The Story of the 10th Armored Division cont.
Joined by TF Riley and TF Haskell, the trio carved a mile-wide swath through stubborn opposition. Maj. Warren B. Haskell's troops first glimpsed the spires of Germany's oldest city early March 1. By 1100 they swooped dwn the eastern heights into the city and tackled German barracks which were being used as defensive strong points.
Five additional task forces converged on the city during the afternoon. TF Richardson entered from the south. TF Chamberlain and TF Norris blocked the southern gateway, while TF Riley and TF Cherry looped northeast to slam the back door.
"Fester Platz (Fortress Place) Trier-An-Der-Mosel" fell at 1500 March 2. In 28 hours, the 10th had crushed all resistance in the first major German city to fall to the Third Army. So speedy had been its conquest that the German commander at Trier and his entire garrison of 3000 men were snared.
Above Trier, the Moselle becomes the Mosel, points a multi-crooked finger northeastward to the Rhine at industrial Coblenz. The Tigers who had opened the southern gateway to the Mosel Valley would now drive up this broad, strategic avenue to further conquests.
Two thousand years before, Rome's Tenth Legion had conquered Trier, and Emperor Augustus Caesar's engineers had built a sturdy bridge across the Mosel. When TF Richardson fought its way to the river, the "Roman's Bridge," whose pillars were of the first ancient structure, stood intact. An inebriated Nazi had failed to blow it.