Thus, the army of Gal PATTON would have progressed to Saarbrucken without shooting since, as everybody knows, his motto was to rush without stopping. But, for many reasons, as well political as logistic, he’d been slowed down.

Every day which followed this period of rout and reinforcement brought us our daily batch of shells, some whistling above us, others falling out and there. The US fighter-bombers made ceaseless rounds. Not one train exceeded Courcelles without being machine-gunned. The American artillery had been settled on the Hill of Mousson with a sight on the road of Strasbourg and, as soon as a vehicle drove on this road, salvos of shell started. When the weather allowed it, an observation aircraft directed these artillery shootings.

The Fort of Mercy exploded on September 19th and there was more pressure o, the front: still more bombardments and machine-gunning by the fighter-bombers.

Opposite the entry of the Convent, there was a beautiful house of two flours (it’s now a car park) where a General and a part of his staff settled. The rest of his men settled the castle of the Convent’s chaplain (where the store of video and the hairdressing salon are located today). This General was responsible for the front on this side of the Seille. This explains why Peltre had to support important bombings as well as Grigy where the rest of the troops were. This attack was carried out with a precision and meticulousness without similar. We learned after the Liberation that some of these pilots infiltrated the village dressed up as Feldgendarmen. Few seniors have remembrance of that.  

A captain of the Luftwaffe who ordered a unit of infantrymen in Silligny-Pournoy lived in Mrs. OHMOVER’s house. They’d captured a DODGE 4X4 on which they were useful for their changing; thus, we had the satisfaction to see an allied vehicle before the Liberation: it was completely different of those we knew, as well by its form that by its color.

The Germans conveyed food and munitions at the Fort of Chesny-Sud with a tracked motorbike.

They went through the wood of L’Hopital to supply the troops of the sector, wood which was a depot of munitions of all kinds. Some coaches charged with gas shells were parked along the unloading quays. After a bombardment of the wood, many deposits exploded and, to avoid the explosion of the gas shells, the population of Peltre gathered the night on a high point towards Basse-Bévoye: nightmare for these inhabitants who didn’t know if they could return to the village the day after! But the history decided some differently and the coaches didn’t explode. At about 6 AM, we all regained our residence and our farms where the animals had remained. Despite, it had been a tremendous firework for more than 3 days and 3 nights and it was terrifying, especially the night.

In the day, the Allied aviation carried out many hedgehoppings to make recognition of the damages in the deposits. During this period, the pressure on the front intensified because the troops of PATTON had taken again their walk ahead. Night patrols with Sherman tanks came in the surrounding villages in order to test the numerous and well established German defenses.

A morning, my father had been forced, under the threat of a weapon, to joint the Fort of Chesny-Nord where a group of SS wanted to resist. They were commanded by the captain mentioned above. At 4 PM, my father was in the engine room and he saw this captain trailed outside by 3 or 4 men who insulted and struck him wildly. He tried to follow the scene while progressing towards the exit and distinguished, through a loophole, these men in a state of madness: they first tore off his stripes, then removed his jacket and plated him against a large tree. They y drew each one a charger of their machine gun in his belly; so, his

Maurice Demange, Roger Bushee and Gilbert Kesse in 1999