| United States Army Lieutenant General Alexander M. Patch (November 23, 1889 – November 21, 1945) inspects the crew of a Bofors 40 millimeter (1.57 inch) L/60 gun. The commander of the United States 7th Army, Patch’s forces had recently broken through Nazi German defenses and intended to cross the Rhine. Patch’s commanding officer, 6th Army Group General Jacob L. Devers (September 8, 1887 – October 15, 1979) was stunned when Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower (October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) denied the river crossing and instead ordered Patch to detail 2 divisions to head north. After the war, the Germans admitted their borders were undefended and 7th Army would have been able to cut off the Nazis and attack them from the rear. Instead, on December 16, 1944, the Nazi Germans counterattacked in Belgium’s Ardennes Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge began. Devers and Patch had to call off their advance and rush forces to relieve Americans trapped by the Axis advance. The animosity between Eisenhower and Devers has been seen as a motivating factor in the decision to prevent 6th Army Group from advancing across the Rhine. Devers and Patch did much to advance across France; neither wrote their memoirs and have received little credit. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0495.jpg |
| Image Size | 117.50 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1000 x 714 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Army Signal Corps |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | December 27, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | Phalsbourg |
| State or Province | Grand Est |
| Country | France |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | 111-SDC-3093 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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