Metz 1944 Patton S Fortified Nemesis First Edition, Printing Edition Steven J. Zaloga Available All Format
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Metz 1944 Patton s fortified nemesis First Edition,
Printing Edition Steven J. Zaloga Digital Instant
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Author(s): Steven J. Zaloga
ISBN(s): 9781849085915, 1849085919
Edition: First Edition, First Printing
File Details: PDF, 13.79 MB
Year: 2012
Language: english
METZ 1944
Patton’s fortified nemesis
METZ 1944
Patton’s fortified nemesis
CHRONOLOGY 5
OPPOSING COMMANDERS 13
American commanders • German commanders
OPPOSING FORCES 18
US Army • German Army
OPPOSING PLANS 28
American plans • German plans
CAMPAIGN 34
Operation Thunderbolt: Fort Driant The October pause
Operation Madison begins: XII Corps Operation Madison begins: XX Corps
The battle for Metz On to the Saar: XII Corps XX Corps advances beyond Metz
FURTHER READING 92
INDEX 95
The Metz campaign by Patton’s Third US Army in the late autumn of 1944
is often forgotten or dismissed as a setback. Yet the task faced by his forces
in Lorraine in October–December 1944 was amongst his most daunting. The
Third US Army had shrunk to only two corps since its glory days in the race
to Paris in August 1944, and Patton’s units were short of both supplies and
fresh troops. Facing them was the most heavily fortified region along the
western German frontier, starting with the sturdy 19th-century German forts
along the Moselle, followed by a belt of Maginot Line forts, and finally the
Westwall pillboxes from the 1930s. In the autumn of 1944, the Wehrmacht
modernized and deepened these defensive belts as part of the West-Stellung
program. Patton’s original attempts to breach the Moselle River on the run
in September had mixed results. XII Corps had gained substantial
bridgeheads in the areas east of Nancy, but in the XX Corps area Patton had
only a small toehold near Metz. The river-crossing sites near Metz were well
protected by the neighboring forts and smothered with artillery fire. XX
Corps tried to capture Fort Driant in early October 1944, but the attacks
failed in the face of fierce resistance. Hitler declared Metz to be a “Festung”
(fortress) to be defended to the last bullet.
After a lull in the fighting through most of October dictated by logistics
problems, Eisenhower authorized a new round of offensives in early
November. Operation Madison aimed to reduce Festung Metz but, taking to
heart the lessons of the failed Fort Driant attack, intended to infiltrate past
the forts where possible and leave them to rot on the vine. The main
impediment during the November offensive proved to be the weather.
Unusually heavy rains flooded the Moselle Valley, making river-crossing
operations especially difficult. In the XII Corps sector, the sodden, muddy
conditions turned the battlefield into a quagmire that subverted Patton’s usual
finesse with tank warfare. In the XX Corps sector, the raging river swept
away many bridges, but in the end, the key forts around Thionville were
overcome or avoided, and two divisions enveloped Metz. Once the outer crust
of forts had been overcome, the city quickly fell on November 18.
In spite of the atrocious weather, Patton’s Third US Army managed to
overwhelm German forces in Lorraine. By early December, footholds had
been secured over the Saar River in the shadows of the Westwall. The ultimate
prize was the Rhine River and it seemed to be within their grasp. Operation
Tink was planned for December 19, 1944, to leap to the Rhine near Mainz
and Mannheim in anticipation of a drive on Frankfurt. Days before the
launch of this bold winter offensive, the Wehrmacht struck in the Ardennes,
diverting Patton’s Third US Army northward on its legendary campaign to
4 relieve Bastogne.
© Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com
CHRONOLOGY
1944
September 7 The 5th Division attempts to cross the Moselle at Dornot, but the
bridgehead is overwhelmed by artillery and counterattacks.
October 3 Second attack is launched against Fort Driant, and a toehold secured
inside the fort.
October 12–13 Last US troops withdraw from Fort Driant during the night.
October 20 The 90th Division finally captures the Hôtel de Ville in Maizières-les-
Metz.
5
© Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com
November 11 AOK 1 orders the evacuation of non-essential personnel from Metz.
Hitler declares the city “Festung Metz” so the city will “fight to the
last bullet.”
November 14 The 379th Infantry captures three of the “Seven Dwarves” forts:
Jussy Nord, Jussy Sud and Saint-Hubert.
November 15 The 378th Infantry captures the Feves Ridge on the night of
November 14–15.
November 16 The 11th Infantry pushes into the Luftwaffe’s Frescaty airbase near
Fort Saint-Privat.
November 17 The last of the Nazi party functionaries leave Metz and French FFI
resistance groups begin attacking isolated German troops. At
1900hrs, Generalleutnant Heinrich Kittel orders the demolition of
the remaining bridges over the Moselle and Seille rivers.
December 3 In a night raid, a battalion of the 95th Division secures a bridge over
the Saar in Saarlautern.
December 17–18 XII Corps operations come to a halt when Third US Army is assigned
to relieve Bastogne in the Ardennes.
6
© Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com
THE STRATEGIC SETTING
7
© Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com
The strategic situation, September 25, 1944
Front line
Maginot line
West wall
0 5 miles
Arlon B X
T XX S T Grevenmacher XX
H X
X IR
XX G 0 5km
D
F
IR
Luxembourg Saarburg
XX
XX 48
83 (+)
Remich
Merzig
Sierck-
les-Bains
er
Thionville
Riv
XX
559
es
VG (-)
Bli
Bouzonville Saarlautern
Mo
selle
Saarbrücken
er
XX
River
Nied Riv
Maizières-
XX les-Metz
XX
90 462 Les Étangs Boulay-Moselle
Conflans VG
Sarreguemines
Metz Saint-Avold
XX
XX
17 SS Faulquemont
Amanvillers
XX Sarralbe
5
XX
3 Sarre-Union
Seill Morhange
XX Pont-à- Nomény Delma 559
XX
eR
XXX VG (-)
Mousson t XX
iver
XII XX X Firs X
553 X
XX
VG (-) 106 XX PZ
River
h
80 Dieulouard Fift
Château-Salins
Sarre
Dieuze
XX
XX XX
35
35 XX 11 (-)
River 6 (-) Moyenvic Donnelay Sarrebourg
le X
anal
35 Marne-Rhine C
sel
XX
X
111
XX
Mo
4 113
Nancy
Toul XX
15 Forêt
Saint-Nicolas de Parroy
Vezo
Lunéville Blâmont use R
X II
iver
X X
X
X
V
XX
79
XX
Me
urth XX Badonviller
2
XX eR 21 (-)
Bayon iver
Fr
Baccarat
Mor
tagn
Fifth PZ
e Riv
N
XXXX
er
Nineteenth
Charmes
X th
Six XX
XX welf
Rambervillers
th
T
Mirecourt Châtel
St Die
8
© Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com
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