October – December 1944
Allied Offensive in the Saar Valley
While Allied troops in the north concentrated on clearing the Germans from the Low Countries, the U.S. Third Army under General Patton was charged with assaulting the West Wall, a line of defenses along the border between France and Germany. The attack was to take place in conjunction with an American push toward Cologne farther north, but when bad weather forced the delay of this operation Patton chose to proceed with his offensive anyway. On November 8 his troops crossed the Moselle River, capturing the city of Metz and pushing on into the Saar Valley. By early December they had reached the West Wall, where they encountered strong resistance from the entrenched Germans. Nevertheless, the defenses were pierced at several points, and bridgeheads established across the Saar River. For the first time, Allied troops were on German soil.

Campaign Maps:
6th and 12th Army Group Operations, 15 September – 7 November 1944
6th and 12th Army Group Operations, 8 November – 15 December 1944

Personal Accounts:
Rutgers Oral History Archive: Interview with Jerome Selinger
Rutgers Oral History Archive: Interview with Melvin Silverman
Rutgers Oral History Archive: Interview with Edwin Kolodziej

Photographs:
Then came the big day when we marched into Germany--right through the Siegfried Line
The endless procession of German prisoners captured with the fall of Aachen marching through the ruined city streets to captivity." Germany, October 1944