Taking a Break in Nancy
Celebrating the End of the French Campaign
My Mother and Audie Murphy Ch. 58
“OUT OF THE LINE, Nancy, France” Flo wrote on this album page, where she pasted a handful of invitations from February and March 1945. The front was quiet for a spell, and for a few precious days it was party time.
In Belleville, just north of Nancy, the French put on a parade with bands playing and troops marching in review. The 30th Infantry Regiment hosted a couple of lively dances too.
The best invitation, though, was a tongue-in-cheek “battle order” for a party called Plan Jitterbug, issued from 7th Infantry headquarters with Colonel Heintges in command. Under Intelligence it warned that “numerous Wolves in the Stag Line” would be present and could only be defeated by outmaneuvering their flanking moves and cut-ins. At the bar, one could expect “a normal amount of obstacles and confusion.”
Under Attachments the orders promised “several pretty nurses and Red Cross women,” advising “close cooperation with these units” for the evening’s success. Escorts and proper infantry protection were guaranteed.
It was all in good fun — a way to laugh, flirt, and dance before heading back into the seriousness of war. The parties in Nancy marked the end of the campaign in France. From there, the Third Division would soon cross into Germany.
Ch. 59: https://medium.com/@tradeswomn/black-and-japanese-soldiers-in-wwii-0969e4c70133
