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armored vehicles a strenuous effort for all concerned. The site of the Corps Headquarters itself was a
sea of mud, and an occasional bombing and strafing by a suddenly active Luftwaffe did not add cheer
for the wet muddy troops.
The Corps Headquarters, while at Mars-La-Tour, was located near a large chemical plant loaded
with dangerous material. The Germans had surrounded the plant with high explosive gunpowder,
intending to blow it up; but they were a little too late. The troops were kept away from this hazard and
everyone was a bit apprehensive.
At Mars-La-Tour, the first formal regimental organization of the Three French Forces of the
Interior came under XX Corp's control. Known as the First Regiment of Paris, it was under the
command of Commandant Fabien. General Walker inspected troops with their makeshift uniforms and
old uniforms from the first World War. Despite their apparent lack of organization they were
individually very brave. Almost all of them, including the women, had killed three or four Germans.
Many of this gallant band later lost their lives fighting with their Allies for the freedom they prize so
highly.
At Mars-La-Tour, the Corp's Command Post was visited by Archbishop Francis J. Spellman,
Military Vicar to the Armed Forces (now, Cardinal Spellman). Assisted by the Corps Chaplain, Colonel
Thomas L. Wolfe, the distinguished cleric held a field Mass, despite the heavy rain and mud.
An opportunity was also found at this time to decorate officers and men of the Corps for
distinguishing themselves beyond the call of duty and for gallantry in action.
Some of the brightest stars of the show world made appearances around the area. Corp's
personnel enjoyed the songs of Bing Crosby. He raised everyone's morale with his crooning and
lighthearted patter; and Corps members remember that "Der Bingle" fell flat in the mud when he tripped
over a low hanging branch near the Corps Headquarters while on his way to entertain the troops. He
passed it off like a good trooper in the show went on mud and all.
As far back as the 1st of September, the Corps Commander, acting upon orders from General
Patton, had directed his staff to prepare plans for further movements to the east. The enemy, lashed and
harried by the speed steel of XX Corps, was still retreating in disorganized confusion and showed no
desire to make a strong stand west of the German border. Ahead lay the poorly manned fortifications of
Metz, the Siegfried Line, and the heart of Germany. The VII Corps of the First U. S. Army, on the flank
of XX Corps, was turned north to strike for Liege, thus leaving the left flank of XX Corps exposed. The
Corps Commander then instructed the staff to prepare a demonstration in force to the north in the
direction of Sedan using elements of the 7th Armored Division. This was a stratagem intended to
deceive the enemy into believing that the XX Corps was about to move out of the Verdun area in a
northerly sweep towards Sedan.
It was a bold and ambitious plan and part of a larger strategic aim to smash eastward towards
Metz against an enemy thrown off balance. It was planned to continue past the great forts of Metz
before the enemy could fully man the steel and concrete defenses which bristled with heavy guns. Since
the Advance was to Continue through the Siegfried Line to the Rhine River, where crossing was
contemplated near Mainz, with the final objective Frankfurt, 160 miles away.
The entire plan was of the nature and scope of those plans already applied by an XX Corps with
tremendous success in the campaigns of Normandy and France. The Battered Nazi Forces on the
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