By the 1st of October, plans were being made for an attack against the town of Maiziere-
Les-Metz to the southeast. Capture of this strategic little town would allow a flanking of the
enemy positions and place the Regiment in an excellent position to force the withdrawal from the
fortified line. After the clearing and occupation of the large slag pile just northwest of the town
by elements of the 1st and 2nd Battalions on the 3rd, the 2nd Battalion launched its attack against
Maiziere-Les-Metz on the 7th. Almost half of the town was overrun before resistance stiffened
and the fighting developed into a house to house affair. The Germans, fully realizing the
strategic importance of this town, had orders to defend each house to the last man and this,
precisely, is what they did during the next 22 days. Mines and booby traps were in every house,
and artillery and mortar fire literally poured down day and night. Every weapon in the arsenal,
including satchel charges and 105 and 155 self-propelled guns, were used against the stubborn
defenders. It was not until the 29th, after the town had been reduced to rubble, that the 1st and
3rd Battalions by coordinated assault succeeded in overrunning the town and liquidating the
defending German Garrison. During the morning of this day, Colonel Barth was seriously
wounded while observing the progress of the attack from a front line position. Command of the
entire operation was then assumed by Lt. Col. John H. Mason, 3rd Battalion Commander, until
the following day when Colonel Julian H. George arrived to take command of the Regiment.
The loss of Colonel Barth was sorely felt by the entire Regiment. His keen judgment,
tactical skill, and employment of the principles of common sense, had been directly responsible
for the many successes of the Regiment carried out with an absolute minimum loss of life. The
evacuation of Colonel Barth marked the loss by the Regiment of its finest soldier.
The close-in fighting for this town had been savage and not without its price in blood.
During the 27 day battle a total of 552 casualties, including 51 dead, was suffered. Enemy
losses of crack troops drawn from the Metz area were estimated to be much higher. At this
time, the fortress city of Metz was under heavy siege by other Third Army Divisions, and enemy
resistance west of the Moselle was undergoing the process of rapid elimination.
On the 1st of November, the Regiment was relieved by the 377th of the 95th Division
and moved back to the Mercy le Bas, France for a short period of training and rehabilitation.
This relief had been well earned by men who had continually occupied heavily contested front-
line positions, for a period of over 60 days.
It was pouring rain and miserably cold the night of the 7th when the Regiment began its
shuttle movement to the northeast. The 90th Division had been selected to establish a
bridgehead over the Moselle River. This was considered a major task as it was known that the
Germans maintained formidable defenses in this area and were prepared to defend them to the
last. The French Maginot Line began on the eastern bank.
Following the assault crossing of the 358th and 359th before dawn on the 9th, the 357th
crossed during daylight on the same day at Cattenom in the 358th sector and began its push
inland. The men were fighting under terrific handicaps and against fanatical resistance. The
heavy rains had swollen the river to many times its normal width, and constant enemy mortar
and artillery fire had prevented the construction of a bridge across the raging stream. All
supplies, therefore, had to be ferried across and hand carried to the front. Bedrolls and blankets
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