Jeffrey J. Clarke and Robert Ross Smith, Riviera to the Rhine, Center of Military History, United States Army, Washington, D.C., 1992.
No mention as to why Riviera to the Rhine was delayed for twenty
years.
Jeffrey J. Clarke and Robert Ross Smith, Riviera to the Rhine, Center of Military History, United States Army, Washington, D.C., 1992.
Chris Manteuffel's thread on "Nationality and accounts of the NW Europe Campaign" inspired me to pull Riviera to the Rhine off my figurative To Be Read pile. I've been meaning to read it for perhaps twenty years, ever
since I realized that it finally was in print. It is the last operational history in the venerable United States Army in World War II series and one
of the final volumes published in the series. Another volume in the
Technical Series, The Medical Department: Medical Service in the European Theater of Operations, was also published in 1992. The ultimate volume of
the series, The Medical Department: Medical Service in the War against
Japan, was published in 1998, fifty-one years after the first volume was published. Riviera to the Rhine came out nineteen years after the
preceding volume in the ETO series, The Last Offensive, was published, and fifteen years after the publication of Casino to the Alps. No mention as
to why Riviera to the Rhine was delayed for twenty years.
The volume starts with the rationale, planning, and arrangements for what would become Operation Anvil, the Allied landings in Southern France on 15 August 1944. As you would hope and expect, the discussion of this material
is thorough and well written. The authors are careful to discuss what the Allies expected to encounter - a weakened but still tough opponent - and
how this affected considerations on loading priorities (combat heavy) and initial plans.
Instead, the landing forces found an opponent even weaker than expected,
in the midst of redeploying, and ultimately preparing to evacuate Southern France. This would lead to a continuing theme for these forces: not enough troops, insufficient armor at key points, and tenuous logistics, but
always unexpected gains.
While there were numerous details I hadn't known before or didn't
remember, the discussion of which US divisions would be pulled from Italy
for the invasion was surprising. Mark Clark's initial plan included the US
3d and 45th Infantry Divisions, but also the US 1st Armored Division. Certainly it would seem to make more sense to redeploy the 1st Armored
from Italy than to retain it there. As we know, ultimately the decision
was to use three US infantry divisions, ultimately choosing the 36th
Infantry Division due to its amphibious experience. There had been
discussion of using the 85th Infantry Division as a follow-up prior to selecting the 36th.
A notable feature of this volume is that the discussion of the campaign
moves beyond the usual focus on military operations to encompass more
detail on logistics than usual in the series' operational histories.
There is also substantial discussion of issues of the use of air power, engineering, and other supporting services.
Naturally, there is also reasonable attention paid to inter-Allied cooperation and civil affairs, particularly the transition back to
civilian French control.
This drops off once the Anvil forces tie in to SHAEF, though there is
always an underlying thread of logistical issues.
The tie in and the comparative lack of support for the southern flank
provide the theme for the rest of the volume. As has been more common in recent histories, the conflict between Eisenhower, Bradley, and Devers features strongly. Beginning with dispute over the establishment of Sixth Army Group, it continues with a struggle over the provision of additional
US troops to the Seventh Army.
Logistics provided the ultimate argument for the switch of Fifteenth Corps from the Third Army to the Seventh Army.
One gains the sense that port capacities provided the rationale for the reinforcing divisions received by Seventh Army in October and November:
44th, 100th, and 103d Infantry Divisions, and the 14th Armored Division.
While the Allied forces in Northwest Europe were perennially short of divisions, the discussion of Sixth Army Group operations in October
through January highlights a set of what-if questions. The French First
Army was always hobbled by the lack of trained replacements, especially in specialists. While it was able to use FFI as light infantry forces,
finding infantry replacements and building up additional necessary
divisions was hard and slow.
Adding the limited number of US divisions available stretched available forces thin, limiting offensive options and keeping divisions in line
longer than was good for them.
Thus the French were unable to clear the Belfort Gap in October. Limited
US forces were able to keep a favorable attritional battle going in the Vosges. Yet there was never enough force to breakthrough the defenses,
which may have been possible.
When sufficient forces were available in November, the ensuing attacks had the potential to be decisive or at least much more influential than they turned out to be. The seizure of multiple points along the Rhine, both in
the Strasbourg area and also running north from the Swiss border to the vicinity of Mulhouse held the promise of potentially allowing a jump of
the Rhine in November.
The authors are clear in blaming Eisenhower and Bradley for reorienting Seventh Army north into the Saar in support of Third Army.
Combined with Hitler's illogical attachment to holding any part of Alsace, this led to the formation of the Colmar pocket. Naturally this stretched Allied resources further than necessary and required additional effort in January and February to clear, in addition to making the Seventh Army more vulnerable to North Wind.
The history concludes after the clearance of the Colmar Pocket in early February 1945. This set the stage to the invasion of Germany proper
covered in The Last Offensive. I was left with a higher opinion of Devers, Patch, and de Lattre, and a bit of a lower opinion of Truscott.
Riviera to the Rhine is available as either a hardback or paperback from multiple sellers, including direct from the US GPO. It's also available as
a free PDF download from http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/007/7-10-1/index.html
[I also came to the conclusion that there were just too many First Armies running around NW Europe in 1944-5: First Canadian, First French, First German, and First US. Surely there were more integers available.]
Because of the collapse of the CMH history program post Vietnam. The downgrading of OCMH to CMH in 1973 and then its further downgrading
to a field agency under the Office of the Chief of Staff in 1989
took away much of the autonomy the early authors of the Green Books.
That is why Doc Cole, Mac MacDonald, and most of the other authors
retired then. The original author of RTR retired in 1983. Clarke took
nine more years to finish the manuscript and there are a number of
errors still in it, most embarrassing a death that never occurred.
The CMH BG Collins also retired in 1982 after 12 years of frustration.
He was my Dad's last CO in Germany before they both retired in 1969. According to my Dad Collins said he was recalled in 1970 to honcho
the restructuring and downgrading and spent most of his time trying to
keep morale from collapsing, the most visible sign being the loss of productivity. Little work was done on Vietnam and they could not get
the Green Books finished, thus the hiatus from the late 1960s to the
early 1990s. All in all it was a mess.
"Stephen Graham" <graham1@speakeasy.net> wrote in message news:envfamFgracU1@mid.individual.net...
The volume starts with the rationale, planning, and arrangements for
what would become Operation Anvil, the Allied landings in Southern
France on 15 August 1944. As you would hope and expect, the discussion
of this material is thorough and well written. The authors are careful
to discuss what the Allies expected to encounter - a weakened but
still tough opponent - and how this affected considerations on loading
priorities (combat heavy) and initial plans.
The supply plans were also heavy on civil support, given the
reports of shortages.
The troop issues were essentially the reality of needing to deploy
forces from the US, and what that cost in terms of time.
Also of course the casualties that resulted in units in the US
being stripped of trained men delayed their deployment.
The supply claims are interesting, the south benefited from
the ports and associated infrastructure being largely
undamaged, and the rail system less so than in northern
France. Ports in south France landed around 27% of all
US army cargo, excluding bulk fuel over the course of the
campaign
In September and October 1944 the southern ports
discharged about 40% of all US Army cargo, again
excluding bulk fuel. Hence why they were better off then.
They could ship 12,000 tons per day by rail but see later
the problems in winter.
A notable feature of this volume is that the discussion of the
campaign moves beyond the usual focus on military operations to
encompass more detail on logistics than usual in the series'
operational histories.
Interesting given the various supply histories, including Cross
Channel Attack.
There is also substantial discussion of issues of the use of air
power, engineering, and other supporting services.
Much on 1st Tactical Air Force? Like 6th Army Group it tends to
be neglected. The amount of engineer work needed on the supply
system, plus the fixed border defences?
Naturally, there is also reasonable attention paid to inter-Allied
cooperation and civil affairs, particularly the transition back to
civilian French control.
Use of German prisoners in things like coal mines?
The US Army supply system in 1944 was very much a work in progress.
My conclusion from the supply histories,
As far as I can tell the US Army logistics system in the ETO between
June 1944 and May 1945 worked properly in around February 1945,
for perhaps no more than two months. Every other time period had a
shortage of equipment and/or a backlog of ships to unload and/or a
backlog of cargo to clear in the rear areas (often causing port, road
or rail congestion) and/or deliveries to the troops being under
requirements. Under the criteria established by General McNair at
least one US army in the ETO was experiencing a supply crisis for all
but two months of the campaign. Artillery ammunition was never
delivered in the quantities the armies wanted, which is not all that surprising, but reserves were often below authorised levels.
Which to an extent the supply problems dictated. It seems clear
6th Army Group was meant to be a supporting force, and this
does not seem to have changed in the minds of Eisenhower or
12th Army Group. They can justify it in terms of terrain and where
the major western German industrial plants were located.
Logistics provided the ultimate argument for the switch of Fifteenth
Corps from the Third Army to the Seventh Army.
Yes, from the investigation into the US Army supply system,
On 22nd September Devers announces he can support an extra 3
divisions, and is promptly given XV corps for 7th Army (2nd French
Armoured and the US 79th Infantry divisions). The 6th Army Group
tries to demand the corps come with ammunition but is rebuffed.
One gains the sense that port capacities provided the rationale for
the reinforcing divisions received by Seventh Army in October and
November: 44th, 100th, and 103d Infantry Divisions, and the 14th
Armored Division.
In November 1944 the US starts landing larger trucks in southern
France to re-equip the lighter truck units. Up to six divisions were
diverted from their planned landing in northern France to the
southern ports according to the supply histories.
The 44th arrived in September 1944, the other three listed above
in October.
And then comes what exactly was on the German side of the Rhine
that was so important. It seems a common theme of cross the Rhine
as if it was the objective. If 6th Army Group kept driving east it has
to clear the Black Forest including, near the Swiss border, mountains
about as high as the Vosges.
There are many US forces cross the Rhine in 1944 and do well
what ifs around, making it hard for yet another one to gain credibility.
Combined with Hitler's illogical attachment to holding any part of
Alsace, this led to the formation of the Colmar pocket. Naturally this
stretched Allied resources further than necessary and required
additional effort in January and February to clear, in addition to
making the Seventh Army more vulnerable to North Wind.
So if Hitler had been more logical both sides would have been
better off but the allies thought they held the initiative.
The history concludes after the clearance of the Colmar Pocket in
early February 1945. This set the stage to the invasion of Germany
proper covered in The Last Offensive. I was left with a higher opinion
of Devers, Patch, and de Lattre, and a bit of a lower opinion of
Truscott.
Devers seems to be the main candidate for the most under rated
US general in the campaign.
On 5/16/17 10:50 AM, Geoffrey Sinclair wrote:
"Stephen Graham" <graham1@speakeasy.net> wrote in message
news:envfamFgracU1@mid.individual.net...
The volume starts with the rationale, planning, and arrangements for
what would become Operation Anvil, the Allied landings in Southern
France on 15 August 1944. As you would hope and expect, the discussion
of this material is thorough and well written. The authors are careful
to discuss what the Allies expected to encounter - a weakened but
still tough opponent - and how this affected considerations on loading
priorities (combat heavy) and initial plans.
The troop issues were essentially the reality of needing to deploy
forces from the US, and what that cost in terms of time.
Also of course the casualties that resulted in units in the US
being stripped of trained men delayed their deployment.
That's the persistent theme of the Western Allies in the European Theater: issues surrounding the replacement system and proper allocation and design
of forces. Granted, they were trying to build systems and organizations
three to four years before actual deployment en masse. The US practice of stripping men out of mobilizing divisions to use as replacements and
fillers for units entering or in combat had precedent. It hearkens back to the system of depot divisions used by the AEF in World War One.
While southern France's infrastructure was in much shape than northern France, there were continuing issues due to shortages of trained
individuals.
The other issue facing Sixth Army Group was its distance from any supply source. By the end of September, forces were 5-700 kilometers from
Marseille. The Seventh Army was actually closer to Antwerp by
approximately 250 km compared to Marseille.
There is also substantial discussion of issues of the use of air
power, engineering, and other supporting services.
Much on 1st Tactical Air Force? Like 6th Army Group it tends to
be neglected. The amount of engineer work needed on the supply
system, plus the fixed border defences?
Well, Riviera to the Rhine won't tell you everything you always wanted to know about 1st Tactical Air Force.
Much attention is paid to the issues surrounding a force operating from Corsica and Sardinia before sufficient infrastructure could be rebuilt or built.
There's reasonable attention to the infrastructure issues. The Alpine
front is pretty much neglected.
There is some discussion of problems presented by the Maginot Line fortifications. But much of that turns out to be a minor issue as the
Germans really couldn't properly deploy into them in sufficient force.
One gains the sense that port capacities provided the rationale for
the reinforcing divisions received by Seventh Army in October and
November: 44th, 100th, and 103d Infantry Divisions, and the 14th
Armored Division.
In November 1944 the US starts landing larger trucks in southern
France to re-equip the lighter truck units. Up to six divisions were
diverted from their planned landing in northern France to the
southern ports according to the supply histories.
The 44th arrived in September 1944, the other three listed above
in October.
While these division were landed in Southern France, the intent originally was to send most them into 12th Army Group, rather than 6th Army Group.
Part of the justification was that the US divisions in 6th Army Group were all burning out from having been in line too long.
There were also potential issues with the planned diversion of French divisions to operations against Bordeaux and the other Gironde ports.
One of the running themes in October and November was how long the French
1st Infantry Division and 1st Armored Division could remain in active operations before being sent west.
And then comes what exactly was on the German side of the Rhine
that was so important. It seems a common theme of cross the Rhine
as if it was the objective. If 6th Army Group kept driving east it has
to clear the Black Forest including, near the Swiss border, mountains
about as high as the Vosges.
Crossing the Rhine in and of itself was of limited importance,
particularly south of Strasbourg. The authors were looking more at the possibilities north of Strasbourg, focused perhaps most at Karlsruhe, as
you point out.
The main thrust of the authors is that, as with many other points along
the front, choices were made that weakened the Allied effort. Some set of mistakes were inevitable - Eisenhower didn't have the advantage of being a late 20th century wargamer, as so many of his casual critics were.
Combined with Hitler's illogical attachment to holding any part of
Alsace, this led to the formation of the Colmar pocket. Naturally this
stretched Allied resources further than necessary and required
additional effort in January and February to clear, in addition to
making the Seventh Army more vulnerable to North Wind.
So if Hitler had been more logical both sides would have been
better off but the allies thought they held the initiative.
Isn't much of military history the story of how one side's mistakes play
off against the mistakes of the other side?
The history concludes after the clearance of the Colmar Pocket in
early February 1945. This set the stage to the invasion of Germany
proper covered in The Last Offensive. I was left with a higher opinion
of Devers, Patch, and de Lattre, and a bit of a lower opinion of
Truscott.
Devers seems to be the main candidate for the most under rated
US general in the campaign.
Devers appears to have had a recent mildly hagiographic biography. But he does seem to be under-valued in terms of his overall contribution to the
US Army effort in World War Two. He kept cropping up in important places, thanks to being a protege of Marshall. It's just that Eisenhower received more attention.
It would seem Eisenhower was rated as a superior allied
commander and those qualities helped with air force and navy
relations. Not sure what, if anything, the USAAF and USN thought
of Devers before we start talking about the British.
Reportedly Ike disliked him intensely, possibly because he was the
exact opposite of the "Gee Whiz Kansas Kid" persona Ike had invented
for himself.
By most accounts Devers was smart and knew it, failing to suffer
fools at all, let alone gladly. He was quick, decisive, and impatient,
but apparently got along well with the French and British.
"Stephen Graham" <graham1@speakeasy.net> wrote in message news:eo23bhF534mU1@mid.individual.net...
The other issue facing Sixth Army Group was its distance from any
supply source. By the end of September, forces were 5-700 kilometers
from Marseille. The Seventh Army was actually closer to Antwerp by
approximately 250 km compared to Marseille.
While 250 km sounds a lot think about how long it takes a train
to be loaded, travel 700 km and be unloaded, versus a distance
of say 250 km less. By truck the extra distance is a real problem
given the higher maintenance costs of roads and associated
vehicles, but not nearly as much by rail.
There's reasonable attention to the infrastructure issues. The Alpine
front is pretty much neglected.
Yes, an effectively quiet front on the Italian French border, the sort
of WWII trivia contest, who was there, what did they do and did the
lines go all the way to Switzerland.
Followed by the perennial what if they really tried to attack there.
Part of the justification was that the US divisions in 6th Army Group
were all burning out from having been in line too long.
Yes but from the Normandy breakout to post Ardennes it was a
common problem for the US.
In one sense it is interesting there
does not seem to have been a push to expand 21st Army Group
frontage and not by handing it control of US 9th army.
There were also potential issues with the planned diversion of French
divisions to operations against Bordeaux and the other Gironde ports.
Yes, but I thought the result at Brest in September plus the
capture of Antwerp so early fairly rapidly cancelled the ideas
of operations against ports further south. Admittedly this then
increased the problem of adding heavy weapons units to the
French light infantry to make them proper divisions.
One of the running themes in October and November was how long the
French 1st Infantry Division and 1st Armored Division could remain in
active operations before being sent west.
That is certainly not something most histories cover. Or for that
matter the rounding up/confining of German forces on the south
France Atlantic coast and hinterland. The short hand is Germans
retreated to their port fortresses more or less watched by FFI and
some allied troops to officially liberate the area then invest the ports
for the rest of the war The allies wanted their regular troops trying
for the Rhine at the time.
Another trivia point, how did the front lines deal with encountering
the Swiss border.
Rail will almost always be more efficient than road for
logistics. One still measures logistics throughput in tonne-kilometers
per day. Presuming unloading capacities and trackage are uniform, more supplies can be delivered from Marseille to Lyon than to Epinal with the
same amount of railway equipment. Admittedly, I'm not certain where the forward railhead was for Sixth Army Group once it entered the Vosges and Belfort Gap area. Presumably I should go look at Logistical Support of
the Armies for that information.
On 5/17/17 8:38 AM, Geoffrey Sinclair wrote:
"Stephen Graham" <graham1@speakeasy.net> wrote in message
news:eo23bhF534mU1@mid.individual.net...
The other issue facing Sixth Army Group was its distance from any
supply source. By the end of September, forces were 5-700 kilometers
from Marseille. The Seventh Army was actually closer to Antwerp by
approximately 250 km compared to Marseille.
While 250 km sounds a lot think about how long it takes a train
to be loaded, travel 700 km and be unloaded, versus a distance
of say 250 km less. By truck the extra distance is a real problem
given the higher maintenance costs of roads and associated
vehicles, but not nearly as much by rail.
Correct. Rail will almost always be more efficient than road for
logistics. One still measures logistics throughput in tonne-kilometers per day. Presuming unloading capacities and trackage are uniform, more
supplies can be delivered from Marseille to Lyon than to Epinal with the
same amount of railway equipment.
Admittedly, I'm not certain where the forward railhead was for Sixth Army Group once it entered the Vosges and Belfort Gap area. Presumably I should
go look at Logistical Support of the Armies for that information.
One of the running themes in October and November was how long the
French 1st Infantry Division and 1st Armored Division could remain in
active operations before being sent west.
That is certainly not something most histories cover. Or for that
matter the rounding up/confining of German forces on the south
France Atlantic coast and hinterland. The short hand is Germans
retreated to their port fortresses more or less watched by FFI and
some allied troops to officially liberate the area then invest the ports
for the rest of the war The allies wanted their regular troops trying
for the Rhine at the time.
While the Americans and British had less interest in opening Bordeaux and generally clearing out the remaining German Atlantic garrisons than the French did, the attraction of another major port in reasonable repair was real for everyone.
There's this constantly moving date for the dispatch of regular French
units to the Atlantic Coast. On 5 December 1944, the 1st Infantry Division was pulled out of line in Alsace and started to the Atlantic Coast,
followed by the 1st Armored Division around the 15th. That movement was cancelled on 18 December. While 1st Armored was able to return to action relatively quickly, the 1st Infantry Division was apparently out of action for most of the month. Ultimately, the 2d Armored Division was sent to the coast in March and April 1945 when the Gironde enclaves were destroyed.
"Stephen Graham" <graham1@speakeasy.net> wrote in message news:eo4nh3FnuitU1@mid.individual.net...
Against this is in at least the 1944 period the supply people,
like everybody coming from the Mediterranean, had been
doing their jobs in actual operations, not training like most
of those coming from Normandy. That would help. Though
they ended up in a similar situation as the north.
Admittedly, I'm not certain where the forward railhead was for Sixth
Army Group once it entered the Vosges and Belfort Gap area. Presumably
I should go look at Logistical Support of the Armies for that
information.
Sorry, when I went looking I was only after what they tried to do
during the pursuit, not after things stablised.
A quick read says Epinal, the army group had 2 rail lines,
one Dijon Besancon towards the Belfort gap and one Dijon
Langres Epinal, towards the Saverne gap.
However the December advances pushed the 7th army
beyond comfortable road supply distance. The rail head
was through to Strasbourg on 21 December.
The 7th army regulating station was at Is-sur-Tille where
2,000 rail wagons accumulated during the December
problems. By end January 6th Army Group had 5,000
wagons waiting to be unloaded. They started running
special truck convoy routes.
While the Americans and British had less interest in opening Bordeaux
and generally clearing out the remaining German Atlantic garrisons
than the French did, the attraction of another major port in
reasonable repair was real for everyone.
Interesting when you consider Strasbourg to Bordeaux was about 10%
further than Strasbourg to Marseille In fact you need to use the
Normandy ports before you are closer.
And I suspect the rail capacity from Marseille to the front would have
been better than the Atlantic ports which seem to have had their
high capacity links more orientated towards Paris. Apparently there
were double track lines on both banks of the Rhone. They had the line
to Lyon by 25 September and Dijon by the end of the month and also
to Besancon
There's this constantly moving date for the dispatch of regular French
units to the Atlantic Coast. On 5 December 1944, the 1st Infantry
Division was pulled out of line in Alsace and started to the Atlantic
Coast, followed by the 1st Armored Division around the 15th. That
movement was cancelled on 18 December. While 1st Armored was able to
return to action relatively quickly, the 1st Infantry Division was
apparently out of action for most of the month. Ultimately, the 2d
Armored Division was sent to the coast in March and April 1945 when
the Gironde enclaves were destroyed.
You have given 3 examples but I presume there are more.
I could add the Bomber Command raid on Royan, at the mouth
of the Gironde on the night of 4/5 January 1945. Lots of French
civilian dead, big dispute about who wanted it and why. There
was a 10 day truce afterwards while the search for survivors
was undertaken.
So it sounds like at the end of 1944 there was the start of a
plan to clear some more Atlantic ports, which was cancelled.
Then revived.
On Thursday, May 18, 2017 at 12:52:05 AM UTC-4, Stephen Graham wrote:
Rail will almost always be more efficient than road for
logistics. One still measures logistics throughput in tonne-kilometers
per day. Presuming unloading capacities and trackage are uniform, more
supplies can be delivered from Marseille to Lyon than to Epinal with the
same amount of railway equipment. Admittedly, I'm not certain where the
forward railhead was for Sixth Army Group once it entered the Vosges and
Belfort Gap area. Presumably I should go look at Logistical Support of
the Armies for that information.
That assumes the existence of a railroad that connects the
origins and destinations that are desired. That may or may not
exist depending on the area and topography.
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