the field artillery journal - Fort Sill - U.S. Army

into untaken Fort Driant. This had no effect. Neither was it found possible to continue on
with the underground
gallery battle without excessive losses. It was decided to give up
the attempt. On
the night 12/13 Oct the troops which were still in Fort Driant were
withdrawn.
During the
nearly 10 days of underground fighting the troops had been supported by
strong artillery
and air attacks. The fort withstood the heaviest bombs used—reported as
1,000 lbs. It
seemed
to withstand all artillery shells easily. In view of this experience no
further attacks
on the forts were made.
In the meantime
the attack on Maizieres-les-Metz had reached its objective on the 9th.
The usual street
and house battle started in at once, and had not entirely ceased when this
account closed
on the 18th.
Operations Around Nancy
On 19 Sep
the
Third Army had a bridgehead around Nancy about 9 miles deep. On
the 23d an operation
was launched to widen it toward the north and northeast. In this
vicinity the terrain
is full of hills and woods. Hills do not much exceed 1,000 feet
above the neighboring
country, but they have steep slopes and numerous woods and so
are difficult for
vehicles. By night the line had been advanced to Morey, 9 miles north
of Nancy.
The fighting
continued until the 25th, on which date the line was approximately
Diculouard— Morey—Bioncourt (?)—Champenoux Forest—Henamenil
(?)—Benamenil
(G).
Two
days later the Germans started an attack with considerable armor and strong artillery
support on a 15-mile front headed southwest on the line Pettoncourt—Bezange-la
Grande—Coincourt.
At the same time the American attack was renewed northward from
Nancy, and northeastward
from Luneville. This situation resulted in a German offensive
in the center and American ones on both flanks. All three made limited progress. The
enemy in the center
reached and entered the Bois de Parroy. On the 28th an American
counterattack
advanced
3 miles into that woods without entirely clearing the enemy out.
Next day, attacking
on the other flank, an advance was made near Pettoncourt. This
attack was pushed
and on the 30th reached Jallaucourt, 6 miles WNW of Chateau Salins.
The north side
of the Nancy bridgehead was now almost a straight east-west line from
Diculouard to
Jallaucourt,
where there was a sharp salient, the line turning to about a SSE
direction.
On the first
of October the Germans attacked southward toward Jallaucourt, but were
held. Further
east
the American salient was extended to include most of the Gremecy
forest, bringing
the line within 8 miles of Chateau Salins. In the Parroy forest both sides
had troops fighting
one another. This forest battle went on for days; both sides fought
with infantry supported
by tanks with alternate gains and losses.
On 8 Oct the
Third Army attacked from the north side of the bridgehead on a front of
20 miles from
the line Morey—Bioncourt—Jallacourt. Following a powerful artillery
preparation, the
infantry jumped off at 0600 hrs. The 9th Air
Force supported the attack
by constant waves of fighters and fighter-bombers. The XII Corps, with 35th and 18th Inf
and 6th Arm Divs,
delivered the assault. By noon most objectives had been reached. The
armor proceeded
in the intervals between hills, then attacked from the rear. By night
substantial gains
had been made to the line
Diculouard—Mt.
St. Jean (just west of Jeandelaincourt, which was also taken)—
Chenicourt—Jallaucourt.
The attack was pushed next day. In the valley of the Seille the line was advanced from
Chenicourt to Letricourt.
On the high ground west of the valley the villages of Serrieres
and Lizieres, both
at the foot of Mt. St. Jean, were taken.
There was no
further substantial change in this sector down through the 18th. At that
date most of Parroy
forest and the village of Parroy were American-held.
Operations in the Vosges Foothills
The Vosges Mountains extend in a north-south direction for about 90 miles from
opposite Nancy to just north of Belfort. In the south they exceed 4,500 feet in elevation;
in the north they
do not exceed 3,000 feet and are usually under 2,500 feet. Dense-woods
in general cover
them. The main mountain range is 30 miles wide; there is no railroad
through it and but few roads. On the west side the foothills cover another 20 miles.
Everywhere the
front line was in front of the foothills.
The mountains
can be turned on the north. However, the lines of communication in
that area go through
Metz or Chateau Salins, both held by the enemy as effective road
blocks. At the south is the Belfort Pass, 16 miles wide from the tip of the mountains to
the Swiss frontier.
This the enemy has blocked by the first-class fortress of Belfort, which
is right in the pass.
Operati ons facing the Vosges Mountains have been conducted by the Third Army
north of Epinal
and the 6th Army Group south of that place. Their mission has been to
move on Belfort
with a view of reducing it and at the same time force the enemy back
along the whole
line of the Visges.
On 19 Sep
a general attack was started. The Third Army attacked on the north
between Lune
ville (held by the enemy) and Charmes on the Moselle, a 20-mile
front. The Seventh
Army attacked on a 15-mile front between Luxeuil and Lure.
Considerable
success was had at the north, where within three days Luneville was