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2 September 1944: The 1st Bn probed to the east of Commercy, north of the Meuse River. A Co. moved 3 miles south to Euville (via hwy D.36) with the weather fair and cool. The Bn. CP was relocated about a mile and a half northeast of Commercy during the morning. The Germans were still retreating rapidly in scattered groups between the Meuse and Moselle rivers, leaving behind only small rear guard units that were trying to slow us down long enough to disengage and set up their defensive line on the high ground east of the Moselle between Metz and Nancy. Two POW's were taken about a mile northwest of Commercy today and were identified as being SS troops.  We saw our first evidence of German retribution in this area - a testament to the presence of the despised SS. Villages and farms have been burned out, and we have seen the bodies of murdered civilians.  Frank Florence opened his memoir, Feet of Clay with an incident in which he and the members of his machine gun section in the 3rd Bn, 317th were ordered into a still smoking building by their platoon leader to view the charred bodies of a dozen men, women, and one child scattered on the floor. This reference may be to the village of Martincourt, which was burned by the retreating Germans and described as one of the worst atrocities of the war (to that point; far worse would be seen later, in the spring of 1945, by the men who were to witness the horrors of the concentration camps). Abe Barone recalled the incident, and that Florence was himself the platoon leader, but was unable to confirm the name of the town.  The 4th Armored Division reported that 50,000 German troops, with tanks, were NW of the 80th Division position. Six tanks were spotted east of Apremont at about 1300, and skirmishes between German troops and vehicles and members of the FFI were reported late in the afternoon.  General Courtney Hodges’ US First Army, to the north, crossed into Belgium today.

3 September 1944: We remained in reserve near Commercy. It stayed cool but was becoming cloudy. The bomb line was established at the Moselle River. As of this date no bombing was to take place west of the river, or in any of the towns on either side. Most of the 3rd Army armored units were beginning to grind to a halt for lack of fuel.  Elements of the 3rd and 15th Panzer Grenadier Divisions were identified in the regimental front. Enemy aircraft were active, bombing and strafing in the division sector, and the engineers continued to report mined and booby-trapped roadblocks. An estimated 30% of the enemy troops were apparently Austrians retreating toward Metz. POW interrogators learned of the existence of a standing order that no German soldier was to be allowed to retreat across the Rhine River. German orders of this nature generally originated with Hitler himself and carried a single penalty: the offender would be shot.

4 September 1944: Late in the afternoon the regiment, less the 1st Bn, moved from its position northeast of Commercy, in the Bois de Vignot near Vignot, 22 miles, by foot, through the woods along highway D.958 to Gironville sous les Cotes, then along D.908 to Jouy sous les Cotes and Boucq, and D.10 to Sanzey, moving eastward through the Foret de la Reine, and arrived at Royaumieux two hours later at 1830. The objective was to take hill 326, south of Belleville on the Moselle.  Hill references, in the absence of recognized names, were usually made with respect to their height and may be a cause for confusion as differing maps may show varying heights and hills elsewhere may be of the same elevation, so it is generally best to note some other geographic reference as well. This is also true of numerous European place names that are often repeated and should also be given a collateral reference such as “sur Marne,” suffixes often dropped locally, to properly identify them.  Meanwhile, our 1st Bn was attached to the 4th Armored Division (at 1100) and moved through Manoncourt en Woevre to a position west of the Moselle river near Pont a Mousson, a town lying about half way between the cities of Metz to the north, and Nancy to the south. The weather continued cool, and became increasingly overcast. A planned attempt to cross the Moselle, with B Co in the lead, was canceled when it was determined that the bridge would not support the tanks.

5 September 1944: Knowing that a halt along the entire allied front was imminent, General Patton ordered XII Corps to advance across the Moselle River to prevent the enemy troops from reorganizing their defenses on the eastern side. General Bradley had given him a deadline of 14 Sept. to establish a bridgehead on the east side of the river, failing which he would be required to set up defensive positions on the west and accept the reallocation of men and supplies to Montgomery's 21st Army Group to the north.  The 318th move toward hill 326 was stalled by heavy artillery and mortar fire. Patrols found that the bridge had been blown at Dielouard, south of Pont a Mousson. Company K, on Hill 326, reported being fired on by our own Division artillery.  An I company patrol near Saizerais had two of its seven men killed and the remaining five captured by the Germans. The German line now ran from Dielouard southward along the edge of the Foret de l'Avant Garde to the river on the northern edge of the Bois de Liverdun. One battalion - possibly more - of Luftwaffe troops serving as infantry from the 92nd GAF (ground air force) Regt were still defending this pocket on the west side of the Moselle in our sector.  Reports from the FFI indicated a movement of 2500 to 3000 of the estimated 9000 troops defending Nancy to the defensive area on the east side of the river, and an unknown number of troops from disorganized units retreating from the west were being thrown in as reinforcements. Troops presently in the 318th Regt front were from the 3rd and 15th Panzer Grenadier Divisions, and numerous other scattered units, some down to as few as 20 or 30 men. Most were either well above or below the normal age for combat, and some with as little as two weeks of training.

6 September 1944: Our Bn remained with Combat Command A, 4th Armored Division, mopping up in the area west of Pont a Mousson, while the 3rd Bn resumed the attack on hill 326, which was taken by late afternoon. Lt. Col. Snowden, the 3rd Bn CO, was hit by a sniper in the attack and died at 0300 the following morning. German troops remained in the town of Belleville, which was shelled, and then cleared by a 3rd Bn combat patrol.  Maj. George Connaughton, the 3rd Bn Executive Officer, temporarily replaced Lt. Col. Snowden until Maj. Carl Nuesser took command a few days later.