The Foret de Parroy

On 24 September, Marainviller was secured and A/Co held guard while the rest of the 1st BN patrolled the edge of the Foret de Mondon, along the Fraimbois-Marainviller road.

They passed discarded equipment left by the 2nd Cavalry, for they had run out of gas: six light tanks, three assault guns, and several Jeeps. This had occurred earlier in September when the Germans were so disorganized they were still on the other side of the Siegfried Line. Then, the troops could drive across the Meurthe without drawing fire.

An A/Co platoon crossed the bridge at Marainviller over the Vesouze River on 25 September to check out the outer edges of the Foret de Parroy. The patrol was cut short by enemy small arm and mortar fire. Intelligence reports showed the forest was held in strength, so the 314th was ordered to remain south of the Vesouze and continue patrolling.

1st BN worked the expanse of the river trying to find a crossing point. A patrol near town drew fire, as well as one east of the city. All along, artillery was being poured on the city itself.

Field orders for the next attack came down from Division on 26 September: XV Corps was to clear the Foret de Parroy. The 79th on the left, the 2nd French Armored on the right. Prefacing this advance was a bomber run out of XIX TAC. 79th's battle plan had the 313th and 315th on the northeast drive with the 314th in reserve at Foret de Mondon preparing to cross the Vesouze at one of three points: Chanteheux, Croismare of Marainviller. The attack was set to begin on 27 September, but weather delayed the bombers.

On 28 September, a 75-minute bombing assault took place with minimal effect to the enemy. The bulk of the German troops in Foret de Parroy were veterans of the 15th Panzergrenadier Division, and had seen combat - complete with dive bombing runs - in Sicily and Italy. Two hours after the bombs were away, the 313th and 315th Regiments attacked.

At midnight, XV Corps went over to the Seventh Army - the third of six U.S. designations committed to the European Theater of Operations; First, Third, Fifth, Seventh, Ninth, and Fifteenth.

The 314th's 2nd BN located a ford near Croismare for future use. On 29 September, the Regiment sent several patrols out scouting, and after a Divisional CP meeting, the 314th received orders to move out across Croismare and join the 313th and 315th in the fight. The timing of the 314th's advance was directly relational to the progress of the other two regiments. Word came in that the troops were meeting with harsh counter-attacks for every advance they made, so the 314th's jump-off was postponed until 1 October.

The battalions were deployed at 0615, 1 October, into merciless warfare. The 313th and 315th had moved about one-third of the way eastward into the Foret de Parroy. They were facing the 15th Panzergrenadier Division, and the 113th Panzer Brigade supplied by a constant stream of reinforcements, tanks and assault guns. Mark IV tanks were everywhere.

The 314th, after 45 minutes of artillery, gained ground fast. G and F/Companies reached the forest in an hour with E/Co close behind facing heavy return fire brought on my the 314th's artillery barrage. Croismare and Marainviller were under heavy shelling as the 3rd BN started across the Vesouze.

Ahead, the 2nd BN, after losing one tank and capturing 16 POWs, stopped at 1200 to allow 3rd BN to catch up to their position. By 1430, the battalions had regrouped, and met little resistance moving forward. They set up camp for the night holding a line 1800 yards from Parroy. The 314th established contact with the 313th on its left. In Marainviller, the 1st BN was relieved by the 313th's 1st BN, who had been in Corps reserves. B and C/Co was sent across the river to positions on the Regiment's right. This location was the southern portion of Parroy, called Les Grands Bois. An Anti-Tank Company held road blocks at Beaulieu Farms.

Artillery fell all night on the 314th's position, and trees were exploding everywhere from the bursts and mortar fire. At 0800, 2 October, the Regiment attacked again. 3rd BN made its objective through the woods to a clearing on the western edge.

K and L/Companies attempted patrols into the open area, but enemy fire drove them back. 2nd BN moved out to the left to cover the retreating and hard hit 313th position, but as it neared its objective, German machine gun fire stalled the advance. E and G/Companies attempted to advance beyond the 313th's line, but had to turn back to reorganize. The cornerstone of the German defenses in Foret de Parroy was the main supply crossroads on the Regimental boundary line. 3rd BN, leaving a small group in the western clearing, swung around to augment 2nd BNs attack on the strong point. 1st BN, still south at Les Grands Bois, was hit with an infantry company of Germans, so they were ordered to hold position. E/Co moved in behind the 313th's position to shore up a gap which had opened between the 313th and 315th's sectors.

At 0615, 3 October, 2nd BNs E and F/Companies advanced up the ridge line to take out the enemy pocket blocking the 313th. Further on, contact was made with the 315th Regiment. Moving eastward, the companies caught the enemy off guard, and had the position by 0800, with 17 POWs captured. The two companies, with the 315th, moved ahead again along the boundary road until stopped by a heavily-armed German road block. E/Co waited for tank support, while F/Co moved up on the right a few hundred yards where they startled a loose group of German infantry. On the 3rd BN's right flank, 1st BN's B/Co had regrouped with K/Co. At 0900, German infantry, supported by tanks, moved back B/Companies entire line. C/Co held fast, to the right, halting the advance. K/Co repositioned back to maintain contact with B/Co.

The tanks rolled in just in time to force the enemy for rear areas. By 1600, 2nd BN was back in line (E-left, F-center, G-right), and by nightfall F and G/Companies were on the objective with E/Co just 150 yards short. The tanks set up a blockade to the right of the position, and settled in for the night. More artillery tree bursts went on all throughout the night. Tree bursts occur when artillery shells are fused to explode super-quick. The shells hit tree tops and explode there, showering everything below with schrapnel and wood splinters.

The attack for the crossroads was set to go off a 0700, 4 October. As the companies prepared to deploy, four Mark IV tanks and a company of German Infantry moved to 2nd BNs front. Two tanks were at E/Company's line, and one was hit with a bazooka shot at five yards. The others slammed into the battalion's area, with E and G/Companies taking heavy casualties. As soon as the U.S. tanks started their engines, the enemy opened fire with a hard concentration of mortars. Before 2nd BN could reorganize, an enemy counter-attack drove into the sector between E and G/Co, and knocked a hole in the line.

The order for 5 October told the 314th to hold fast while the 315th moved around to the left to outflank the crossroads defenses. At 1300, the 2nd BN let loose with all its firepower to mask the 315th's movement.

There was a lull in activity for most of 5-8 October, so the 314th sent out patrols for spots to park tanks and TDs (tank destroyers) for the upcoming attack. German artillery filled the air almost constant. Rumor had it that the Foret de Parroy was Hitler's favorite forest - where he himself had fought in World War One - and he had ordered it held at all costs. A captured German Colonel was overheard saying that "...the Americans hadn't taken the forest in the last war, and this one would end with them still trying."

Late 8 October, the 314th received orders to resume the attack. German forces had counter-attacked again on the 2nd and 3rd BNs positions, but the 314th held them off until they withdrew.

At 0650, 9 October, E and G/Companies moved out with F/Co looping around to the right to take the main feed road behind the German position from the other direction. At approximately 0800, E/Co ran into a dug in German infantry position supported by tanks on the west side of the crossroads. G/Co moved left reversing for an enveloping approach. At 1300, once in position, F/Co sent off a platoon with a tank down the road behind the German position. E/Co moved out into the clearing towards the crossroads and advanced with no resistance. They discovered a house full of wounded Germans on the opposite side. At 1530, the crossroads was secured.

With its capture of the crossroads by the 2nd BN, the German's hope of holding Foret de Parroy was shattered. A weary and exhausted 2nd BN pulled out to rejoin the rest of the 314th Regiment, leaving the pursuit of the fleeing enemy to the 313th.

Next...