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| H-hour was scheduled for sometime between November 6th
and November 9th. And so the plans were made for the offensive
which was to rip the province of Lorraine from the grasp of Germany and to
expose the Siegfried Line to immediate assault. Two crossing sites were selected, one at Malling, and another upstream at Cattenom. All preliminary moves had to be made under the cloak of darkest secrecy. The Foret de Cattenom, west of the selected bridge sites, provided the required defilade and concealment for the necessary preparations. All troops and supplies were moved into the Foret during hours of darkness, and enemy patrols were sealed tightly from the area. But now a new enemy struck at the 90th Division, an enemy dangerous and resourceful and treacherous... the weather. Rain, cold and penetrating, soaked the troops to the bone, transformed foxholes into deep pools of icy water, altered dirt roads into quagmires impossible to negotiate. Day after day the rain poured down. Trucks, bringing vital supplies into the assembly area by night, were sunk to the axles in a clutching sea of mud. Miserable and saturated, the troops awaited H-hour. The initial crossings were to be made in assault boats, and after the bridgehead had been established the Engineers were to build their bridges in order to allow armor and vehicles to cross to the support of the infantry. The Engineers watched the rain and studied the river carefully. Normally, the bridging of a river 350 feet in width would have offered no insuperable problems. They watched the current flowing northward, and they grew concerned as they noted how the waters now began to race between Moselle's banks. The river, never mild at its best, sounded in an angry roar, foamed and swirled and eddied and flung itself against its shores. And still the rain poured down, feeding the wild Moselle. H-hour was 03:30 on November 9th. The 359th Regiment on the left crossed at the town of Malling. The 358th Regiment on the right crossed at the town of Cattenom. The Engineers manning the assault boats performed Herculean labors guiding the craft to the proper point, discharging their cargo of men and guns and returning to the starting point to begin the adventure anew. |
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