Osprey – Metz 1944
By Steven J Zaloga.
Patton’s fortified nemesis.
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General George Patton’s most controversial campaign was the series of battles in autumn 1944 along the German frontier, which centered on the city of Metz. The Moselle region was the gateway to central Germany and had been fortified repeatedly over the centuries and it took nearly four months, from September through December 1944, for Patton’s Third Army to capture the Metz-Thionville fortified zone. This region had been fortified since ancient times, heavily rebuilt by France in the post-Napoleonic period, modernised by Germany in 1870-1914, and extensively strengthened by France during the Maginot effort in 1935-40.
Patton’s Third Army had little experience in cracking open a classic fortified zone and had to learn the hard way, by brutal, bloody experience.
