Patton's Iron Cavalry - The Impact of the Mechanized Cavalry on the U.S. Third Army Page: 97
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squadron present, did not have enough combat power to seize two firmly held objectives without
massive reinforcement. The addition of a ranger battalion, by itself, nearly doubled the amount
of soldiers in the task force, and increased the number of soldiers available for infantry
operations by another order of magnitude. The cavalry did possess the firepower in this
particular case to punch their way through enemy defenses thanks to a lack of German armor, but
without the rangers, their attack would have failed.
On 8 December, TF Fickett relieved a battalion of the 11th Infantry Regiment (5th ID) of
its positions along the Saar River, and the next day, the cavalry relieved the 10th Infantry
Regiment (5th ID) of their positions along the river as well. This left the cavalry manning a
sector from Bous in the north, three miles to the southeast of Saarlautern, to the town of
Emmersweiler in the south, a front of approximately seven miles. The presence of TF Fickett
allowed the XX Corps to completely withdraw the 5th ID from the front. This division then took
advantage of their time off the line to train for attacks against fortified positions and bunkers,
clearly in preparation for an assault across the Saar River and into the teeth of the Siegfried
Line.218 Thus, the cavalry were able to assume a division frontage in an economy of force
mission. As XX Corps had just completed a grueling offensive through the Lorraine region, any
chance to rest a division was a golden opportunity.
On 16 December, the 28th Squadron returned to group control after completing the last
rotation of the AIS. This same day, Third Army began a massive restructuring of its front line.
III Corps, which had just finished reducing Metz received a place in the army line between XX
and XII Corps. This meant that TF Fickett would move from XX Corps to III Corps.219
218 "XX Corps After Action Report, 1 December 1944 - 31 December 1944," record 220, entry 427, RG
407, National Archives II,10 December.
219 "III Corps After Action Report, 1 December 1944 - 31 December 1944," record 203, entry 427, RG
407, National Archives II, 4.97
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Nance, William Stuart. Patton's Iron Cavalry - The Impact of the Mechanized Cavalry on the U.S. Third Army, thesis, May 2011; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc68023/m1/103/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .