The 95th did not falter in the face of this fire power and slugged its way through the west bank of the Moselle, crossed the river in assault boats, and captured barges under heavy machine-gun and artillery fire from Fort Driant and Fort San Quentin of the Metz chain. Advancing to Bertrange, the Division began working toward the heart of Metz.
Capture of Metz was a rich achievement. The city successfully had weathered every assault since 1944. But the 95th had a plan, and grim-faced Joes made it work. Punching along "88 Boulevard," the Division smacked up against the bristling forts ringing the city. Still, the ring was broken, and this is the way it was accomplished.
The 378th got off to a flying start with one of the most daringly conceived and brilliantly executed trick plays of the entire offensive. Col. Samuel L. Metcalfe, Regimental Commander, Pearsall, Texas, dreamed it up.
Fronting the 378th’s entire zone was a series of fortifications including Fort Amanvillers, the three Canrobert Forts and Fort de Feve. East of this line spread the extensive Lorraine fortifications. Taking such an area by an anticipated head-on drive would have been suicide. Col. Metcalfe’s plan was to sweep around the northern tip of the fortifications and approach from the rear, leaving behind a small task force to deceive the enemy into thinking the entire regiment still fronted the forts.
The job of providing the phoney front was assigned to Task Force St. Jacques (Capt. William M. St. Jacques, Service Company, San Antonio, Texas), composed of three rifle platoons, one antitank platoon, a squad from an Intelligence and Reconnaissance platoon, cooks, clerks, and other Regimental Headquarters and Service Company personnel. This jumbled force was assigned to cover an eight and a half-mile front. They did a bang-up job – with the aid of loudspeakers and other deceptive means.
The hidden ball play worked like a charm. The regiment jumped off at 0800 hours and within three hours had captured the town of Feves. Two hours later it swept on to take Somercourt. The surge continued, and Saulny, Bigneulles, Plesnois and Norroy le Venur tumbled before the avalanche.