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The attack on Sillegny continued from the 18th to the 20th of September. The enemy had direct
observation along the Seille in this area from the Fortified Group La Marne which he had surrounded
with a large number of batteries of heavy artillery. As a result, the attack on the town was slow and
costly. On the night of September 20, some armor units penetrated the western edge of Sillegny, only to
be pinned down by a veritable hail of artillery fire and cut off from reinforcements. That night the
Germans enveloped Sillegny with tanks and infantry, and the Corps troops in the town were lost.
On the 24th of September to ensure tighter control of the bloody bridgehead fighting across the
Moselle and to shorten communication lines to Corps units involved there, Corps Headquarters moved
up from Mars-la-Tour to Carny, about 12 kilometers from the guns of the outer ring of Metz fortresses.
Heavy shelling was received from the forts, particularly from huge 280 mm guns across the Moselle.
Many casualties occurred from Corps Headquarters. A chunk of shrapnel from one of these rounds
ripped completely through General Walker's car, fortunately, while he was not in it. Several billets and
installations were riddled with hot fragments of steel.
A huge stock of German liquor was taken over by XX Corps at Jarny and a "forced" issue a fine
old cognac and brandy was made to all Corps troops and attached units.
While at Jarny, the now famed XX Corps was visited by a number of dignitaries and entertainers.
General Marshall conferred there with Corps Commander and General Patton was a frequent visitor.
Both were vitally interested in the impending assault on the Metz region.
Marlene Dietrich entertained the officers and men of the Corps at Jarny in the face of grave
danger. General Dody of the French Army dropped in to pay respects on behalf of a grateful Republic
of France.
General Walker and Colonel Collier went back briefly to Verdun to become "Soldiers of France"
in a colorful ceremony. The court Commander was made an honorary Corporal and the Chief of Staff
and honorary Private First Class in the 16th French Bataillon de Chasseur A Pied, and both received the
French Fourragere in the presence of General Dody.
At Jarny, the Corps received further honors when the proud battle streamers of the Marne and
Château-Thierry Were Affixed to the Corps Standard.
The staff of XX Corps was busy during this period studying detailed maps of the fortified region
of Metz, engineer sketches and models of the surrounding ring of forts. Plans were developed for the
victorious storming of the citadel of said that else citadels, Metz.
When the bitterly contested bridgehead over the rampaging Moselle at Arnaville had been
secured in spite of every enemy effort to reduce it, General Walker was ready to implement his plans to
conquer Metz. "Ghost Corps" forces had now forged a band of steel generally along the Moselle River
line from the First Army zone, north of Thionville, to the zone of the XII Corps of the Third Army at
Longueville – a front of over 40 miles. The XX Corps had succeeded in partially outflanking several of
the major fortresses of the German salient west of Metz.
The bloody fighting in Dornot and Arnaville had cost the German defenders over 10,000
casualties and the striking power of an entire armored division, the 17th SS Panzer Grenadier Division,
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