4TH INFANTRY DIVISION
FOR THE PERIOD 1 NOVEMBER - 30 NOVEMBER
HEADQUARTERS 8TH INFANTRY
APO 4
UNITED STATES ARMY.
17 November 1944
At 0800, the Regiment continued its advance in a column of Battalions against stiffening German resistance. The 2nd Battalion, leading the assault, came upon successive hostile positions consisting of barb wire entanglements behind which were dug in positions as close as ten yards and as far as 150 yards. From these points, the Germans delivered machine gun, mortar and small arms fires upon advancing 2nd Battalion troops which made quick progress impossible. Although repeated attempts were made to breach the concertina wire with bangalore torpedoes, heavy hostile fire made this impossible and again the 2nd Battalion was unable to continue forward. At 1015, the 1st Battalion prepared to attack to its immediate front or through the 2nd Battalion Sector. At 1400, the 1st Battalion, with one platoon of Tanks, moved along a fire break toward the 2nd Battalion Sector to break through the enemy concertina obstacles and advance upon the objective while the 2nd Battalion delivered small arms and mortar fires upon German troops opposing this segment of the line. A short time later, the 2nd Battalion withdrew Companies F and G to an assembly area for reorganization, which was badly needed as a result of heavy casualties inflicted by the enemy in the bitterly contested advance of the past two days. The 1st Battalion managed to breach one section of concertina wire but was halted by a fierce enemy counterattack driving up a draw (coordinate 020410) at the rear of Company A. After the counterattack was repulsed by small arms, mortar and artillery fires, the 1st Battalion established a defensive position for the night, in view of the fact that further advances into enemy territory would be impractical because of approaching darkness, bad weather and the character of the enemy defense. The 3rd Battalion had remained in the same position during the entire day and had been prepared to follow the 1st Battalion on orders. Extensive enemy minefields continued to block routes through the forest. The fact that they were covered by hostile fire made removal of the mines extremely difficult. Trees felled across trail and roads by the enemy which had been intended to impede the progress of our troops were also covered by German fire which made the work of the engineers detailed to remove them, very hazardous.
Co. I, 3rd Bn, 8th Inf. Rgt.,
crossing the Wehebach creek, at Joaswerk south of Schevenhütte. 11/18/44
18 November 1944
Elements of the 984th German Infantry Regiment and 156th Panzer Grenadier Regiment withdrew slowly to the northeast to prepared positions, using mortar, artillery and anti-personnel mines to cover the withdrawal. The Regiment was ordered to continue the attack in column of Battalions during the early morning.
The Regiment continued the attack in column of Battalions in the order of 1st, 3rd, and 2nd Battalions. The leading elements of the 1st Battalion advanced to a heavy concentration of concertina wire, which was covered by artillery, mortar and small arms fire, where they were held up until tanks could be brought forward with which the wire could be breached. Tanks were brought forward in an effort to breach the wire. One tank succeeded in breaching the wire, forged through, followed by a column of infantry. About 75 yards to the right of this column, another tank, attempting to breach the wire, encountered a minefield and was knocked out. In order to remove the mines from the path of the tanks, the 1st and 3rd squads of the Mines Platoon, Anti-Tank Company, were sent forward. Under extremely heavy artillery, mortar and small arms fire, the two squads swept a path approximately 400 yards in length, removing many mines, thereby enabling the entire battalion to continue the advance. 1st Battalion infantrymen deployed and continued to advance under cover of tank fire until a short time later when the tactical situation made it advisable to halt for the night and tie in with Company B which had come up from the rear. During the day the 3rd Battalion had prepared to shift two companies forward to support the 1st Battalion operation on call. The 2nd Battalion had continued its reorganization.
Pfc. Maurice Benzon, S.Sgt. Bernard Spurr, S.Sgt. Harold Lessler, 8th Inf. Rgt.
Northeast of Schevenhütte, November 18, 1944.
Source: National Archives (111-SC-196619)
19 November 1944
By the morning of the 19th, the exact location of the enemy front lines was not clearly defined. The Germans had shuffled their forces, concentrating them at strategic points which would improve their defense. The enemy's defense line consisted of two man fox holes with overhead cover and well cleared fields of fire, protected by concertina wire on all routes of approach. The 1st Battalion, leading the attack, commenced its forward movement at 0940, but was soon halted by heavy small arms, mortar and tank fire. The enemy fought a strong delaying action from well prepared positions, pinning down leading elements of the 1st Battalion and inflicting heavy casualties upon them. The 3rd Battalion, having moved forward at 0930 in a column of Companies, I, K, and L, advanced in de wake of the 1st Battalion until brought under heavy enemy fire. The Battalion Commander ordered Company I to dig in and engage this enemy force while Companies K and L turned south to seize a limited objective. Company K seized its objective at 1700, capturing 48 prisoners. Company L went forward to an advance position and prepared to hold the ground during hours of darkness. Interrogation of prisoners revealed that after being thrown into desperate fighting, during which severe casualties were suffered, many German nits had dwindled in number to a mere handful of men. They could only go on fighting until captured or killed. As the enemy stepped up the tenacity of his defense from hastily prepared positions, 4th Division combat engineers worked day and night removing mines and abitis, and constructing supply routes through the deep woods along the Regimental Axis of advance to the forward battalions in an effort to get needed supplies to the battalions.
20 November 1944
The Regiment was ordered to continue its attack at 1000. Elements of the German 984th Infantry Regiment, 156th Panzer Grenadier Regiment and 1058th Infantry Regiment, having reinforced their line, began to develop a new defensive position opposing the southern half of the 8th Infantry sector, offering strong resistance with heavy concentrations of mortar and artillery fires and impeding the advance of infantry with small arms and machine guns. The 1st Battalion, leading the assault, was pinned down by heavy enemy artillery, mortar and tank fires, which made it impossible for the leading company to go forward. The 2nd and 3rd Battalions commenced their advance at 1000. The 2nd Battalion encountered an anti-personnel minefield which halted the leading elements temporarily. However, this obstacle was soon by-passed and Companies E, F, and G continued their advance until halted by German defensive positions (at coordinates 026410, 026412, and 025407). Company K and Company L, ordered to advance south and make contact with the 22nd Infantry, were held up by heavy enemy artillery fire. The enemy, having received strong reinforcements, was now more than ever capable of a strong defense. A small number of enemy tanks available on this sector of the line, although somewhat restricted in movement by heavy woods, nevertheless, constituted a threat to the Regiment. Combat Engineers worked against time in the Regimental Sector to complete supply routes and remove obstacles which had allowed down and halted the infantry at many points.
