ON THEIR POSITIONS the regiments of the 70th confronted a series of unevenly wooded hills dominating wide, uncovered draws. A network of roads following the valleys connected the many towns and villages along them with the industrial and mining centers of Forbach, Stiring Wendel, and Saarbruecken - the southern gateway to Germany's Saar industrial basin and a bastion in the Siegfried Line. A Division G-2 report described the enemy's defenses: "Multiple belts of entrenchments extend along the southern and southeastern slopes of the ridge system from Kleinwaldchen (woods) to Pfaffenwald (forests). Belts of anti-tank ditches and obstacles also extend in this zone. Secondary lines of entrenchments extend from Kerbach to Lixing, and along the Saar River through Kleinblittersdorf (opposite Grosbliederstroff) to Saarbruecken. An anti-tank ditch extends east from Alsting to the Saar. The Siegfried Line of permanent pillboxes extends along the southern outskirts of Saarbruecken, then follows the Saar River to the northwest."

Immediately before the beginning of the XVth Corps offensive, Div. G-2 identified the major enemy infantry components as the 347th Infantry Division with three battalions in the line and the 19th Volks Grenadier Division with two battalions in the line. The enemy also had an estimated 800 reserves in the Forbach - Stiring Wendel area.

In the overall scheme the Division's mission was to take the heights along the Saar River south and southwest of Saarbruecken. The plan called for seizure of the high ground extending due west from Schoeneck and the larger, mostly wooded, range of hills running southeast from Stiring Wendel to Buebingen. The 70th attack was to be made with all three regiments on line, the 276th on the left, the 274th in the center, and the 275th on the right.

One minute after midnight, February 17, the 276th, with the 3rd Battalion on the left and the 1st on the right, moved out through a heavy fog toward its initial objective: the hills between Oeting and Forbach. The main enemy positions ran west from the southern edge of Forbach and southeast from there through Oeting to the height Kelsberg. The 3rd Battalion advanced quickly through enemy small arms fire to take the height Fahrberg while the 1st Battalion took Kelsberg. Key defenses at Oeting remained in enemy hands.

The two battalions launched attacks simultaneously on Oeting from east and west but were driven back by intensive fire from self-propelled 88mm guns. Heavily mined roads forestalled the use of armor to support the attack, and the 1st and 3rd battalions withdrew to their two hills to dig in.

IN THE DIVISION CENTER the 2nd and 3rd battalions of the 274th had crossed the line of departure at 4:30 a.m. on February 17. Their assignments were the clearing of Stiring Wendel and occupation, with the 275th, of the heights south of the Saar. But there was an intervening series of hills and towns to be taken beforehand. The first objective was Kerbach and then the high ground to the northwest. Kerbach was entered, but the advance stalled there when enemy tanks counterattacked from Etzling and Behren. Artillery support was summoned and the response beat back the enemy armor. By 4:20 p.m. Kerbach and Behren were cleared.

After moving through K Company in Behren during the predawn hours on the 17th, I Company, 274th was moving in two columns along a trail across an open field when it became pinned down by machine-gun fire. From the adjacent woods came a voice shouting in broken English: "Americans, Americans vee vill giff you 10 minutes to put down your arms and surrender; othervise you vill all die."

The ultimatum was repeated, but not a second time, after an I Co. rifleman fired a clip into the woods. Still the company was stalled where it was behind the leading platoon, which was taking casualties from enemy shellfire, as it remained without initiative. Then 2nd Lt. Harold D. Wilson came up from the rear, began urging those around him to get going, and led the way into the woods. The advance, once started again, continued on to the objective, with Wilson occasionally calling out, "Let's keep going! Let's keep going!" even after being wounded by Panzerfaust fragments in the face and leg. Wilson was killed a couple of weeks later.

Following the Behren-Forbach road, L Company, 274th moved forward on I Company's left, initially encountering no opposition, although there was firing all around it. Then it was taken under machine-gun fire. Hitting the dirt, the men waited, but not for long. S/Sgt. Harold F. May crept and crawled forward until he got within range. Then he started tossing hand grenades, accounting for two Jerry machine guns. Then the Company got moving again. He was awarded the Silver Star.

First Lt. Fred Cassidy, Co. G, 274th, recalls that its advance on the 17th left G Company out front of the assault companies on its flanks. It had taken and held the key Wingertsknopf height, north of the Behren-Kerbach road. Accordingly the Company's positions were deployed to defend the height in all directions, and defensive artillery fires covering the approach from Etzling were prearranged. Attached H Co. mortar and machine-gun sections were positioned to cover to the front while the G Co. weapons platoon protected the rear.

The expected German attack, with tanks and infantry, came at dusk and was allowed to approach half way up the slope before the artillery TOT was called in and fire of all weapons on the ground was opened by the firing of flare signals. The attackers were moved down as they came on, taking heavy casualties. The next morning G Company was still on Wingertsknopf when F Company and the 3rd Battalion came upon its flanks. (Note: in "Snow, Ridges and Pillboxes" the 274th combat history, Wingertsknopf was given the name "Cassidy's Hill" in honor of the G Co. commander.)

The 275th on the right flank had been ordered to support the 274th's attack by flanking fire and to advance on its own initial objectives, the towns of Lixing and Grosbliederstroff. With 1st, 3rd, and 2nd battalions abreast from left to right, the 275th had moved into the attack at 1:25 a. m. The 1st Battalion cleared the high ground in front of Lixing, overcoming several enemy strong points while doing so. The 3rd Battalion advance in the center was steady despite opposition by heavy machinegun fire. On the right flank the 2nd Battalion kept pace, advancing to Brandenbusch woods, from where it was to assault Grosbliederstroff to the east. During the night the road approaching this objective from the west was swept of mines.

Pfc Clarence Bentley's Co. H machine-gun squad was assigned to support G Company in its predawn attack on Wingertsknopf. After the objective had been secured, the fog in which the assault had been carried out thinned sufficiently for the enemy to spot the American force on the high ground. For the next several days, the company endured a succession of counterattacks.

During these attacks Clarence distinguished himself by taking a water-cooled machine gun off its tripod mount, cradling it in his left arm, and using the gun so effectively as to make it a decisive factor in the repulse of the most dangerous assault. He was awarded the Silver Star for this action.

Early the next morning, February 18, the assault battalions of the 274th Infantry advanced to the northwest and crossed the Etzling-Behren road. After driving off several small enemy groups in firefights, the battalions threaded their way uphill into the thick forest blanketing Kreutzberg ridge, just south of Stiring Wendel. Around noon a German counterattack from Etzling was forced back by artillery and self-propelled gunfire.

"Near Etzling, the mines were thick and our supporting tanks couldn't move up to support our pinned-down infantry. It was a job for the engineers, and teams of the 270th Engineer Battalion moved in under enemy fire. Pfc. Deno A. Gaffi yelled to our waiting tankers. 'There's your path!' as he lifted the last mine."

An ENEMY PRESSURE, however, was maintained throughout the afternoon as a force of about 12 tanks, making repeated sorties along the road south of Etzling, posed a constant threat to the 274th's 2nd Battalion on the right flank of the regiment. Meanwhile well directed German artillery fire was a continuing problem.

As the 2nd Battalion resumed its attack into Kerbach begun the day before, Pfc. Hy Schorr, Co. H, 274th, was at his HMG position in a house from where he was firing into the center of town. During a lull, he was watching an E. Co. mortar section sergeant nearby when the noncom fell to the ground. "Suddenly white smoke seemed to shoot from his body and he began pulling at his belt. In seconds the grenade exploded. S/Sgt. William E. Lehman was awarded the DSC posthumously for deliberately falling on a live grenade to protect the lives of his mortarmen," Hy recounts.

Late in the afternoon the 274th's attack was halted while assault units reestablished contact with each other. Now the 2nd Battalion's concern about the threat posed by the enemy force holding Etzling was eased when the 275th's 3rd Battalion took that village.

Early that morning the 275th Infantry on the Division right flank had resumed its attack. First Battalion elements entered Lixing and worked their way through the town house by house until it was cleared. Some troops advanced from Lixing toward Etzling, cautiously picking their way through Schuhmine fields.

T.Sgt. A. W. Rorabaugh, Co. C., 275th remembers: "When the big push started, we swept around to the right of Lixing, avoiding the numerous schuhmines which had been exposed by the recent thaw of the snow. We had moved up into the Hartwald and started clearing it when the machine gun opened fire, killing S/Sgt. Fran Hetzel, Pfc. Louis Paschal, and Pvt. Alfred Casey.

"Leonard and I crawled around to the right while Alfred Mejia went left, and we caught the enemy gun in a cross-fire from our BAR's. After we had poured a lot of fire into their position, the Krauts signaled that they wanted to give up. When they came out, one of our men wanted to shoot them, but someone-not I - stopped him, and they were passed to the rear. "

In what was probably the same action, John Kayat-known as "our Indian" by his Co. C companions-is remembered to have advanced through the Hartwald while firing a light machine gun "wide open" from the hip.

IN THE REGIMENT'S CENTER the 3rd Battalion moved north of Lixing to approach Etzling from the east, shortly after noon. After sending patrols forward to check the approaches to the village, the Battalion attacked and took Etzling. In this action, lasting just an hour, 64 prisoners were taken.

First Lt. Ted Heck, 3rd Bn S-2, 275th, explains: "The taking of Etzling by K Company was much facilitated by a TOT artillery barrage which took much of the fight out of the enemy garrison. Clearing of houses was well under way when I came up from the rear to find out about the situation. Soon I was approached and informed by a French resident that the cellar oj' his house nearby remained occupied by 10 German soldiers. I was not much convinced that the Frenchman's unwelcome guests would be as docile as he described them; still I drew my pistol and stormed into the cellar. But as he predicted, the Germans meekly dropped their burp guns and rifles and filed out of the house."

The 275th's 3rd Battalion then moved out of Etzling and hastily dug in on the lower slopes of the height Pfaffenberg. Farther east the 2nd Battalion had pushed into Grosbliederstroff. By mid-morning the German defenders had been forced back to the northern end of the town. The Battalion's attack was continued, troubled by artillery and mortar fire from the other side of the Saar River. Finally the last German strongpoint in the town fell in a sharp firefight.

On the divisional left flank, the 276th still confronted the key defenses around Oeting. During the night it had cleared the mines from the road into that village. Then the Regiment resumed its attack on February 18. By early afternoon Oeting had been taken and a small enemy infantry-tank counterattack was repelled. Afterwards the Regiment turned its front to the northwest toward Forbach.

In its path rose three hills covered by the thick woods of Kleinwaeldchen. The westernmost of the three hills rose sharply from the forest to afford a panoramic view of Forbach to the north and visibility to the south as far as Oeting. On its summit stood a redstone castle, the Schlossberg. The commanding observation given to the side that held it made the capture of the Schlossberg the obvious prerequisite to the taking of Forbach.

By nightfall on the 18th two of the three hills in the Kleinwaeldchen had been overrun. The next morning Co. I advanced cautiously toward the Schlossberg. Surprisingly, no opposing enemy fire was encountered and, when the attackers scaled the outer walls, they found the castle deserted. Almost immediately heavy artillery and mortar fire began falling in the area. Between barrages the troops dug in around the buildings.

At 7:20 p.m. an enemy battery of 88mm guns began shelling the castle with great accuracy. Under this covering fire, German patrols crept up to the outer perimeter of the company's defenses and cut its telephone wire. At 8:40 p.m. the enemy artillery barrage was briefly intensified. Then as it was lifted, German infantrymen began rushing the castle from three sides, screaming wildly. Despite Co. I's active resistance with rifle fire, the enemy advance reached to within yards of the castle.

When he judged that the attacking Krauts were sufficiently close, the Co. I commander Capt. Herbert J. Andrews had his men called from their firing positions to shelter inside the castle walls and requested defensive artillery and mortar fire. Thirty-five dead Germans were found on the hill around the castle the next morning.

The shelling that came in response-81mm mortar fire of Co. M. and 105mm howitzer fire of the 884th Field Artillery-drove the enemy back. The vital Schlossberg position remained in American hands.

Supported by the 274th's 3rd Battalion, the 276th assault in Forbach began late the same afternoon, February 19. The road from Saarbruecken to Forbach, the Metz Highway, was to be interdicted by attack aircraft. The 276th's 1st Battalion and elements of the 3rd B n. 274th were the first units to penetrate into the city in

its southeast section. The enemy opened up with machine-gun and artillery fire on the advancing skirmishers after they had penetrated through the first two blocks. When the advance was thus slowed, 3rd Bn, 276th less Co. 1, descended from the Kleinwaeldchen and joined in the house-to-house fighting. The attack continued until shortly after nightfall.

In its "Report of Operations" for February 19, the Seventh Army G-3 staff evidently found nothing noteworthy in 274th activities. However, there was a dramatic event involving the regimental commander that day. Reconnoitering the heavily wooded, rough terrain on Kreutzberg Ridge, Col. Sam Conley and his party including Maj. Buford Boyd, 2nd Bn. CO, came fact to face with a trench full of enemy infantry. Conley and his party seemed trapped when the enemy opened fire. But then the colonel made a run for it to get help and got out amid a hail of enemy automatic weapons. Lt. Fred Cassidy was with one of his Co. G rifle platoons when it received a radio message of the command group's predicament. Running forward to investigate, Cassidy ran into Conley going the opposite way. After a brief discussion, Cassidy fetched the same platoon, found a supporting tank, climbed on its back, and directed his ad hoc task force through tangled woods, over barbed wire and to the rescue. After a brief, hot fight 50 Kraut prisoners were taken.

DAYBREAK on February 20 was attended by drizzling rain and fog, restricting tank movement to roads and making displacement of artillery difficult. The 70th Reconnaissance Troop in its patrolling concentrated on the eastern flank, where the advance of the adjacent 63rd Division had lagged behind that of the 275th Infantry across the Sarre River. The 275th's 1st and 2nd battalions advanced rapidly against light resistance, capturing the villages of Zinzing, Hesseling, and Alsting.

T/Sgt. Rorabaugh: "After Alsting was cleared on the 20th, we immediately pushed on into the woods beyond and ran into stiff resistance. We cleared out some pillboxes and took some prisoners. Among them was a medic wearing a white over-vest with its big red cross. He did a great job administering first aid to wounded men from both sides. I remember a German officer had been shot between the eyes while looking through his binoculars. We used the fit prisoners as litter bearers."

Sgt. Lee Miller, Co. D, 275th: "We had a fine gun position south of Zinzing. On the first night of preparing it we had to lie in snow as we filled sandbags; then before dawn we put the bags in the hole we'd excavated and camouflaged everything with snow before withdrawing. After a couple of nights working like this we had a bunker with a 4"-by-4" timber roof covered by several layers of frozen dirt. The day before the jump-off the weather thawed, and the bags sagged under the weight of the roof, making our position unusable. We had to rebuild the whole thing."

After a small counterattack east of Zinzing was dispersed, the two 275th battalions fanned out into the wooded areas to the north and east. However, on their left the 3rd Battalion's attempts to drive the enemy off the height Pfaffenberg were initially unsuccessful.

Co. I, 275th "Record of Events": "In the afternoon the Company attacked the high ground north of Etzling and took it with fixed bayonets. Casualties were not so light due to our own artillery and enemy mortars, artillery, and snipers. After digging in at a position looking down the throats of enemy in Spicheren, the Company threw back a counterattack. Our artillery continues to give the Heinies hell. S/Sgt. Fulcher was killed and 12 wounded were evacuated. Three men were wounded but not evacuated. " (Note: There is a striking difference in the two preceding accounts of the same action-a not unusual discrepancy in wartime records.)

Lt. Ted Heck: "A few days before, I had taken a flight over the front lines in a Divarry liaison plane-part of a program to familiarize S-2 personnel with the terrain and front-line troop dispositions. On the day of the attack on Pfaffenberg, I suggested to my battalion commander that I again fly over the action and radio down information on enemy troop deployments affecting the Battalion's assault. Given the okay, I and my pilot were drawing fire a thousand feet above the action when the assault began. Our pinpointing of enemy strongpoints was given credit in the success of the attack and for the lightness of casualties taken. "

Lt. Lawrence DuBose, Co. L, 275th: "The Company's advance took it across several trenches and a tank-trap ditch. There was some 88 shelling but no one was hit. Unfortunately we became involved in a firefight in the wet and fog with our K company; Sgt Bridges was seriously wounded and several others received flesh wounds. Except for getting wet, nothing was accomplished, and we withdrew to Etzling in the afternoon. (Note: DuBose's recollection of the clash between two friendly companies is more consistent with G-3 account of the 3rd Bn assault on Pfaffenberg.)

In Forbach the slow, systematic reduction of the city continued. Assaulting troops of the 1st and 3rd Battalions, 276th Infantry, advanced along the streets toward the railroad on the northwestern edge of town forcing the enemy back house by house and block by block. When the enemy was forced to abandon any defensive position, his artillery and mortars pounded the area just given up heavily with mortars and artillery.

At this time the German 347th Infantry Division forces defending Forbach were receiving local Volkssturm replacements and an additional 300 infantrymen from the 719th Infantry Division, which was defending a nearby sector against the American Third Army.

"70th Division Story": "The Simon Mine and Factory at Forbach was surrounded by a deep anti-tank ditch and a 7 -foot wall surmounted with iron spikes laced with barbed wire. In a charge to penetrate the compound by a 3rd Battalion rifle platoon, only one man reached the wall. Crawling through a hole, he was advancing beyond the wall when he was hit. S/Sgt. Joseph Kohn, a medic with the platoon, saw the man fall. Kohn advanced through enemy fire across the open ground and through the wall to reach the man and carry him to safety. Kohn was awarded the Silver Star and received a battlefield commission."

Silver Star citation for Pfc. Willie J. Daigle, Co. E, 276th: "As the scout for the squad spearheading an attack on strong enemy positions, Sergeant (then Pfc.) Daigle skillfully maneuvered under enemy fire and cut through three rows of barbed wire entanglements to open gaps through which the assault teams gained entrance to Forbach. Later he deliberately exposed himself to engage an enemy sniper in a firefight to enable medics in crossing a street exposed to the sniper's fire and in evacuating several casualties from there."

Meanwhile, 274th units operating just east of Forbach worked their way to within a short distance of the Forbach-Sarrbruecken road (Metz Highway) and other 274th troops swept northeast to high ground between Spicheren and Stiring Wendel. Spicheren Heights north of Spicheren was to become an area of particularly bitter German resistance.

THE 70TH DIVISION Operations Instruction No. 7 directing the actions to be taken by its three regiments on Feb. 21 stated in part: "274th Inf-Continue attack early morning of 21 Feb 1945. Capture SPICHEREN. Seize remainder of initial regimental objective. Be prepared to resume attack NW. I Co and 1/2 M Co 275 Inf revert control 275 Inf after capture SPICHEREN. 275 Inf-Continue to push attack and seize final objective. 276 Inf-Resume attack at daylight and drive enemy from FORBACH. Be prepared to resume attack NW. " At 6:30 that morning the Division G-3 reported to G-3, XV Corps the 70th's current rifle company positions (see map). Unreported were the positions of Co. K, 274th, Co. I 275th (detached), and Co. G, 276th (detached).

The weather cleared that morning. Pressure applied by the 274th Infantry from positions north and northwest of Spicheren presently drove the enemy garrison from the village.

Co. I, 275th, "Record of Events." I Company continues to hold positions overlooking Spicheren while intermittent sniper fire is exchanged and our mortars and artillery pound the enemy unmercifully. About 1400, 1st Lt. Donahue takes a 6-man patrol into Spicheren and takes the town over, capturing about 25 prisoners. Then 274th troops move in, but we damn well know who took Spicheren. " (Note: Co. I, 275th was attached to the 274th at this time; regardless of what company's men took Spicheren, it was officially the 274th's booty!)

On a cold morning 1st Lt. John J. Passanisi and Pvt. Paul F. Walker were on a mission in Spicheren to remove wounded. Walking down the main street, they were narrowly missed by an incoming 88 shell which impacted only 10 feet away but failed to detonate. However, Walker's escape was only temporary, and he was killed on March 15 while going to aid a wounded Co. A, 274th rifleman near Forbach.

Further east the 1st Battalion of the 275th advanced northward along the Saar and occupied the wooded high ground overlooking the eastern part of Saarbruecken. However, two strong enemy counterattacks forced forward elements back over a half mile to the middle of the woods (Stiftswald). The enemy drive was finally halted by the combined firing of infantry, artillery, tanks and tank destroyers.

Pvt. W. W. Johnson had been assigned as a replacement to Co. A, 275th only a couple of days before he accompanied his rifle platoon in the two-battalion advance beyond Zinzing. The platoon had been pinned down in a firefight in the initial advance, and after nightfall the platoon sergeant discovered that "Johnny," the bazooka-man, for whom Johnson was ammo bearer, had left his bazooka far behind where the platoon had been pinned down. After chewing out Johnny, the sergeant instructed Johnson to leave the now useless bazooka rounds behind as the platoon continued its advance in the darkness through thick woods toward its objective-an enemy bunker.

The next morning, Feb. 21, an assault team from the platoon advanced on the objective, Johnson being left behind in a foxhole to cover one flank of the attacking group. The attack quickly ran into heavy resistance, and Johnson then engaged an enemy tank-infantry force threatening to encircle the assault team.

Wounded several times in what turned out to be a full-scale enemy counterattack, Johnson was captured and treated by an enemy medic. He was liberated when the 1st Battalion advanced again after blunting the German thrust. While being evacuated to the rear, Johnson recognized two of his litter bearers as Ray Ireland and Sam Ganns, with whom he had taken basic training a few short months before and whom he had last seen in the replacement depot just before being assigned to the 275th. Ireland, Ganns, and Johnny are the only names Johnson remembers from his brief experience with his infantry regiment.

FROM SILVER STAR CITATION, Pvt. William B. Trotter--Co. B, 275th: "On 21 February at 1600 hours in the vicinity of Saarbruecken, a counterattacking enemy force threatened to overrun his company's position. Pvt. Trotter rushed forward alone in the face of intense machine gun and small arms fire to halt the German drive. Firing short bursts from his automatic rifle, Trotter advanced to within 15 yards of the enemy group, killing four and capturing eight Germans. "

On the left of the 1st Battalion, the 275th 3rd Battalion also advanced up the slope toward the final objective. It too found the going difficult.

Co. K, 275th "Kings Men": "Again on the 21st, the company moved out in the attack along the ridge to the right flank. Overcoming fierce enemy resistence, we were able to take the high ground beyond the town (Spicheren?). The strain of four days continuous attack was bringing men to the verge of exhaustion. T/4 Buncic received a wound but refused to go back to the aid station for treatment. Then he was killed by shellfire in the Pfaffenwald; the time was 1500. Pfc.s Labie, Hein, Mitchell, Delarcipiet, Moore, Deamicis, Pettit, Meinike, Mureeler, and Ammons and Sgt. Wood were wounded and evacuated that day."

T/Sgt. Richard Becker, Co. L. 275th, recalls: "Leading the battalion's attack, L Company took 39 casualties, including the company commander and two other officers, when it was hit by three counterattacking assault guns supported by infantry. A captured German NCO who spoke good English was deceived into believing he could be sent to prison camp in Texas if his captors were pleased with him. Accordingly, he revealed that the company position would be hit that evening by a 300-man force.

The Bn S-3, Capt. Garnet Oliver, arrived to take over the company and immediately moved what was left of the unit-about 50 men-to new positions. Then Oliver, taking the place of the missing artillery FO, plotted defensive fires to include the company's position just abandoned and zeroed it in. Sure enough, the enemy attack came just after dark, just as predicted. It was stopped cold and the attacking force was badly mauled by a thunderous time-on-target barrage."

The 3rd Bn. commander, Maj. John M. Duffie, was captured with two accompanying NCO's on February 21. While reconnoitering out in front of the battalion, the small party was surprised by the sudden enemy counterattack. After the war Duffie recalled that his German captors were anxious to find out what had happened to Task Force Herren, which had suddenly disappeared from the American order of battle. (It was now the 70th, again.)

Lt. Lawrence DuBose, Co. L, 275th, recounts: "We started our advance well before dawn on a pitch-black night in which you had to keep close enough to touch the man ahead in order to maintain contact. At dawn we captured several Germans who surrendered readily. Then we ran into an SP 88 and after a 'staredown' during which it fired one shot at us, it withdrew.

Moving through some woods, I took a rifle bullet in the stomach, and a medic gave me some morphine tablets to chew on-but no water. Sgt. Rankin picked up my maps and ammo saying I wouldn't need them anymore. Then the company was withdrawn, and I was left with my runner, Vernon Medford, and a German prisoner. After a time, two men from the company on our left came up, and these two, plus Medford and the prisoner, got me back to the aid station on an improvised litter. They were joined by one of my men, Murray, who insisted on seeing that I got back to the aid station. "

FROM THE OTHER SIDE of the battle, a German 347th Infantry Division monograph reported: "The American attack succeeded in penetrating our positions north of Spicheren and in occupying Hill 341 (Gifertwald). Immediate counterattacks by elements of the 36th Infantry succeeded in recovering only the north and northeast slopes of Hill 341. Similarly, the 6th SS Mountain Division's Reconnaissance Battalion, attached to the 347th Division, counterattacked toward the high ground one kilometer north of Spicheren, but could reach and hold only the northern slope. However, the following night (February 22) this battalion was withdrawn and reverted to its own division."

The brief appearance here by an element of an earlier Vosges Mountains adversary of Task Force Herren, the 6th SS Mountain, seems not to have been detected by our intelligence-it is not found in the 70th G-2 lists of enemy units in contact.

The situation at nightfall on the 21st: The 276th had advanced its positions to control the southeast third of Forbach; the 274th had established two roadblocks on the ForbachSaarbruecken road (Metz Highway) northeast of Forbach; and the 275th had regrouped its forces on the lower slopes of its final objective. The count of POW's taken that day was 249, 100 of them having been taken in Forbach. During the night enemy shelling, mainly 88mm and 105mm caliber, was continuous.

Sgt. Ray Mienheartt, Co. E, 276th was in a foxhole on the side of the hill under the tower in Forbach. From this position he could see well into the city, looking past the cave serving as the Co. E command post. In the early morning he heard the sound of hobnailed boots coming down at the foot of the hill and soon caught sight of a man in the moonlight. Too far away to challenge, Mienheartt took aim with his carbine but held his fire, hoping that someone closer would take the booted man prisoner. Then he realized that the man in his sights had turned and was withdrawing. Reluctantly, Mienheartt started to squeeze the trigger when he heard the welcome "Halt!" Later he learned that the man he had come so close to shooting was a Russian who had escaped from a slave-labor camp intent on warning the Americans of the camp location.

Walter C. Cox, Co. E, 274th, remembers that on the drive into Stiring Wendel his company and Co. C under Ist Lt. George Blanchard, formed a perimeter defense near the Metz Highway to consolidate the ground gained after a long day of exhausting fighting. A short time later Cox was awakened at the combined CP for the two companies by a messenger who informed him that everyone was asleep. Everyone was quickly awakened and thanks were given that the Krauts hadn't found out the situation in the perimeter before the messenger did.

"Snow, Ridges and Pillboxes": On the 21st, I Company was pushed forward from reserve to establish an outpost on the edge of Stiring Wendel and took several casualties, all wounded, to mortar fire during the approach march. Taken under automatic weapons fire by the enemy, the company continued its advance by fire and movement and the objective was taken. Firing positions were found from which to meet any enemy counteraction.

Presently a German soldier was spotted approaching and was nearly fired on before being recognized as a medic. In his approach he checked several Kraut bodies, continuing on after each check apparently convinced him that the man was dead. Having checked the last body before coming to Co. I-held buildings, the medic gave himself up.

On Feb. 22, the enemy defense of Forbach remained active. Much of the defense was conducted from strong points, many of them automatic weapons emplacements in fortified basements. The German defenders fought tenaciously and surrendered only when their position became surrounded. At 11:30 that morning the 276th's S-3 was on the telephone speaking to a Division G-3 staff officer about the regiment's progress: "E Co. is moving into Blocks `K' and `M.' L Co. is half way through Block `10' and running into heavy MG, small arms and bazooka fire. K Co. is in Block `I l' and is running into automatic and rifle fire. K Co. and L Co. are maneuvering with tanks. A Co. is at Phase Line 'I.' C Co. and F Co.-no change, (they are) moving across Phase Line 'I' under heavy artillery fire and direct fire from tanks. I Co. is in battalion reserve and is maintaining contact between E and L companies. We are hitting the counterattack assembly area with artillery."

N THE AFTERNOON, attack aircraft of the XII Tactical Air Command supported the 276th Infantry's advance by bombing and strafing the enemy-held part of town. At the end of the day, the regiment paused to consolidate its gains and reorganize. In its advance the 276th had reached the railroad embankment which cuts through the northern end of the town.

"70th Division Story": Sgt. William P. Henry, Co. F, 276th was posthumously awarded the Silver and Bronze Star medals. The Silver Star was awarded for his clearing of houses beyond the Forbach underpass. Several days before he had gone alone into some houses and killed two Germans while capturing two others. Later, he worked his way through an enemy-held section of Forbach to reestablish contact with his squad, also engaged in house-clearing.

In the Division center the 274th took an important enemy defensive complex with pillboxes and bunkers between Spicheren and Stiring Wendel. At 10:52 a.m. the 274th's S-3 Sergeant, Shultz, reported to G-3 on the attack's progress: "1st Bn. moving forward slowly. (We have) no positions yet. 2nd Bn is moving up on the initial objective where the finger of the (Spicheren-Stiring Wendel) road goes up about three-quarters of the way. They received some bursts of enemy artillery there this morning. Pretty bad. A few casualties. I can't give you a position of 1st Bn. because our line is out to them." Schultz then provided the coordinates of 1st Bn.'s last known location about 500 yards northwest of Spicheren. From there the Regiment confronted Spicheren Heights.

Co. C, 275th "Bulletin," (April '45): The German counterattack hit C Company positions, and an advancing tank threatened to break through. From his foxhole, Pvt. Sampson J. Stephens moved toward it with a bazooka and, from a range of 15 yards, disabled it with his first round. Stephens continued to fight in this same aggressive fashion until he was killed on Feb. 25. He received the Division's first Distinguished Service Cross, posthumously.

Recollection of 2nd Lt. Harry Durkee, Co. C, 275th: "C Company continues that attack begun several days before at Alsting. Dusk begins to fall and Jerry tanks come through the forest. There's my bazooka man, but where is his ammunition? The precious bag was left behind in the confusion of the previous night! Jerry foot soldiers are right behind the tanks. Some hand-to-hand fighting ensues but most of our men are taken prisoner quickly in the unequal situation. Our few survivors remain where they have hidden while the enemy infantry and tanks with POW's riding pull back. Then we dig in, an understrength platoon-all that remains of C Company."

Recollection of Pfc. Hy Schorr, Co. H, 274th: "My MG section was set up on a sharp rise in a woods on Spicheren Heights. That night I was awakened by Pfc. Harold L. Ward whispering that he had detected movement to our front. He threw a grenade while I scanned to see what was happening. Spotting several figures, I fired and hit one. Then our MG's opened fire raking from left to right and we heard screams and groans. By early dawn we could see the ground to the front littered with wounded and dead Germans, one with a machine gun just a few yards away. Right after Ward left my hole to fetch more ammo, two shots cracked and he fell. I dragged him back to the foxhole and dressed his wounds, but he was too badly wounded to survive."

Still on February 22, The 275th, on the Division right, cleared the eastern two-thirds of its final objective and began preparing strong defensive positions there. That night a German attack with tanks was thrown back by doughboys using bazookas and rifle grenades.

THE DIVISION directive for operations beginning February 23 (Ops Ins No. 9): "274th Inf-Hold SPICHEREN GAP at all costs, assist the 275th Inf in the capture of GIFERTWALD woods, be prepared to attack STIRING WENDEL on order; 275th InfDrive enemy from GIFTERWALD, organize and defend final objective. . . ." The order also directed the 276th to continue clearing Forbach. (Note: The Gifertwald blankets something more than half of Spicheren Heights from its eastern end.)

During the first hours of the 23rd, the Division G-3 office was, as usual, making telephone contacts with front-line units to keep up to date on the operations picture. The night had been fairly quiet. A report from the 274th noted that there had been the usual enemy vehicular traffic; word of it had been sent to the 882nd artillerymen, who fired on the road and called for additional shelling by another artillery battalion. The 276th reported that a friendly engineer party working on an anti-tank ditch had been fired on by a 276th rifle company. The riflemen had been in a remote area to maintain contact with the 101st Cavalry Group, on the Division left flank. The engineer party had entered the area and gone to work without notifying the rifle unit of their presence.

Then the G-3 received word from the 275th that a POW captured that night had said an enemy attack would hit in the regiment's sector in the morning. The warning would have been too late for Lee Miller whose Co.D HMG position was probably under attack while the German prisoner was predicting one in the same area to take place some hours later.

Lee Miller, Co.D, 275th, recollects: "The night of February 22-23 our position was in the woods, on the left side of a trail being covered by a 57mm. anti-tank gun. T/Sgt. Anthony P. Van de Wege was dug in a few feet away, and there were some riflemen to our right front. Then came a lot of shooting and hollering and a BAR-man came running back. He said the rest of his outfit had been wiped out by a tank and he was the only survivor. He was worried about being shot for desertion. A Kraut tank approached, firing its big gun, and our 57 bounced several rounds off before stopping the tank about 75 feet with a broken track. We heard a lot of talking in German-they seemed to be working on the track. " Ordered not to fire and give his gun position away, Miller was wounded after prolonged suspense when firing again broke out. An enemy soldier, seemingly scouting around, crawled right up to Miller's gun position and was shot by Van de Wege. Miller remembers that 2nd Lt. Robert McDaniel was killed at the anti-tank gun during its lengthy engagement with the enemy tank.

At 8:45 a. m. back at the Division operations center, G-3 was called by Capt. Severance, 275th S-3, who reported on the progress of his regiment's attack resumed that morning. "The situation on the right is the same stuff (enemy tanks) they beat off last night; they came back 15 minutes ago. We don't know what's happening right now." Major Brewer, the G-3 officer, asked: "Is that C Company they're hitting?" Severance: "They are hitting C Company again. The report doesn't say how many infantrymen. There are two tanks."

The next two personal accounts relate to a continuing action that started with one fight during the night of February 22 and then another the next day.

Pfc. Kern Dibble, Co. C, 275th remembers: "Attacking the hill above Saarbruecken after dark, the Company advanced up a path in single file, when shouting in German was heard. I yelled for everyone to get off the path and we hit the ground just as an enemy gun opened fire at close range. I called for ammo for my LMG; getting no response, I crawled around feeling ahead of me and found my ammo bearer, Bill Ho, dead. He was a recent replacement."

2nd Lt. Harry Durkee, Co. C, 275th, adds to the account:

"The enemy seemed to be pulling back, and C Company was ordered to press forward to reestablish contact. The Jerries apparently allowed us to march through their line then opened fire once we were behind them. The night fighting was much confusion and we took still more casualties. Into daylight we kept going. I recall being hesitant about our route; then I saw Major Malloy, our new battalion CO, and he pushed me on. Bless his courage and confidence! I was in need of that at the time, especially amid the falling artillery. I forgave his impoliteness due to the circumstances."

It had been still dark, at 6:45 a.m., when the G-3's office received the first report of action. Pvt. Murphy, of the 276th S-3 staff, said that Co. F (on the right flank of the solid regimental front) had jumped off to resume the attack in Forbach 40 minutes before. At 7:50, Capt. Severance, 275th S-3, reported that his 3rd Battalion had jumped off in its attack at "0740." Asked by the G-3 officer the direction taken by the attacking battalion, Severance responded tartly: "It is the one way to go and that is north and northwest." Then at 8:15, the 274th's Lt. Stolz reported: "1st Battalion, 274th established contact with the 3rd Battalion, 275th at 0803. They have the Jerries sacked up in a pocket in that vicinity, strength and coordinates unknown."

On the 70th Division's right, across the Saar River, the 63rd Division was planning to resume its northward attack as part of the Corps offensive the next day and was making preparations. Its G-3 called the 70th G-3 office to say that he had reports of much enemy activity in Buebingen, a town in the path of the 63rd's intended attack. He wanted to call for an air strike against the town. Since the proposed target town was adjacent to the 70th sector, he asked about objections to the strike. After checking with the 275th, Major Brewer called the 63rd back and indicated there were no objections, asking only to be advised of the air strike's timing.

THE DAY BEFORE, a gap of some 600 yards had developed between the 274th and 275th in Gifertwald. As the 274th's A and F companies had advanced in an oblique movement northeastward, they crossed into the 275th's sector. Meanwhile the 275th's 3rd Battalion's westward advance to meet with the 274th had been blocked by an enemy-defended antitank ditch and terrain obstacles, and this left the western part of the 275th's objective still in enemy hands. A large pocket of enemy troops had been discovered in the gap, and a pinching-together of the two regiments' forces had almost, but not entirely, closed the gap, the 274th troops taking about 100 prisoners in the process.

From "Snow, Ridges and Pillboxes": The 1st Bn. attack on Spicheren Heights went off on schedule, and Lt. Davis' Fox Company (attached) surprised an enemy battalion as it was deploying for a counterblow and captured or killed nearly the entire outfit. Then the going got rough. Sgt. Ramon Fajardo said: ''We pushed forward in the face of heavy machine-gun and artillery fire. Pfc. Donald Eberle was hit by shell fragments but refused to go to the rear. He kept advancing, firing his bazooka at enemy emplacements. He hadn't gone far when another round came in. It was a direct hit, and he was blown to bits. At about the same time, P/c. Don Huskey was killed by machine-gun fire. Then Sgts. Jim Wright and Charles Dempsey were wounded by shrapnel. Casualties were heavy, but we drove steadily onward."

The progress of this attack on the Gifertwald had been closely watched by Gen. Herren as he kept pace with the 274th's advance and periodically contacted his operations center giving it instructions to be passed to the 275th on the other side of the gap.

On the morning of the 23rd, Col. Conley was already concerned about the possibility of having to leave his 274th assault (A and F) companies holding Spicheren Heights when he undertook his next orders-to take Stiring Wendel. He had the impression that the 275th expected the 274th would continue to hold what it had taken of the Gifertwald until further notice, and he had obtained the same view from Gen. Barnett. Conley called up the G-3 staff and expressed his concerns.

However, the pocket of enemy resistance in the Gifertwald gap still remained to be completely subdued; this continued to preoccupy the 274th and 275th rifle companies that were dealing with the problem. Nevertheless, the subject of the relief of 274th troops in the Gifertwald kept recurring in G-3 telephone contacts with the 274th and 275th until the afternoon. Then the Germans made several counterattacks in the Gifeerwald area, some tank-supported. Staff officers of both regiments called G-3. One asked about obtaining self-propelled tank destroyers, large enough to kill German Mark VI "Tiger" tanks, which had been identified in the counterattacks. The other asked about obtaining a company of tanks to fight the German armor with. G-3 responded that the TD's couldn't be obtained for a week but was able to arrange quickly for the requested tanks. Late in the afternoon, the question of relief of 274th companies in the Gifertwald was settled when Col. Townsend, the G-3, notified both regiments as follows: "The Division Commander directs that those elements of the 274th Infantry now in the 275th area will remain there until relieved on the Division Commander's order." As for the pocket of enemy in the Gifertwald, the last mention of this was at 5:10 p.m. when Gen. Rodes called in and asked G-3's Maj. Bremer: " Well, has it been a bad day or a good one? Did they ever close the gap?" Bremer: "Yes, sir. They did. But (enemy) armor keeps infiltrating up there."

Over on the left there had been no report on the progress of the 276th attack since jumping off. Then, at noon, Sgt. Yandell of the S-3 section reported that most of the Regiment was holding along Phase Line 2 (the railroad tracks in Forbach) while it mopped up pockets of resistance bypassed earlier. Meanwhile, Co. F on the right flank had advanced northeast to reach the regimental boundary. Resistance was described (incompletely, it seems) as sniping and machine-gun fire.

Ray Mienheartt, Co. E, 276th remembers that Phil Goan, Sgt. Casey Gondek, and he were moving along a wall across the street from a large church in Forbach when another volley of Nebelwerfer "screaming meemies" loudly sounded their approach. Mienheartt looked up and spotted what looked like a GI steel helmet coming in over the church and yelled a warning a split second before the projectile bounced off the top of the wall right above Gondek and exploded. Gondek was buried under masonry from the wall, and his two shaken companions hastily cleared huge chunks of rock to free him and load him in a medical jeep which arrived. A viewing afterward of the debris he and Goan had moved to uncover Gondek caused Mienheartt to marvel at the superhuman task they had performed. The sergeant was back on the job in a few days.

Forbach Falls 1945

ON MARCH 1, the three regiments were disposed with the 276th 3rd and 1st battalions approaching the railroad embankment in the northwest corner of Forbach, Co. G in regimental reserve and Cos. E and F still attached to the 274th. In the center, the 274th had its 3rd and 2nd battalions on the south edge of Stiring-Wendel; 1st Battalion was on the right, and Co. E and Cos. E and F/276th were in reserve. The 275th had its 3rd battalion and Co. A/274 on the left in the Gifertwald, 1st battalion on the right front in the Pfaffenwald, and 2nd battalion covering the Division's right flank along the Saar River.

Immediate tasks were: 276th-complete the clearing of Forbach; 274th-take StiringWendel; 275th-defend its portion of the Division objective.

Lawrence Southard, Co. G, 275th recollects: "Gen. Herren paid a surprise visit to G Cos. forward positions early one morning, walking up toward the crest of the high ground a few yards below which the foxholes of Lt. Paul McCoy's platoon were located. Near one of the foxholes, he stood looking down on the Siegfried Line. The occupant looked around and, seeing him, blurted out, 'Get down, you SOB, don't you know there are snipers out there!' Hitting the ground, the general crawled to the foxhole, thanked the soldier, and then disappeared, crawling back to the rear."

The enemy deployed a mixture of 347th VGD and 559th VGD elements against each of the regiments and held in reserve an odd collection of units, including the Assault Bn of First Army HQ. Battle Group of Zweibruecken Volksturm, 67th Mtn Rcn Bn, and 17th SS PGD Assault Gun Bn. Among the units identified by the 70th Div G-2 as being possibly available for commitment was the 6th SS Mtn Div, out of contact after last being identified in the nearby Bitche area.

The journal of Division G-2 records: "Four Yugoslav civilians who left Stiring-Wendel on March 1 were detained and interrogated by the IPW team. They reported seeing only seven German soldiers there and that civilian residents were complaining about U.S. artillery shooting up their town already abandoned by nearly all German forces." In view of the hard fighting that the 274th later encountered in Stiring-Wendel, it seems that this report could have resulted from an intentional deception.

The first two days of March were spent reorganizing, regrouping and patrolling. On the 2nd, in the only action noted for that day in the 70th Division Narrative History, E/276 dispersed enemy combat patrols which had attacked it near Kreutzberg Ridge in what turned out to be a farewell ceremony marking the end of its attachment to the 274th. Shortly, Co. E returned to its own regiment. Otherwise, enemy action was confined to sporadic mortar and artillery fire.

For the resumption of the attack on March 3, the Divarty field order indicated where enemy resistance was expected to be toughest. The 882nd, 883rd, and 884th were to provide direct support of their normal combat-team partner regiment; the 725th FA Bn was to reinforce the 882nd's fire support of the 274th's attack into Stiring-Wendel.

Recollections of Andy Davenport, C/882 FA: "Lt. Howard Peck was forward observer of a team including 'Red' Turner, radio operator, and Davenport as scout corporal. The morning of the attack into Stiring-Wendel, the team set up its OP in the woods overlooking the town. A telephone wire was run up the hill and the radio and the telephone remote control were placed in a two-man foxhole. Before 274th's attack, a Kraut counterattack started, and Peck requested fire on the enemy. However, due to the steep terrain, the incoming shells with their proximity fuses began going off right over Turner's and Davenport's foxhole. When we got our guns to ceasefire, we could hear Kraut skirmishers coming, firing short bursts to draw fire. We got out of there fast."

In the 276th's attack, the assault companies were I, K, A, C and an attached company of the French Lorraine Division. Their advance quickly covered all untaken ground before the railroad embankment and continued, on the left, along the roads from Forbach to the west, northwest and north. However, the underpass of the road to Im Bruch was a problem. Mines in the underpass and heavy enemy fire blocked Co. K and Co. A behind it, several supporting tanks being lost to the mines there. On the right, Co. C and the French company crossed the tracks but were halted by enemy resistance from the Nord Caserne. At dusk the 3rd Battalion advance to the west approached Marienau.

The G-2 journal says: "According to their major in charge, the French infantry attached to the 276th were under orders to send POW's to the French POW facility in Metz and not turn them over to 70th. He at last agreed to Division's questioning their POW's while under French guard but they were not to be evacuated in U.S. channels. One of their POW's was thought to have information on gun positions at the Simon Mine."

This complication with the French Ally was not isolated. Capt. Fred Cassidy recalls 274th orders not to use attached French troops in any combat action. In Stiring-Wendel they were used to handle the Allied POW's that flocked into that town.

AGAINST STIRING-WENDEL, the 274th advanced from Kreutzberg Ridge and Sangenwald, with 3rd, 2nd, and Ist battalions abreast. Less resistance was encountered in wooded approaches than through open areas or along roads and trails, stubbornly covered by enemy MG fire; during the day, mortar and artillery fire ranged from moderate to heavy. By late afternoon, 2nd Bn was fighting inside Stiring-Wendel, the other two battalions having taken Sophie to the south and reached the Metz Highway to the east of that town. From its sector, 275th fire supported the advance of the 274th.

Hy Schorr H/274, recollects: Advancing through the woods, his HMG squad came under heavy shellfire. The gunner, Pfc William E. Beldon, was evacuated. Then squad leader Sgt. Harold W. Kline was hit in the thigh, and though protesting, was evacuated. That left Al Vargo and Schorr the only survivors of the squad.

Col. George Barten, 2nd Bn, 275, reported that the OP of 2nd Bn, 275 on the Division right flank, overlooked the Saar River and German positions across it, since the Battalion's advance had outstripped that of the 63rd Division by a half mile. The 63rd assistant division commander visited this OP to plan his division's attack and later to observe it. Barten was skeptical when he heard of the 63rd plan to spearhead its attack with tanks. Later he and 63rd's general watched the attack. "We looked right up the flank of the assaulting force. I observed flashes around our tanks and thought they were firing. I was wrong. Within minutes the five lead tanks were hit by German fire, and the attack halted." Like the 70th's, the 63rd's assault of well-defended ridges rimming the German border was costly - it took two days of hard fighting for the 63rd to clear this objective.

On the 4th, the 276th jumped off at 9 a.m., the enemy resisting strongly, particularly at the underpass. The 2nd Battalion, brought up from reserve, advanced into Forbach Forest. Finally, blasting from Corps Artillery's big guns enabled Cos. K and A to advance beyond the underpass and approach the Nord Caserne. On the left Marienau was taken.

Supporting tanks finally got through the underpass and began blasting the German defenders from house after house. They were well protected by rifle fire from enemy attempts to fire Panzerfaust projectiles from windows. The slugging lasted all day, with the Germans grudgingly retreating to the northwest end of town. Just before dusk the 276th assault battalions pulled back to the embankment while an artillery barrage softened the enemy-held section, then advanced behind a rolling barrage to clear it.

THE 274TH ATTACKED at 6:30 a.m., the 1st Battalion entering the east end of Stiring-Wendel and 3rd Bn, the west side. The 2nd Bn reached the middle of town against resistance centering on elevating rotating pillboxes protected by mine fields and supported by continuous mortar and artillery fire. A low cloud ceiling hampered the attackers' use of air support.

On March 5 the clearing of Forbach was completed when 276th 1st Bn took Nord Caserne against light resistance. Reaching Im Bruch, 3rd Bn turned left and cleared the woods to the southwest. 2nd Bn's advance in Forbach Forest was stopped at the well defended embankment of a railroad spur line from the Simon Mine.

In Stiring-Wendel, 2nd Bn, 274 mopped up enemy strong points. In the early morning a mass of Allied POW's fleeing from their prison hospital was taken under fire by an enemy MG as they approached Stiring-Wendel along the Metz Highway - several were wounded. The 2nd Battalion spent the rest of the day feeding and providing for the evacuation of these men, mostly Russians, but also Czechs, Frenchmen, Poles and Yugoslavs. 3rd Battalion cleared Neue Glashutte on the Metz Highway, west of Stiring-Wendel.

S/Sgt. Malcolm Ruthven, C1274, wounded in the face as he directed his men in the mopping-up, just pitched a grenade into the cellar where the shot came from. That ended resistance there. After receiving medical treatment, Ruthven, peered with one eye from under the bulky bandage and commented to a companion: "Even with one eve, you still look uglier than me."

The 274th's Sgt. Martin Sviger, who spoke Yugoslav and French, was the busiest man in Stiring-Wendel. The newly liberated POW's were anxious to hear about news of the war. A Russian officer, just given a hasty briefing by Sviger, jumped on a packing case and relayed the news of victory after victory on both Western and Eastern fronts, each one greeted by loud cheers from his countrymen.

Early March 6, enemy infiltrating patrols got behind F/276 and cut if off, but prompt counteraction by Cos. E and G effected its relief. Enemy armor appeared and the fighting raged on until 12:30 p.m., when the 2nd Battalion's front opposed to the railroad embankment was finally restored. Meanwhile the 3rd Battalion moved up and extended the 2nd Battalion's front to the west. The 1st Battalion advanced further west in Forbach Forest against light resistance. After repelling enemy counterattacks in the late afternoon, the Regiment withdrew several hundred yards and dug in.

Capt. Roger L. Conarty halted his Co. L, 276th advance and crawled forward to scout the railroad embankment. When he returned to his company he radioed to Battalion his judgment that the embankment could not be taken. Soon the Regimental Commander called on the radio and, receiving the same report from Conarty, ordered him to advance his company or face court martial. Conarty respectfully refused, and the advance was postponed. The next morning the assistant division commander and regimental commander visited the Co. L position. After they reconnoitered and conferred, they ordered Conarty to keep his company where it was.

At 6:30 a.m. 3rd Bn, 274 with tank support attacked the Simon Mine and factory west of Stiring-Wendel and penetrated the minefield. It withdrew after testing the defenses and finding them formidable and in need of softening by bombardment.

LATE THAT NIGHT Division arranged for the bombing and shelling of enemy defenses opposing the 276th Regiment and 274th's 3rd Bn after these elements had been withdrawn. This was to be followed closely by the new advance of these units. However, the persisting low ceiling on March 7 prevented the aerial bombardment while the artillery concentrations fired were judged to be insufficient preparation for the infantry assault, which was postponed.

According to the G-3 journal: "Divarty fired a TOT concentration on enemy strong points. In the late afternoon a concentration was fired on the Simon Mine complex. During the day 73 missions were fired - a total of 901 rounds. "

A conference among corps, division, and concerned regimental commanders concluded that the infantry units which had been pulled back should hold their positions until intensive reconnaissance had been made of the enemy defenses. Orders were: Dig in. So the 70th Div reverted to the defensive by Corps order.

For several days there was a lull in the action. In a re-disposition, 276th 3rd Bn, 274th 2nd Bn and 275th Cos. I and A were withdrawn from the line and sent to locations in the rear (sec map). The 883rd FA experimented with flamethrower fluid as a filler for 105mm shells with unsatisfactory results. Division Artillery fired many successful missions.

A Mark VI Tiger tank was destroyed by six rounds of 725th's howitzers. The 270th Engineers were busy clearing mine fields, constructing defenses, rebuilding roads, and searching buildings for unexploded bombs. An intensive search was made after a time bomb was discovered in the Nord Caserne, where troops of the 276th were located.