldiers now had enough time to reinforce their
battle lines with hastily reorganized units. The reorganization
included non-battle tested, untrained troops who had never before
performed non-combatant duties.

The Germans dug in and entrenched themselves in a frantic effort to
stabilize their front lines. One counter attack followed another as
the Germans sought to gain valuable time to strengthen the favorable
terrain with fortifications. Even with all of their efforts, however,
they failed to stop the Third Army from forcing the line of the
Moselle River.

Helped by the greatest possible use of artillery, Third Army units
pushed across the Meurthe River and then established important
bridgeheads across the Moselle River. Progress was slow and costly
because of the shortage of supplies, but at least it was positive.
Even though the Third Army wasn't gaining ground at the speed it had
been just weeks before, at least they weren't losing ground. Some
terrible and vicious battles were fought along the Moselle River as
the Third Army battled to break through the outer defenses of the city
of Metz.

Even though German losses in personnel and materiel were high they did
manage to firm up their front lines after the Third Army was ordered
to hold it's positions. During this period there was not only a
shortage of gasoline, but also a shortage of ammunition.

As usual, the Third Army refused to waste their time by doing nothing.
As General Patton often told them, "There's always something you can
do. There's never any excuse for being lazy." Bridgeheads over the
Moselle River were improved so that when they got their badly needed
supplies they would be ready to immediately start their offensive
again.

Although the Third Army was expected to do nothing but patrol their
lines during Operation Market-Garden, they always patrolled
aggressively. This was one of General Patton's terms for a lot of
small attacks. This aggressive patrolling kept the soldiers sharp and
kept the Third Army moving forward.

Third Army continued to build up supplies, ammunition, and much needed
winter clothing.  This forced rest period and buildup continued
through October and the first week of November.

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