When Patton’s Tanks Never Stopped | WW2 Story

Lieutenant General George S. Patton Jr.'s Third United States Army across France and into Germany during the summer and fall of 1944, a period when Patton's armored forces seemed unstoppable, covering hundreds of miles in weeks amid dramatic breakthroughs, rapid pursuits, and audacious maneuvers. Activated on August 1, 1944, following the Operation Cobra breakout from Normandy, the Third Army—under Patton's fiery leadership—exploited the Avranches gap with lightning speed, racing through Brittany to seize ports, liberating Paris indirectly, surging to the Seine, and pushing toward the German border despite supply shortages, logistical strains from the Red Ball Express, and Hitler's rigid defenses. Key highlights include the near-closure of the Falaise Pocket, the dash across open country bypassing strongpoints, the grueling siege of Metz in Lorraine, the masterful 90-degree pivot to relieve Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, the Rhine crossings (with Patton's famous urination in the river), the encirclement of the Ruhr Pocket, and the final drives into Austria and Czechoslovakia. Featuring corps commanders like Wade Hampton Haislip, Manton Eddy, Walton Walker, and Troy Middleton, divisions such as the 4th Armored (under John S. Wood), and Patton's personal style—daily front-line visits, profane motivation, and emphasis on speed—the story captures how Patton's "tanks never stopped," turning stalemate into overwhelming momentum, inflicting massive German casualties, and embodying aggressive armored warfare until VE Day in May 1945.