XX Corps ( United States ) The XX Corps of the United States Army fought from northern France to Austria in World War II . Constituted by redesignating the IV Armored Corps , which had been activated at Camp Young , California on 5 September 1942 , XX Corps became operational in France as part of Lieutenant General George S . Patton ' s U . S . Third Army on 1 August 1944 . Northern France . Initially assigned to protect the south flank of the U . S . Third Army , XX Corps secured the bridgehead at Le Mans and liberated Angers on 10 August 1944 . The corps fought a successful five - day battle for Chartres from 15 – 19 August , and seized a bridgehead over the Aunay River . Liberating Fontainebleau on 23 August , the corps moved rapidly east against disorganized German resistance and seized bridgeheads over the Seine River at Melun and Montereau . Still pushing east at a rapid rate of advance , XX Corps liberated Château - Thierry and captured a bridgehead across the Marne River on 27 August 1944 . This feat was followed by the liberation of Reims two days later . The August succession of bridgehead captures culminated in the liberation of Verdun and seizure of a bridgehead over the Meuse River on 31 August . Although the corps had conducted a brilliant pursuit of the Germans in August , a crippling shortage of gasoline caused by the unexpectedly rapid advance of Allied armies across France practically immobilized XX Corps at the onset of September 1944 . The tactical situation transforms . Movement of XX Corps units was practically nil for the first week of September , 1944 , although corps units feinted in the direction of Sedan and the U . S . 90th Infantry Division crossed the Meuse River to join the rest of the corps near the Moselle River . While the corps was at a standstill for a lack of gasoline , the Germans in and south of the fortress city of Metz had been hurriedly reorganizing and establishing cohesive defensive lines . In Metz itself , the German " Ersatzheer " ( Replacement Army ) stood up the 462nd Division with odds and ends such as fortress infantry battalions and infantry leader schools . Despite its less than impressive heritage , the 462nd Division would prove to be a determined foe for no less than three months , significantly delaying XX Corps ' push to the German frontier . When XX Corps advanced again , the tactical situation had transformed from a pursuit against a disorganized foe to a slogging advance against regrouped German forces . On 7 September 1944 , elements of XX Corps , again refueled but still facing persistent shortages of gasoline and artillery munitions , moved out towards Metz and Thionville . Across the Moselle . On 8 September 1944 , the German 106th Panzer Brigade counterattacked the U . S . 90th Infantry Division near Mairy , but failed to route the U . S . infantrymen . In the ensuing battle , the " Tough Ombres " of the 90th Division destroyed the Panzer brigade , causing the Germans losses of 30 tanks , 60 halftracks , and almost 100 other vehicles . On the same day , the U . S . 5th Infantry Division forced a crossing of the Moselle at Dornot , but found German opposition intense and carved out a shallow bridgehead . Intense German counterattacks forced the abandonment of the Dornot bridgehead on the night of 10 – 11 September , but the 5th Division had established another bridgehead at Arnaville on 10 September . This crossing , and simultaneous advance toward Metz were met with desperate counterattacks by German forces , including the 17th S . S . Panzergrenadier Division . On 12 September , the U . S . 90th Infantry Division cleared Thionville west of the Moselle River , and engineer bridges were completed at Arnaville , allowing armored fighting vehicles to cross into the bridgehead . Subsequently , artillery fire from Fort Driant ( part of the Metz fortifications ) made bridging and ferrying operations by the corps at Arnaville quite difficult . Finally , on 16 September , armored elements of the corps ( U . S . 7th Armored Division ) broke out of the Arnaville bridgehead and advanced toward the river Seille . Attacks by the U . S . 90th Infantry Division towards Metz during this period were handily repulsed by the Germans . Tentative moves against Metz . Concentrating its units near the Arnaville bridgehead , XX Corps found German resistance between the Moselle and the Seille very intense , with fire from the German bank of the Seille causing significant losses among units of the 7th Armored Division . Taking the village of Pournoy - la - Chétive on 20 September , units of the 5th Division withstood German counterattacks for several days . During this period , the 7th Armored Division left the corps and was replaced by the U . S . 6th Armored Division . Continuing supply difficulties forced the corps into a defensive stance on 24 September , and resulted in some very hard - won ground having to be abandoned . In the final week of September , XX Corps made fruitless probing attacks toward Fort Driant . On 28 September 1944 , grasping how difficult Metz would be to take , U . S . Third Army declared the seizure of Metz to be the army ' s priority mission . October 1944 proved to be a month of grinding , indecisive action for the corps . Reaching the outskirts of Maizières - lès - Metz on 2 October , the 90th Division commenced a lengthy struggle for the town that finally ended with the Americans taking the town on 30 October 1944 . This was a significant victory because it opened a direct route for the corps to advance upon Metz from the north . The U . S . 11th Infantry Regiment ( 5th Division ) attacked Fort Driant from 3 – 12 October , but found its strength and weapons wanting against determined German resistance in the old fort . After bitter fighting marked by German raids that emerged from underground chambers , the 11th Infantry broke off the attack . Campaign credits and inactivation . XX Corps is credited with service in the Normandy , Northern France , Rhineland , Ardennes - Alsace , and Central Europe campaigns . Headquarters , XX Corps , was inactivated on 1 March 1946 in Germany . The corps was subsequently active as part of the Regular Army from 1957 until 1970 at Fort Hayes , Ohio .