Battle of Metz The Battle of Metz was a three - month battle fought between the United States Army and the German Army during World War II . It took place at the city of Metz following the Allied breakout after the Normandy landings . The attack on the city by the U . S . Third Army faced heavy resistance from the defending German forces , and resulted in heavy casualties for both sides . The heavily fortified city of Metz was captured by U . S . forces before the end of November 1944 , and the battle ended in victory for the U . S . following the surrender of the remaining German forces . Background . Metz is a heavily fortified city , located between the rivers Moselle and Seille . The fortifications of Metz consist of several forts and observation posts with connecting entrenchments and tunnels . The city had fallen to the German forces when France was defeated in 1940 . Following the fall of France , the city was immediately annexed to the Third Reich . Most of the Nazi dignitaries assumed it was obvious that Metz , where so many German army officers were born , was a German city . At that time , the Wehrmacht did not consider it an important location and the city ' s defenses were reduced with many guns and equipment removed . However , as the Allied forces advanced rapidly into German - held territory following the Normandy landings , Metz became an important location for the German command to organize its defenses and attempt to contain the Allied advance . By the end of August 1944 , German forces in Lorraine had managed to reestablish a defensive line and the U . S . Third Army had come to a halt in face of the German defenses , resulting in a brief pause of operations in this area of the western front . According to an order issued by Hitler in March 1944 , fortress commanders were ordered to allow their forts to be surrounded if necessary and hold them , surrendering only on the approval of the Führer . Metz was required to follow this order by early September , since the U . S . Third Army led by General George S . Patton had reached Verdun and was posing a threat to the Sarre region of Germany . The German command intended to obtain more time for the strengthening of the West Wall through this strategy . The defense was undertaken by the German First Army , commanded by General Otto von Knobelsdorff . The number of German troops positioned in the vicinity of Metz was equivalent to four and a half divisions . Battle . Armoured cavalry elements of the United States XX Corps , while on a reconnaissance operation in the direction of the Moselle , made contact with elements from the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division on 6 September 1944 . On 18 September , Panzer elements made contact with U . S . reconnaissance units again . The U . S . forces had not expected the German forces to be in the area , and had to bring together their units that were spread out . Several small scale attacks were made by the U . S . forces after this encounter . The first U . S . attack was launched by the 5th Infantry Division , in which they attempted to capture a bridgehead to the north of Metz . This attack was repelled by the German forces , as was another attack on the city that followed . In another attack , the US forces captured a small bridgehead across the Moselle to the south of Metz . By the end of September , German forces positioned to the north were relocated in the southern area of Metz . A number of troops were also withdrawn from Metz . Following this new development , the XII Corps launched another attack but was countered by the German defenders . In the following two weeks , the U . S . forces limited themselves to small scale attacks and patrolling in the Metz area . During this time , the XX Corps underwent a training program , experimenting with methods of reducing the defenses of the fortress . By this time , the U . S . command had decided to attack Metz from its rear , coming from the east . On November 3 , a new attack was launched by the U . S . forces , which resulted in the capture of the outer defenses with the aid of the tactics developed during the training process . On November 14 , Generalleutnant Heinrich Kittel was appointed as the new commander of the German forces . By 17 November , U . S . forces had managed to isolate most of the forts , and were attacking the city . They entered the city of Metz on November 18 , and on November 21 , Kittel was wounded and subsequently captured by U . S . forces . Although the city was captured by U . S . forces and hostilities formally ceased on November 22 , the remaining isolated forts continued to hold out . German forces had been retreating since November 17 , and U . S . forces pursued them for the following two days . Aftermath . Direct assault was forbidden against the holdout forts in order to preserve artillery ammunition for the XX Corps ' advance to the Sarre River . However , the isolated forts subsequently surrendered one by one following the surrender of Fort Verdun on November 26 . By the end of November , several forts were still holding out . The last of the forts at Metz to surrender was Fort Jeanne d ' Arc , which surrendered on December 13 . Although the battle resulted in defeat for the German forces , it served the intended purpose of the German command of halting the advance of the U . S . Third Army for three months , enabling retreating German forces to make an organized withdrawal to the Sarre river and to organize their defenses .