confusion of the defenders while the main assault was directed toward the City Hall. Other task forces
wheeled to cut the enemy escape routes to the south and east. By 1600 hrs the German garrison was
split into two groups and had begun redraw to the central part of town. The enemy, now disorganized
by the assault, began to surrender in groups of six to 30 men. By evening, the bulk of the town was
occupied and only a few houses and the City Hall remained in enemy hands.
In the early morning hours of October 30th, the remaining enemy positions were mopped up.
When Corps infantry troops moved in on the City Hall, only dead enemy soldiers were found. The
capture of Maizieres-les-Metz was now complete and XX Corps ruled the town.
In this operation the equivalent of a German battalion was killed or captured at a cost of 55
casualties. Moreover, XX Corps was now in a position to cut the supply route to the fortified salient
west of the Moselle and to exploit one of the best approaches to the inner defenses of Metz.
All during the month of October, lights burned late in the blacked-out Headquarters of XX Corps
in Jarny. Plans for the final destruction of Fortress Metz and the drive to the Saar were the foremost
preoccupation for all concerned. Supplies of every category were assembled in huge quantities for what
had all the earmarks of a rugged and painful fight.
Information about the Fortress system of Metz, which had been gained through the gallant and
bloody efforts of Corps troops all along the front, was closely studied by the Corps staff. All sources,
from patrols to French Army Engineer officers, were combed for every shred of evidence of the great
barriers guarding the valley of the Moselle.
Reinforcements were fitted into the units which had lost heavily in the savage fighting along the
Moselle River line. Wherever possible, troops were pulled back for training in the assault of fortified
positions and for a much-needed breathing spell before the coming offensive. Two new divisions, the
95th Infantry Division under the command of Major General Harry L. Twaddle and the 10th Armored
Division, commanded by Major General William H. Morris, were attached to XX Corps during October.
These new striking forces, destined to play a major role in the impending operations of the Corps, were
deployed in quiet sectors of the line to give them battle experience and to hold the line already
established.
The Americans and Germans both knew that something big was coming up and watched each
other warily. During the latter part of October and early November, there was much shifting of forces
and strengthening of positions on both sides in anticipation of the action to come. It was another "war of
nerves" with propaganda broadcasts and leaflets figuring in the pre-battle plans of XX Corps in an effort
to break the morale and fighting spirit to the Nazi foe.
When the chill November days came, everyone knew the preliminaries were over and the
championship bout was soon to begin. The XX Corps was ready to swing what the Corps Chief of Staff
called its "Sunday Punch" in an effort to score the first knockout over the citadel of Metz in 1500 years.
The XX Corps plan, when perfected at the end of October, contemplated two distinct operations
to be performed concurrently: first, an attack to encircle and destroy the Fortress and garrison of Metz;
second, the seizure of a bridgehead over the Saar River in the vicinity of Saarburg as a base to resume
the attack to the northeast. Regarding the second operation General Walker reasoned as follows. After
the Metz operation had commenced and the enemy's strength had been siphoned into the threatened area,
an infantry division, crossing north of Thionville could proceed rapidly over the base of the Saar-
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