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Seventh Army in Stasis     VIII Corps to Prüm     XII Corps to Bitburg     XX Corps to Trier​
     –––––––––––––––––––––– ETO – XX Corps to Trier –––––––––––––––––––––––––

Roman Bridge, Trier
Roman Bridge, Trier
bigpigeon.us webpage WWII Germany > The ETO > Siegfried Line, 1945 > XX Corps to Trier, © 2026 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 3 Jan 2026

​In late February 1945, Patton's XX Corps crossed the Saar River, penetrated the Siegfried Line, occupied Trier, and seized a bridge across the Moselle River.
​Part 1 - Clearing the Saar-Moselle Triangle
The Saar-Moselle Triangle, the region in Germany between the Saar and Moselle Rivers in the extreme southwestern Rhineland-Palatinate, is shown on the accompanying map. A timeline follows. 
  • 14 Jan: XX Corps' 94th Infantry Division begins probing attacks on the Siegfried Switch, aka the Orscholz Switch, a fortified strip reaching from Nennig on the Moselle River to Orscholz at a bend in the Saar River. The Switch forms the base of the Saar-Moselle triangle, the other sides being the Moselle River and its major tributary, the Saar. The 94th Division continues its costly attacks intermittently for a month.
  • 19 Feb: The 94th Infantry Division completes penetration of the western portion of the Switch.
  • 20 & 21 Feb: The 10th Armored Division, supported by additional units, overruns the Saar-Moselle Triangle.
Clearing the Saar-Moselle Triangle
Clearing the Saar-Moselle Triangle
Part 2 - Crossing the Saar River and advancing to Zerf
​​A timeline:
  • 22-23 Feb: 94th Infantry Division & 10th Armored Division establish bridgeheads across the Saar River near Saarburg.
  • 22-25 Feb: 5th Ranger Battalion establishes blocking position west of Zerf on the Irsch-Zerf road.
  • 22-25 Feb: XX Corps penetrates the Siegfried line, with elements advancing east to the road junction of Niederzerf.
  • 27 Feb: Zerf area cleared.
The Advance to Zerf
The Advance to Zerf
Part 3 - Capturing Trier
As shown on the right-hand side of the accompanying map, all three of the 10th Armored Division's combat commands headed north from the Niederzerf area on 27 February. On 1 March, two of the commands captured Trier.

Fortuitously, Trier's second century Roman Bridge across the Moselle River to the north was captured intact.

During the next two weeks, the 94th Infantry Division established screening positions in the area, some of which were subject to nighttime infiltration. 
Capture of Trier
Capture of Trier - 1 March 1945
Scalable The Saar-Moselle Triangle Map
(from MacDonald's The Last Offensive)
.Sources for Big Pigeon's WWII Germany > The ETO > Siegfried Line, 1945 > XX Corps to Trier webpage:
  • The page header photo, "Roman Bridge, Trier", is courtesy of wikipedia,org.
  • The Last Offensive, Chapter VII, The Saar-Moselle Triangle (the United States Army in World War II, European Theater of Operations series, Charles B. MacDonald, 1973) - http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-E-Last/USA-E-Last-7.html.​
  • The Clearing the Saar-Moselle Triangle map is courtesy of http://www.94thinfdiv.com.
  • ​The Advance to Zerf map is taken from the article by Robert W. Jones Jr. From Omaha Beach to the Rhine - The 5th Ranger battalion in the European Theater and was found in the ARmy Special Operations Force website at https://arsof-history.org/articles/v5n2_from_omaha_to_rhine_page_3.html.
  • The Capture of Trier - 1 March 1945 - Map #V from The Last Offensive - https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-E-Last/maps/USA-E-Last-V.jpg.

Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead - WWII Germany > The ETO > Siegfried Line, 1945 > XX Corps to Trier webpage: 03-06 - WWII Germany > The ETO > Siegfried Line, 1945 > XX Corps to Trier: (one dead, updated 30 Jun 2025)
† Barrett, Henry Joseph Jr., SN 37-699-275, US Army, Pott. Co.
  • Co. I, 301st Inf. Regt., 94th Inf. Div., XX Corps, Third Army; KIA 6 Mar 1945 near Zerf, south of Trier, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > Siegfried Line, 1945 > XX Corps to Trier​