He Swam Across the Rhine Alone at Night — Patton Was on the Bank When He Got Back

March 1945. The Rhine River. Germany. The river was forty meters wide. Near freezing. Fast moving. Germans on the other side. Patton needed to know what was waiting there before he sent 40,000 men across. Two intelligence reports disagreed. At 2300 hours, Sergeant Michael Dolan knocked on his commanding officer's door. "I'll go across tonight. I'll be back before dawn with what you need." He went in at 2330. Patton was on the bank when he came back. In this video: Two conflicting intelligence reports — wrong crossing = thousands of dead Sergeant Dolan: "I'll go across tonight. I'll be back before dawn." Strips to minimum — dark clothes — small knife — waterproof notebook Enters the Rhine at 2330 — water near freezing — 40 meters wide 22 minutes to cross — lands 200 meters downstream 90 minutes on the German side — listening — counting — noting positions Hears the difference between men who know what's coming and men who don't Goes back in — 31 minutes return crossing — hands stop working properly Patton has been standing on the western bank for 40 minutes — waiting "Boppard sir. The reports on Boppard are wrong." "At least twice what they estimated. Artillery. Well dug in." "I could hear the difference. You can hear men who know what's coming." "Oberwesel." — Patton makes the decision in one word "What's your name?" — "Sergeant Michael Dolan sir. Third Army." Patton says the name once. Then walks back to his command post. The crossing at Oberwesel — casualties significantly lower than any estimate "The cold never completely went away." Why Patton stood on the bank instead of waiting somewhere warm Subscribe for untold World War II stories every week. You're in Patton's Army now.