Matrix Games Forums

Was sitting in McDonald's this morning having a tea and playing AE, waiting for my next appointment of the morning. Well a guy sitting about 30 feet from me was talking to a Pacific war veteran. Then I heard him say that his father served in the ETO with Patton's third army. Well that's ok except that he also said his father served in the third army all the way to The Brenner pass. So does anyone other than me know what's wrong with that statement?....GP

ORIGINAL: General Patton

Was sitting in McDonald's this morning having a tea and playing AE, waiting for my next appointment of the morning. Well a guy sitting about 30 feet from me was talking to a Pacific war veteran. Then I heard him say that his father served in the ETO with Patton's third army. Well that's ok except that he also said his father served in the third army all the way to Brenner's pass. So does anyone other than me know what's wrong with that statement?....GP

Simple... Patton's 7th Army was only in Sicily; after he lost command the 7th was used to land in southern France in August. He commanded 3rd Army from the breakout in Normandy. The 5th Army under Clark made it with the GIs to the Brenner

Klink, Oberst

I'm guessing that if they got to Brenner it was only as occupation force after surrender. There was a time western Allies occupied areas ultimately only to turn them back over to the Russians.

Klink, you win. Third army was around the central Germany area. Towards the south. If my memory is correct....GP

ORIGINAL: General Patton

Was sitting in McDonald's this morning having a tea and playing AE, waiting for my next appointment of the morning. Well a guy sitting about 30 feet from me was talking to a Pacific war veteran. Then I heard him say that his father served in the ETO with Patton's third army. Well that's ok except that he also said his father served in the third army all the way to Brenner's pass. So does anyone other than me know what's wrong with that statement?....GP

warspite1

Well one thing that is wrong is the name; its The Brenner Pass [;)]

ORIGINAL: General Patton

Klink, you win. Third army was around the central Germany area. Towards the south. If my memory is correct....GP

To my knowledge it was the 6th Army that advanced to Austria and the Brenner Pass. 3rd Army was north of the 6th,
advanced almost to Prague in Czechia.

To state that the person in question had been at the Brenner Pass could just be a way to describe that he got
quite far.....This isn't the worst case of memory loss I've seen. Hope you didn't go over and punched his nose,
General....[;)]

Fred

ORIGINAL: Leandros

ORIGINAL: General Patton

Klink, you win. Third army was around the central Germany area. Towards the south. If my memory is correct....GP

To my knowledge it was the 6th Army that advanced to Austria and the Brenner Pass. 3rd Army was north of the 6th,
advanced almost to Prague in Czechia.

To state that the person in question had been at the Brenner Pass could just be a way to describe that he got
quite far.....This isn't the worst case of memory loss I've seen. Hope you didn't go over and punched his nose,
General....[;)]

Fred

I haven't slapped anyone in a long time[:D]....GP

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: General Patton

Was sitting in McDonald's this morning having a tea and playing AE, waiting for my next appointment of the morning. Well a guy sitting about 30 feet from me was talking to a Pacific war veteran. Then I heard him say that his father served in the ETO with Patton's third army. Well that's ok except that he also said his father served in the third army all the way to Brenner's pass. So does anyone other than me know what's wrong with that statement?....GP

warspite1

Well one thing that is wrong is the name; its The Brenner Pass [;)]

Post edited successfully[;)]....GP

I do not belong to any Vet organization.
Once I DEROS'd, I did not wish to be around anything even smelling like it might be service related, but a friend asked I go with him to a local Legion hall on Georgetown Road, across from the Indy 500.
The bar was full of overly powdered lifers' wives trying to "out-G.I." each other.
They looked like the oldest and ugliest whores in the world, and none seemed to have been sober in a long time.
This was maybe ten in the morning.

I then listened to a few of the husbands, (who were at the tables) telling their "war stories.To hear it...they were ALL Rangers, or slick pilots, but I think they were more like "special services" than special forces.
(Special services ran the theaters and bowling alleys, athletic programs, bars,you get it.)

I was just too damned smart for my own good.
Dad was a career officer,Omaha Beach, Operation Cobra, Aachen,etc, and then he served in Korea.
I knew his tales, and he divulged them AFTER I too had "seen the elephant" from around Bein Hoa

That original posters comments ref the Brenner Pass was to me, a very common thing with REMF's.

I loved the guys in the rear who DID take care of us, but they were also the ones who went thru the C rations and dug out all the good smokes and gave us the Benson and Hedges.

ORIGINAL: Leandros

ORIGINAL: General Patton

Klink, you win. Third army was around the central Germany area. Towards the south. If my memory is correct....GP

To my knowledge it was the 6th Army that advanced to Austria and the Brenner Pass. 3rd Army was north of the 6th,
advanced almost to Prague in Czechia.

To state that the person in question had been at the Brenner Pass could just be a way to describe that he got
quite far.....This isn't the worst case of memory loss I've seen. Hope you didn't go over and punched his nose,
General....[;)]

Fred

6th Army fought in New Guinea, 3rd Army was north of 7th Army.

Always question Oral History, after 70 years memories fade.

It was the son who had the info a little off....GP

ORIGINAL: m10bob


I loved the guys in the rear who DID take care of us, but they were also the ones who went thru the C rations and dug out all the good smokes and gave us the Benson and Hedges.

Okay, spill. What from your point of view were the "good smokes" and don't tell me Viceroys. [:-] Pall Malls? Camels? Salems?

Or those ones that tasted good like a cigarette should? Or were you a Marlboro man?

ORIGINAL: JeffK
6th Army fought in New Guinea, 3rd Army was north of 7th Army.

Always question Oral History, after 70 years memories fade.

Sorry, I mixed up 6th Army and 6th Army Group. Of which 7th army was a part.

Fred

I would have gone for the Lucky Strikes in the good war, Camels in the pinch. I remember trading
a Canadian a carton of Marlboros for "Navy Cut" something on a Re-forger exercise. My mistake.
As to vets doing the "tales", I never met one who needed to let some stranger know to feel good.
I was a two tour peace time guy with "Old Ironsides" in the late seventies and eighties. I worked
with a guy Jeff for four years before we realized we served at the same time, on the same Kaserne.
To be honest the funny thing was, neither of us made the other out to be cut out for the military.
That was one funny moment.

Towards the end of April 1945 the Third Army shifted to a more central part of Germany. Many units were transferd to the Seventh as many were shifted to the Third from the First Army. So it is possible that the Vet was correct when he was telling his story.

4 May 1945, 411th Infantry, 103rd Division, 7th Army captured Brenner Pass from the North, same day at 1051hrs they made contact with 88th Division, 5th Army coming up from the South.

THE LAST OFFENSIVE
By Charles B. MacDonald