1942 - US Army Center Of Military History

[ 14 NOVEMBER 1944 ]
CCB, 4th Armd Div, and 35th Div begin drive on
Morhange, important communications center: CCB,
followed by 137th Inf, pushes through Villers-sur-
Nied to positions N of Marthille on left and to ridge
commanding Achain on right; 134th Inf clears
Achain on left and reaches Rougemont Ridge on
right. 328th Inf, 26th Div, continues slowly through
woods on Koecking ridge under heavy fire; 101st is
still checked to right rear at St Médard and Haraucourt,
exposing right flank of 328th.
6th Army Group: In U.S. Seventh Army area,
XV Corps begins offensive NE toward Sarrebourg
with 44th Div on left, 79th on right, and 106th Cav
screening N flank. 44th, with 324th and 71st Regts
in assault, attacks toward Avricourt from Leintrey
area, coming under heavy fire. 79th Div attacks with
314th and 315th Regts from Montigny area and
drives to outskirts of Ancerviller. In VI Corps area,
attack of 100th Div on N flank of corps is delayed
by German counterattack, which is repelled with
aid of arty fire. Germans begin burning St Dié in
preparation for withdrawal.
In Fr 1st Army area, Prime Minister Churchill
and Gen de Gaulle visit Gen de Lattre at Besançon.
In 1st Corps area, blizzard prevents even limited
action.
ITALY—AAI: In U.S. Fifth Army’s Br 13 Corps
area, Ind 8th Div renews assault on M. S. Bartolo
and takes it in hard fighting.
In Br Eighth Army’s 5 Corps area, 138th Brig
of 46th Div expands Montone bridgehead to M.
Poggiolo area; 128th Brig takes S. Varano. Depleted
167th Brig, 56th Div, is committed on Highway 9,
between 4th and 46th Divs.
GREECE—Anglo-Greek agreement of 9 March
1942 is amended in order to place Greek armed
forces under British high command. All of Greece
has now been liberated.
BURMA—ALFSEA: In Br Fourteenth Army’s
33 Corps area, Ind 5th Div and E African 11th Div
make patrol contact near Kalemyo.
LEYTE—U.S. Sixth Army: In X Corps area,
21st Inf of 24th Div gains 400–600 yards as it continues
to clear Breakneck Ridge. 1st Bn of 34th Inf
reaches its objective, Kilay Ridge (named for Henry
Kilay, a Filipino soldier who owned it), without
opposition. This commanding position lies about
700 yards W of Highway 2 where 2d Bn, 19th Inf,
is maintaining roadblock.
14 November
WESTERN EUROPE—21 Army Group: In Br
Second Army area, 12 Corps opens offensive to
reduce enemy bridgehead W of the Maas in Roermond–Venlo
area, attacking across Nord and Wes-
[ 325 ]
sem Canals with 53d and 51st Divs while 7th Armd
Div takes locks at Panheel.
12th Army Group: In U.S. First Army’s V Corps
area, greatly weakened 28th Div begins moving to
VIII Corps sector; 109th Inf relieves 112th, the first
unit to be withdrawn, and is reinf by 2d Ranger Bn.
In U.S. Third Army’s XX Corps area, Oudrenne
falls to 359th Inf, 90th Div; 358th cuts Inglange–
Distroff road and clears Distroff. 90th Rcn Tr links
bridgeheads of 80th and 95th Divs, providing 10th
Armd Div a protected route of advance. Bailey
bridge is completed at Thionville during morning,
and CCB of 10th Armd Div starts across it in
afternoon. CCA of 10th Armd Div and 3d Cav
Gp cross at Malling, latter to screen in Sarre–Moselle
triangle. 95th Div, which has been engaged largely
in containing enemy bridgehead W of Metz, begins
attacks W of the river with 379th Inf after arty
preparation: while 2d Bn works around to rear of
Forêt Jeanne d’Arc and holds off counterattacks, 1st
Bn begins reduction of fortifications known as the
Seven Dwarfs, taking the 3 northern works and
attempting in vain to gain the next, Forêt Bois la
Dame. The regt is isolated in these advanced positions,
though, and must be supplied by air. E of the
Moselle, 2d Bn of 378th Inf, 95th Div, takes Haute-
Yutz and opens assault on Forêt d’Illange; 1st Bn,
377th Inf, is heavily engaged at Bertrange and Imeldange.
10th and 11th Regts, 5th Div, drive northward
abreast toward Metz while 3d Bn, 2d
Inf, moves to Sorbey area; 11th clears woods SW of
Fort Verdun and takes Prayelle Farm; 10th cleans
out S half of Bois de l’Hôpital. In XII Corps area,
Gen Eddy limits 80th Div’s mission to clearing high
ground S of Faulquemont. CCA of 6th Armd Div
attacks toward Côte de Suisse, a ridge extending
from Landroff to Thicourt, taking Brulange, Suisse,
and Landroff. Germans begin series of determined
attempts to recover Landroff at dusk, pushing into
the village. CCB, 4th Armd Div, and 137th Inf,
35th Div, close in on Morhange, seizing Destry and
Baronville in bitter fighting. 134th Inf, 35th Div,
moves forward to right. CCA, 4th Armd Div,
sweeps through Bois de Kerpeche, extending NE
from Koecking ridge, and gets elements to Guebling.
328th Inf, 26th Div, continues to clear Koecking
forest, from which enemy begins withdrawing, night
14–15.
6th Army Group: In U.S. Seventh Army’s XV
Corps area, 44th Div continues to battle enemy near
Leintrey. 79th overcomes opposition at Ste Pôle and
Ancerviller.
In Fr 1st Army area, 1st Corps opens offensive
toward Belfort Gap, attacking astride the Doubs
at noon with 2d Moroccan Div assisted by 5th Armd
Div on left and 9th Colonial Div on right. Tactical