Battle of Fort Driant The Battle of Fort Driant was a constituent battle in the 1944 Battle of Metz , during the Lorraine Campaign and the greater Siegfried Line Campaign . The battle was on occupied French territory between the liberation forces of the United States Third Army under the command of General George S . Patton and the occupation forces of Nazi Germany under General Otto von Knobelsdorff . It is the site of one of Patton ' s few setbacks in World War II , along with the rest of the Metz battle . Location and Fortifications . Fort Driant was located five miles southwest of Metz , just west of the Moselle River . Originally built in 1902 and named after Colonel Émile Driant , the fort was continuously reinforced throughout World War II by both the French and German armies . Fort Driant was made from steel reinforced concrete , it was also surrounded by a deep dry moat and barbed wire . It housed five main gun batteries of 150mm guns , infantry trenches , and armored machine gun and observation posts . From its commanding position , it could direct heavy fire in the Moselle Valley . The fort could also bring down flanking fire that produced heavy casualties amongst the men of General Walton Walker ' s XX Corps . Background . Third Army ' s intelligence section had already determined that the Germans intended to make the most of the ring of forts around Metz , the ancient gateway city through which so many invading armies had passed . Metz was to be the linchpin in the Germans ' defensive strategy . An army had not directly taken the city since 1552 . It had been captured after a 54 - day siege during the Franco - Prussian War and had been fortified by the Germans in World War I . However , the string of fortresses were left in ruins . When the U . S . Third army arrived at Metz , they were quickly drawn into a stalemate with the German defenders for weeks over control of the city and its perimeter . Upon sustaining heavy losses attacking the fortifications , it was clear to the Americans that Fort Driant would have to be taken to establish effective control of the fortifications around the city . Patton declared the fort an easy target , and committed elements of the 5th Infantry Division to the attack . Battle . At 1415hrs on September 27 , 1944 P - 47 Thunderbolt s from the XIX Tactical Air Command began bombing Fort Driant . E Company , G Company and the 818th Tank Destroyer Company began their attack on Fort Driant . Small arms fire , machine guns and mortars immediately began firing upon the advancing troops . Most of the fort was below ground , causing the tank destroyers to be ineffective against the armored pillboxes . After the initial attack faltered , the Americans withdrew to the original position at 1830hrs . The attack resumed on the 29th with bulldozers to fill in the fort ' s trench line and explosive filled pipes called snakes . The bulldozers and snakes proved to be of little help as during the second wave the bulldozer experienced mechanical difficulties and the snakes were either damaged ( bent ) or lost . Upon reaching the perimeter , the German defenders were ready . Hand - to - hand fighting with grenades and gunfire broke out between the two sides . E Company managed to capture the southernmost barracks or barracks R and found an underground passage . The passage was heavily defended by machine guns and sniper fire , making exploitation of the tunnel an impossibility . The Germans lost roughly a quarter of the fort before the Americans withdrew , losing 21 officers and 485 men . A further attack on Fort Driant was deemed too costly as German fire proved too accurate . Aftermath . By October 9 , Patton chose to bypass Driant . The men of the 5th Infantry Division were thought to be becoming battle fatigued , other line correcting operations were taking place around Metz with much greater success . Major General S . Leroy Irwin was given the blame for the failure at Fort Driant , he being stated as " moving too slow " and " removing the drive " of the battalion early during the initial attacks in September . When Metz fell in December 1944 , Fort Driant capitulated to the 5th Infantry Division at 3 : 45pm on December 8 , surrendering uncaptured . It was discovered among the prisoners that there were several units of the 17th SS Panzer Grenadier Division , along with the remnants of the German 1217th regiment and the III Battalion of the Officer Training Regiment , which may have contributed to the German ' s stiff resistance .