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Although three Allied army groups had advanced to the borders of the Third Reich itself, a hasty defense by German units, plus bad weather, left the Allies virtually immobilized in the harsh terrain of the outer Ruhr, the Ardennes, Lorraine, the Saar, and the Vosges. The failure of Market-Garden to seize a bridgehead across the Rhine River at Arnhem in mid-September led to a general stalemate during the au­tumn and early winter of 1944. Patton and his men in Lorraine and the Saar were not alone in their prob­lems. Without fuel for its tanks, the Third Army had ground to a virtual standstill.

Although this decision allowed Montgomery to launch his daring airborne thrust into Holland, Operation Market-Garden, it also crippled Patton’s once-promising offensive in Lor­raine. After much wrangling, priority went to British Field Marshal Sir Bernard L. Eisenhower was obliged to allocate what precious fuel supplies were available. Unable to support fully a thrust along a broad front, Supreme Allied Com­mander General Dwight D. Only a fraction of the fuel and ammunition required to sustain the Allied advance into Germany could now be supplied. This was particu­larly true after the Allies captured the vital port of Antwerp in early September but failed to secure its approaches.

Once beyond the Seine, logistics, not tactics, dominated the situation. The euphoria that existed after Nor­mandy was quickly dissipated by a grim reality: The war was far from over. The exploits of his Third Army during the great breakout from Nor­mandy that summer had furthered his image as a general whom the Germans feared more than any other commander. By the end of the year Lieutenant General Patton had become one of the best known Allied generals of World War II, not only for his colorful personality and battlefield prowess, but also for his indis­cretions. In December 1944 it looked as though that belief would come true. PATTON, Jr., BELIEVED HE WAS DESTINED TO LEAD A GREAT ARMY in a desperate battle.

Patton saw only opportunity.ĪS A YOUNG MAN, GEORGE S. When the German army crashed through American lines in the Ardennes, General George S.