Allied capture of Nancy
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Nancy is a city in France. It was captured from Nazi Germany by the U.S. Third Army in September of 1944, during the Lorraine Campaign of World War II.
| Siegfried Line Campaign |
|---|
| Moerbrugge - Market Garden - Nancy - Hurtgen Forest - Crucifix Hill - Aachen - Scheldt - Metz - Queen |
Contents |
[edit] Overview
When the Third Army began its attempt to capture Nancy, it had only recently recovered from a large fuel shortage which had caused it to halt on the Meuse River for five days. During this time German defenders in the area had reinforced their positions.
While the XX Corps in the north was tasked with the capture of Metz, Nancy, the other major city in the region, was assigned to the XII Corps. When the XII Corps first started on this assignment it was not at full operational strength as the U.S. 35th Infantry Division was guarding the southern flank of the Allied forces until the southern Seventh Army could close the gap. This left only the U.S. 4th Armored Division and the U.S. 80th Infantry Division available.
[edit] Composition of the XII Corps
- 4th Armored Division - John Wood
- 35th Infantry Division - Paul Baade
- 80th Infantry Division - Horace McBride
[edit] German forces
[edit] 80th Infantry attempts to secure a bridgehead
Due to the difficulty of the terrain and lack of recon about enemy strength, it was decided against risking the 4th Armored in the initial capture of a bridge, as had been done at Commercy.
Instead, the 80th Infantry was assigned to secure three crossing sites across the Moselle: at Pont-à-Mousson with the 317th Infantry Regiment, Toul with the 319th, and a limited one at Morbache with the 318th. The 4th Armored would then sweep around from the northern Pont-à-Mousson to assault Nancy from the east, while infantry from Toul would attack from the west.
At Pont-à-Mousson, American forces dispensed with reconnaissance and preliminary artillery bombardments, hoping to use tactical surprise instead. This turned out to be a poor decision though, as the German defenders, who were in greater strength and much better prepared then assumed, held terrain that allowed them to observe the movement of the American forces in the vicinity. American forces made two crossing attempts, the first in the daylight and the second at night but both were easily repulsed and the assault was called off by General Eddy.
At Morbache, American forces had a difficult fight through the woods as they tried to seize the high ground which commanded the vicinity. After a two-day battle, they managed to dislodge German defenders and capture the hill, but were soon thrown back by a German counter-attack.
At Toul, there was seemingly more success as the Moselle was crossed, but it was short-lived as the German defenders simply fell back until they reached a ten-mile defensive line flanked by two forts from where they were able to stall further advances.
[edit] Second attempt at crossing
Though the initial crossing attempts largely failed, by September 7th, the situation had started to improve. With the Seventh Army rapidly approaching and the XV Corps returning to the Third Army to guard the southern flank, the 35th Infantry Division was now available to use in the next assault.
A new plan drawn up was for the 80th to attack in the north and the 35th in the south along with the 4th Armored Combat Command B (CCB), while CCA would wait in reserve to exploit either flank. This new plan was scheduled to go in effect on September 11th.
[edit] 80th Infantry assault in the north
After the poor results from the hasty earlier crossing attempts, greater effort was made for a co-ordinated and well-supported assault. Dieulouard, located about four miles south of Pont-à-Mousson, was chosen as the new crossing site. The new plan would have the 317th Infantry Regiment cross first and secure a foothold, then for the 318th to follow and capture the high ground centered around Mousson Hill to the north. A heavy bridge would then be laid and CCA would be able to strike and capture Château-Salins, an important rail centre in the region. Because the 319th was still engaged in combat at Toul, they could not be used in this assault.
Because of the formidable terrain held by the German forces, extra support was called in. On September 10th, the IX Bomber Command destroyed a bridge at Custines to prevent enemy reinforcements in the area from Nancy, and the following evening struck at Mousson Hill. In order to feint the enemy, artillery and airstrikes were primarily directed at Pont-à-Mousson.
The infantry crossings took place on September 12th and met with only weak resistance. So fast was the advance that elements of CCA were able to cross on the very same day. The reason for this ease was because they had crossed in a region near where two separate German divisions (3rd Panzer Grenadier Division and the 553rd VG Division) linked up and were thinly posted. Most of the reserves in the area had already been sent north to engage with the XX Corps as well.
The German assault to destroy the bridge began about noon on September 13th, and was initially successful as it routed the infantry forces and pushed them almost back to the bridge itself. CCA sent its reconnaissance squadron of light tanks to help alleviate the situation, but they were ineffective against the heavier German self-propelled guns. In response, CCA's 37th Tank Battalion, commanded by Lt. Col. Creighton Abrams, pushed across the bridgehead and attacked German forces. The resulting action bought enough time for the American infantry to regroup and the German offense soon burned itself out. By that evening the bridgehead was considered secure, allowing CCA to cross and move on to its initial objectives.
The following day saw further counterattacks against the foothold by German forces, but they were again repelled by the 80th, aided by reinforcements sent back from the advanced CCA.
[edit] 35th Infantry assault in the south
On September 10th, as the 35th moved into position to begin their part of the assault, it was noticed that a bridge, mined but intact, was located at Flavigny. A battalion of the 134th Infantry Regiment was given permission to assault the bridge and though they succeeded in capturing it, reinforcements failed to arrive and it was subsequently destroyed by German artillery. The battalion itself was decimated by a following German counterattack. This loss prevented the regiment from being further involved in the attempt to secure a crossing site and the next day it was instead assigned to guard the left flank at Pont St. Vincent. At one location the regiment garrisoned a French fort which was subject to a small German assault that was eventually broken up by artillery and reinforcements.
CCB managed to cross at Bainville-aux-Miroirs and near Banyon. A large bridge was floated at Banyon that night, which German forces attempted to destroy, but were annihilated instead after being encircled.
The 137th Infantry Regiment also managed to secure a foothold at Crévéchamps after a feint five miles to the north and a half-hour artillery bombardment. They quickly found themselves pinned after crossing though, but were able to fight themselves out after German forces were depleted for the failed counterattack against the Banyon bridge.
[edit] Encirclement of Nancy
After Colonel Abrams' 37th Tank Battalion secured the Dieulouard bridgehead and driven the enemy from Ste. Geneviève, CCA was able to start crossing its remaining forces and made a rapid advance towards its initial objective of Château-Salins. Though it was halted several times to neutralize sporadic German forces and roadblocks, by the end of the first day it had reached Fresnes-en-Saulnois, a village located three miles west of Château-Salins. The next day, September 14, orders were changed though and CCA was to instead capture the high ground at Arracourt, cutting off German escape routes from Nancy. On arrival in the area, CCA encountered and dispatched forces from the 15th Panzer Grenadier Division with only light casualties, then proceeded to set up a defensive position, oriented towards the east, from which they were able to harass German forces on the main road to Nancy and send advance units to meet with patrols from CCB around the Marne-Rhin Canal. The following day brought word to CCA of the German counter-attacks at Dieulouard, at which point they released a reinforcing infantry regiment as well as an armored company to stabilize the situation.
After CCB crossed the Moselle in the south, the German defenders, finding poor natural defense in the terrain, retreated to Forêt de Vitrimont across the Meurth River. The Germans had little time to prepare their defenses in the area though, and were soon driven off after CCB crossed the Meurth River on September 14th, the bulk of them falling back to Lunéville. The meeting with units from CCA at the Marne-Rhin that night completed the encirclement of Nancy.
[edit] Assault on Nancy
To be added
