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From D-Day to V-Day

September 1944

September 29, 1944 - D-Day + 115

The First Canadian Army’s II Canadian Corps arranged for a ceasefire in the battle for Calais which allowed the civilian population to leave the city.

In the operational sector of the British Second Army, German frogmen destroyed the bridges in Nijmegen, but the Allied combat engineers were able to repair the bridges within a short period. Units from the British XII Corps advanced to the railroad line running between Hertogenbosch and Oss in the area southwest of Nijmegen.

The US XIX Corps’ 7th Armored Division went through the British zone to positions they would soon use to launch an attack on Peel Marches. In the course of the day, the Belgian 1st Brigade and the 113th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) launched an attack from the south to Roermond, but they made only slight territorial gains against the strong defense. The 29th Infantry Division completely redeployed from Brittany to the XIX Corps’ zone. After several days of fighting, the 39th Infantry Regiment from the US VII Corps’ 9th Infantry Division conquered Hill 554 located within the Siegfried Line, in the area southeast of Lammersdorf.

General Patton approved the plan of attack for the XX Corps that targeted Fort Driant. The assault was scheduled for October 3, 1944. Combat Command A from the US XII Corps’ 6th Armored Division convoyed to Champenoux, located south of Pettoncourt. With aerial support, the 4th Armored Division deflected enemy forces that attempted to reach Arracourt and forced it to retreat to the south. Under the cover of morning fog, the Germans carried out an unsuccessful attack in the attempt to regain Arracourt, while numerous American Sherman tanks from the 8th Tank Battalion took control of Hill 318 located about a mile south of Arracourt. When the fog finally lifted, the tank company commander directed fighter aircraft to the German tanks that had collected in the valley. The rest of the enemy units started to withdraw, but despite strong American fire, several German tanks held their positions on the hills of Bois du Benamont in the eastern tip of the forest.

Strong battles were being waged in the Forét de Grémecey, where units from the 35th Infantry Division launched an early morning counterattack to regain the highway leading to Fresnes-en-Saulnois and push the enemy south of Fresnes. The 137th Infantry Regiment from the 35th Infantry Division was unable to mop up the eastern part of the forest, but the 320th Infantry Regiment’s 3rd Battalion, which led the attack between its sister regiments, the 137th and the 134th, reached the northern edge of the forest and occupied Han. In the course of September 29, 1944, the US XV Corps was reassigned to come under the command of the Seventh Army.