WW2 & Kentuckians: Voices of a Generation

The "Race to the Rhine" by Allied forces was a spectacular display of men and machines. The phrase "we'll be home by Christmas" seemed possible due to the initial success of the Normandy landings. The great race to capture a bridgehead over the Rhine River, Germany's last natural barrier in the west, was a goal each and every soldier on the western front had in the back of his mind. A firm foothold across the river, into the heartland of the Third Reich, would be all it would take to destroy any hopes of an Axis victory in World War II.

Above:
The scenic view of the Rhine River Valley once echoed the destructive goal of all Allied Forces: advancing into Germany.

Below:
General George S Patton: Commander of the US 3rd Army advancing on the Rhine River.

Veteran Coleman Hatton recalls some of his experiences on the "Race to the Rhine":

"Our officer hollered at us one night, 'warm em up, were getting ready to move into Germany', so we left that night and drove all night long into Germany. We landed in a big valley with mountains all around us. The next morning, as soon as daylight came, they [Germans] started throwing artillery on us. Whew...they hit right. We had one hit here,one hit there and one hit there, I said 'I ain't waiting for the next one' and I up and got out of there! We pulled on top of this big hill and they threw artillery all over the place, they killed I don't know how many."

"Let me tell you another story:
I had a captain who was company commander from Lexington [KY]. He was in the first tank and I was in the second tank this time. We were going into this town and I was about 50 yards behind him and we got in, he was just fixing to turn into town and the Germans captured his tank and all and here I was about 50 yards behind him. I had to back up and then they started shooting."

The prize of a bridge over the Rhine wouldn't come at an easy price. With the Axis defending their home nation for the first time, enemy troops would fight more savagely than ever before. Since a way into Germany was the greatest prize an officer could achieve, it was very easy for men to become obsessed with being the first ones to reach it. This would lead to head on disaster for American servicemen, as Coleman Hatton recalls: