Osprey Publications 7242 Metz 1944: Patton's Fortified NemesisGeneral George Patton's most controversial campaign was the series of battles in the autumn of 1944 along the German frontier centering on the fortified city of Metz. In part, the problem was logistics - supplies were limited until the port of Antwerp could be cleared. Also problematic was the weather, as that autumn was one of the wettest on record and hardly conducive to mechanized warfare. However, at the heart of the problem was the accretion of sophisticated fortifications. Metz had been fortified since ancient times, rebuilt by France in the post-Napoleonic period, modernized by Germany in 1870-1914, and modernized yet again by France during the Maginot effort in 1935-40. The Germans hoped to hold Metz with a thin screen of second-rate troops, counting on the impregnable fortifications. Covers the entire campaign, and assesses of the success and failures of both the Allied and Axis efforts. Campaign 242; Zaloga; 96 pages.
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