Patton's Iron Cavalry - The Impact of the Mechanized Cavalry on the U.S. Third Army Page: 137
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III Corps in the Bulge, winning a Presidential Unit Citation for actions in reducing the Harlange
Pocket. Thus, the Battle of the Bulge saw Third Army's cavalry perform missions across the
gamut of old cavalry doctrine, from security to reconnaissance to economy of force, to outright
offensive operations.
The Rhineland campaign would see the cavalry prove of even greater utility to the Third
Army. The 3rd and 16th MCGs would fight as a brigade in a diversionary attack for XX Corps in
its assault through the Hunsbrtick Mountains. The cavalry fought for a week in incredibly tough
hill and urban fighting with just a battalion of tank destroyers and some artillery and engineers in
support. Despite the difficulty of the terrain and resistance, the cavalry achieved the XX Corps
objective of drawing German attention away from the corps' main effort to the south, enabling a
relatively quick breakthrough.
The 6th MCG would fight its way across the Our River as part of VIII Corps. Although
the group was not the main effort of the corps, its attack fixed German forces in its sector,
preventing the Wehrmacht from shifting forces to block the corps' primary assault. The 2nd
MCG spent the Rhineland campaign screening the majority of the XII Corps sector, allowing the
corps to concentrate its divisions in the brutal fighting through the Siegfried Line. Although this
action was not particularly memorable, it served a vital function in the success of XII Corps, as
many of its attacks required the commitment of every last available unit in some divisions.
The Central Germany campaign would again prove the usefulness of the cavalry groups
to the Third Army. The 2nd and 16th MCGs would screen the flank of XII Corps as it attacked to
and then over the Rhine River. These screens allowed the corps to concentrate combat power
forward and not have to dilute its efforts. Following the crossing of the Rhine, the 2nd MCG
would protect vast areas as it continued to screen the flank of the XII Corps against any last ditch137
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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/m1/143/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .