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Battle of Fort Driant
The Battle of Fort Driant was a constituent battle in the 1944 Battle of Metz, during the Lorraine Campaign and the greater Siegfried Line Campaign. The battle was on occupied French territory between the forces of the United States Third Army under the command of General George S. Patton and the forces of Nazi Germany under General Otto von Knobelsdorff and was given the code name Operation thunderbolt.
Fort Driant was located 5 miles (8.0 km) southwest of Metz, just west of the Moselle River. Built in 1902 by the Germans and renamed in 1919 after Colonel Émile Driant, the fort was continually reinforced by both the French and German armies. Fort Driant was made from steel reinforced concrete; it was also surrounded by a deep dry moat and barbed wire. At the time of the battle it housed five main gun batteries of 150 mm guns, infantry trenches, and armored machine gun and observation posts. From its commanding position, it could direct heavy fire in the Moselle Valley. The fort could also rain flanking fire that produced heavy casualties amongst the men of General Walton Walker's XX Corps.
Third Army's intelligence section had already determined that the Germans intended to make the most of the ring of forts around Metz, the ancient gateway city through which so many invading armies had passed. Metz was to be the linchpin in the Germans' defensive strategy. An army had not directly taken the city since 1552. It had been captured after a 54-day siege during the Franco-Prussian War and had been fortified by the Germans in World War I. However, the string of fortresses were left in ruins.
Attacks began on 15 September 1944 when the XIX Tactical Air Command (TAC) bombed the fort, scoring several direct hits with 1,000-pound bombs, with little effect. Several 240 mm artillery pieces then fired on Fort Driant, with similar results.
When the U.S. Third Army arrived at Metz, they were quickly drawn into a stalemate with the German defenders for weeks over control of the city and its perimeter. On September 27, the failure of a regimental effort by 90th Infantry Division against Fort Jeanne d'Arc indicated to Third Army the inherent strength of the various fortified positions blocking entry into Metz. Upon sustaining heavy losses attacking the fortifications, it was clear to the Americans that Fort Driant would have to be taken to establish effective control of the fortifications around the city.
On 27 September, Patton committed elements of the 5th Infantry Division to a probing assault against Driant.
At 14:15 on September 27, 1944 P-47 Thunderbolts equipped with thousand-pound bombs and napalm from the XIX Tactical Air Command began bombing Fort Driant. Companies E and B of the 11th Infantry Regiment, and the attached Company C, 818th Tank Destroyer Battalion began their attack on Fort Driant. Small arms fire, machine guns and mortars immediately began firing upon the advancing troops. Most of the fort was below ground, causing the tank destroyers to be ineffective against the heavily armored pillboxes. After the initial attack faltered, the Americans withdrew to the original position at 18:30 The attack resumed on the 29th with bulldozers to fill in the fort's trench line and the support of Company C, 735th Tank Battalion, pushing explosive-filled pipes called "snakes" in front of their tanks. The bulldozers and snakes proved to be of little help as during the second attack the bulldozers experienced mechanical difficulties and the snakes were either damaged (bent) or would not work as intended. Despite the failed attempt to breach the perimeter, General Irwin ordered the attack to commence on schedule at 12:00.
Upon reaching the perimeter, the German defenders were ready. B Company, 11th Infantry Regiment managed to breach the wire in the southwestern corner of the complex, owing to the attached tanks leading the assault. B Company blew past pillboxes to be mopped up later on the way to its initial objective, and, under the cover of the tanks, their engineers attempted to blast their way into the two concrete barracks buildings, barracks 3 and 4. By 14:00, B Company was on its objective, attempting to destroy the barracks. Fierce hand-to-hand fighting with grenades and bayonets broke out between the two sides. E Company, under heavy fire and with its bulldozer-equipped tanks non-functioning, failed to breach the perimeter and dug in outside the wire for four days, losing 35 out of its 140 personnel.
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Battle of Fort Driant
The Battle of Fort Driant was a constituent battle in the 1944 Battle of Metz, during the Lorraine Campaign and the greater Siegfried Line Campaign. The battle was on occupied French territory between the forces of the United States Third Army under the command of General George S. Patton and the forces of Nazi Germany under General Otto von Knobelsdorff and was given the code name Operation thunderbolt.
Fort Driant was located 5 miles (8.0 km) southwest of Metz, just west of the Moselle River. Built in 1902 by the Germans and renamed in 1919 after Colonel Émile Driant, the fort was continually reinforced by both the French and German armies. Fort Driant was made from steel reinforced concrete; it was also surrounded by a deep dry moat and barbed wire. At the time of the battle it housed five main gun batteries of 150 mm guns, infantry trenches, and armored machine gun and observation posts. From its commanding position, it could direct heavy fire in the Moselle Valley. The fort could also rain flanking fire that produced heavy casualties amongst the men of General Walton Walker's XX Corps.
Third Army's intelligence section had already determined that the Germans intended to make the most of the ring of forts around Metz, the ancient gateway city through which so many invading armies had passed. Metz was to be the linchpin in the Germans' defensive strategy. An army had not directly taken the city since 1552. It had been captured after a 54-day siege during the Franco-Prussian War and had been fortified by the Germans in World War I. However, the string of fortresses were left in ruins.
Attacks began on 15 September 1944 when the XIX Tactical Air Command (TAC) bombed the fort, scoring several direct hits with 1,000-pound bombs, with little effect. Several 240 mm artillery pieces then fired on Fort Driant, with similar results.
When the U.S. Third Army arrived at Metz, they were quickly drawn into a stalemate with the German defenders for weeks over control of the city and its perimeter. On September 27, the failure of a regimental effort by 90th Infantry Division against Fort Jeanne d'Arc indicated to Third Army the inherent strength of the various fortified positions blocking entry into Metz. Upon sustaining heavy losses attacking the fortifications, it was clear to the Americans that Fort Driant would have to be taken to establish effective control of the fortifications around the city.
On 27 September, Patton committed elements of the 5th Infantry Division to a probing assault against Driant.
At 14:15 on September 27, 1944 P-47 Thunderbolts equipped with thousand-pound bombs and napalm from the XIX Tactical Air Command began bombing Fort Driant. Companies E and B of the 11th Infantry Regiment, and the attached Company C, 818th Tank Destroyer Battalion began their attack on Fort Driant. Small arms fire, machine guns and mortars immediately began firing upon the advancing troops. Most of the fort was below ground, causing the tank destroyers to be ineffective against the heavily armored pillboxes. After the initial attack faltered, the Americans withdrew to the original position at 18:30 The attack resumed on the 29th with bulldozers to fill in the fort's trench line and the support of Company C, 735th Tank Battalion, pushing explosive-filled pipes called "snakes" in front of their tanks. The bulldozers and snakes proved to be of little help as during the second attack the bulldozers experienced mechanical difficulties and the snakes were either damaged (bent) or would not work as intended. Despite the failed attempt to breach the perimeter, General Irwin ordered the attack to commence on schedule at 12:00.
Upon reaching the perimeter, the German defenders were ready. B Company, 11th Infantry Regiment managed to breach the wire in the southwestern corner of the complex, owing to the attached tanks leading the assault. B Company blew past pillboxes to be mopped up later on the way to its initial objective, and, under the cover of the tanks, their engineers attempted to blast their way into the two concrete barracks buildings, barracks 3 and 4. By 14:00, B Company was on its objective, attempting to destroy the barracks. Fierce hand-to-hand fighting with grenades and bayonets broke out between the two sides. E Company, under heavy fire and with its bulldozer-equipped tanks non-functioning, failed to breach the perimeter and dug in outside the wire for four days, losing 35 out of its 140 personnel.