Plans for the assault were made with infinite attention to the minutest details. Each officer, each rifleman, knew his job and his objective. In the center of the town was the city hall, strongly defended and well fortified by the enemy. The city hall became the hub upon which the German defense revolved, a symbol of failure or success. Whoever held the city hall held Maizières-lès-Metz. On October 27th the attack was set in motion. Four groups of ten men each attacked the city hall from four directions. Only one group of men could gain access to the interior. A sharp hand to hand fight developed, and nine of the original ten were wounded. The remaining soldier scorned all demands for surrender, and instead covered the retreat of his wounded comrades.
 

The Chief of Staff General Marshall visits Division command post at Doncourt, France, in October 1944
The Chief of Staff General Marshall visits Division command post at Doncourt, France, in October 1944

On the next day and the next the attack was continued. The infantry moved behind a protective screen of artillery often only 75 yards to their front in skillfully coordinated moves. At last the town was cut in two, the confused enemy found itself cut off with no path of escape. Routed and demoralized by the accurate artillery fire and the skill with which each unit functioned, the entire remaining elements of the garrison surrendered. The city hall had fallen, and Maizières-lès-Metz was firmly in American hands. An entire enemy battalion had been destroyed, while the 90th suffered only 55 casualties.

The preliminaries had ended. The next target was Metz... and more. The taking of the important bastion was to be merely an incident in a larger plan, a plan which envisioned the utter annihilation of all enemy troops between the Moselle and the Saar River. Carefully the plans were laid, carefully and shrewdly. Munitions and supplies had now accumulated in sufficient quantities. This time there was to be no error.

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