September 1944

Western Europe

In the II Corps area, an armistice for the withdrawal of civilians interrupts the battle at Calais.

In the British I Corps area, the Polish 1st Armored Division moves into line on the right flank of the corps and begins clearing northward to the right of the 49th Division.

German swimmers damage the bridges at Nijmegen with submarine charges, but the bridges are soon repaired. The XII Corps reaches the line of the 's-Hertogenbosch-Oss Railroad, southwest of Nijmegen.

In the XIX Corps area, while the 7th Armored Division moves through the British zone to positions from which to attack southward in the Peel Marshes, the Belgian 1st Brigade and the 113th Cavalry Group open attacks from the south toward Roermond but make little progress against an unexpectedly strong resistance. The Belgian 1st Brigade is held up at a triangular position in the Wessem area. The 29th Division completes its move from Brittany into the corps' zone, and its artillery relieves that of the 2nd Armored Division.

In the VII Corps area, the 39th Infantry of the 9th Division, after several days of indecisive fighting, takes Hill 554, within the West Wall southeast of Lammersdorf. The regiment's penetration is now a little more than 2 miles wide.

Gen Patton approves the plan for the XX Corps to attack Fort Driant again, beginning on 3 October.

In the XII Corps area, CCR of the 6th Armored Division returns to its parent unit from the XX Corps zone. CCA moves to Champenoux, south of Pettoncourt. The 4th Armored Division, effectively supported by air, decisively defeats the enemy forces attempting to reach Arracourt and drives them southward, where they go to the defensive. Furious and confused fighting rages in the Forêt de Grémecey, where the 35th Division counterattacks early in the morning to regain the road to Fresnes-en-Saulnois as the Germans push southward from Fresnes. The 137th Infantry is unable to clear the enemy from the eastern part of the forest, but the 3rd Battalion of the 320th, counterattacking between the 137th and 134th Regiments, reaches the northern edge of the woods, and the 134th Infantry overruns Han.

The XV Corps passes to control of the US 7th Army.