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all-night bridging operation was performed by the engineers, and by noon of the next day, the 5th
Division was across.
Strange and confusing things sometimes happened during the race across France. Even
regimental command posts on overnight stops found themselves surrounded by enemy troops at dawn.
Units soon learned to use the "corral" system of defense, barred from the days of wagon trains of the Old
West. With infantry circling the outer perimeter and artillery massed in the center ready to traverse 360
degrees, units were prepared for attacks from any direction, and from any direction they did come.
Frequently, bitter skirmishes were fought in headquarters and artillery areas when bands of German
soldiers, cut off by the Corps’ combat echelons, tried to break through to rejoin their retreating forces.
On the 26th of August, XX Corps had received orders from Third Army to swing to the north
from Nogent-sur-Seine and advance on Reims. Climbing onto its organic transportation and any
captured German vehicles that were still in running order, the Corps assault units drove 75 miles
northeast toward Epernay on the Marne.
General Walker, reviewing the enemy situation, decided that the time was ripe for even more
daring and aggressive tactics. He instructed the cavalry to move out to the front and seize bridges over
the Marne. The armor was ordered to fan out in multiple columns destroying the enemy wherever he
could be found. The 5th and 90th Divisions were directed to advance in trucks, tanks, tank destroyers,
and any transport available, dismounting only to fight.
The lightly armored cavalry moved out at 0600 hours on the 27th of August and found the
excellent road net well covered with 88mm and antitank fire. Corps Headquarters advanced to
Donnemarie-en-Montois, engaging in individual skirmishing en route, and even captured a few prisoners
who had paused to rest their feet. The light tanks and assault guns of the 3rd Cavalry Group ran into
heavy and anti-tank and artillery concentrations at strategic points. The cavalry did, however, spot the
German gun positions and transmitted the information to the heavier armor, and the guns of the medium
tanks quickly blasted the enemy strong points. At dusk, elements of the 7th Armored Division rolled in
to Chateau-Thierry. So speedy was the advance that a company of tanks and a platoon of armored
infantry crossed the Marne just before the Germans destroyed bridge. The enemy turned furiously on
the small, stranded force. The Corps’ artillery battalions, which were closely following the armored
combat columns, laid down direct fire across the river while Combat Command "A" slipped one mile
left, found another bridge and drove in to Château-Thierry from the rear. There it attacked and
destroyed the battle group of the 9th SS Panzer Grenadier Division while it was still engaged with a
small force of tanks and infantry, and dodging the rain of shells that XX Corps’ artillery poured into its
position at close range.
Château-Thierry, historic battleground of World War I, fell to XX Corps, August 27th, 1944.
The 90th Division, marching against little opposition, reached the banks of the Marne on 28th of
August. The 5th Division moved rapidly along the southern flank, mopping up isolated resistance as
disorganized enemy groups were met.
The 5th Division captured Epernay on the 28th, and crossed the Marne on two quickly
constructed bridges. In one day, the Marne, an important river, was lost to the Germans.
On the 28th of August, the decimated and demoralized remnants of the 49th SS Panzer Grenadier
Brigade, the 48th Infantry Division, the 9th Panzer Division, and the 26th SS Brigade fled north and east
with all the speed they could muster. The XX Corps' 7th Armored Division, in seven separate task force
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