95^th Infantry Division

The 95th Infantry Division entered combat in Lorraine in October 1944 and quickly became identified with the battle for Metz. Crossing the Moselle in November at Uckange and Thionville, its regiments drove against the city's layered fortifications: Fort Yutz fell to the 378th Infantry Regiment on November 13-14, Fort d'Illange the same week, and Fort Saint-Julien and Fort Bellecroix were overrun on November 18 before the city was cleared on November 22 in an operation that combined fort reduction with house-to-house fighting.

Campaign map image

World War II Campaign Map of the 95th Infantry Division. Map courtesy of HistoryShots.

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After Metz, the division drove toward the Saar, crossing into Germany on November 28, the 379th Infantry Regiment forcing the Saarlautern bridge on December 4 and driving into the West Wall. The ensuing Saarlautern Bridgehead Battles — fighting through pillboxes, fortified cellars, and interlocking defensive positions — continued until the division was relieved in mid-December.

Returning to the offensive in early 1945, the division moved to Holland and then back to Germany, crossing the Rhine and advancing into the Ruhr. The 378th Infantry Regiment captured Hamm on April 7 and fought through the ruins of Dortmund on April 12-13 before the pocket collapsed. The division shifted to military government duties on April 15, the role it held when hostilities ended on May 7. Its wartime identity remained closely tied to Metz — one of the most methodically reduced fortified cities in the Western Front campaign.