Battle of Nancy (1944) - 80th Infantry Division Attempts To Secure A Bridgehead

80th Infantry Division Attempts To Secure A Bridgehead

Due to the difficulty of the terrain and lack of intelligence about enemy strength, it was decided against risking the 4th Armored Division in the initial capture of a bridge, as had been done at Commercy.

Instead, the 80th Infantry Division was assigned to secure three crossing sites across the Moselle: at Pont-à-Mousson with the 317th Infantry Regiment, Toul with the 319th Infantry, and a limited one at Marbache (48°48′05″N 06°06′17″E / 48.80139°N 6.10472°E / 48.80139; 6.10472) with the 318th Infantry. The 4th Armored Division 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, the American 317th Infantry 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 than 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.

Confronting the German 92. Luftwaffe-Regiment around Marbache, the U.S. 318th Infantry 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 the German defenders and capture the hill, but were soon thrown back by a German counter-attack.

At Toul, there was seemingly more success as a loop of the Moselle was crossed by the American 319th Infantry, but it was short-lived as the German defenders of the 3rd Parachute Replacement Regiment simply fell back until they reached a 10 mi (16 km) defensive line flanked by two forts from which they were able to stall further advances.