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Moving from assembly areas north of Homberg early the afternoon of the first of April, the 80th Division passed through elements of the 6th Armored Division and pushed north to the outskirts of Kassel.  The 318th Infantry assaulted the city from the south and west.  The 319th Infantry forced crossings of the Fulda River and assaulted the city from the south and southeast.  Bitter resistance was met at the outskirts of the city, from dug-in infantry supported by high velocity direct-fire weapons and heavy tanks.  By the fourth of April, the 318th Infantry had penetrated to the center of the city and the Garrison Commander, General Erxleben, surrendered the city, with the remnants of the garrison.

The division then faced to the east and early the morning of the fifth of April, attacked to the east.  At noon of the fifth, the attack of the 80th Division was halted on order from higher headquarters and the 69th Infantry Division passed through our advanced elements, to continue the attack to the east.  The 80th division moved into assembly areas prepared for movement to the southeast.

1 April, 317th Infantry moved by motor to a forward assembly area in the vicinity of Maden, in Division Reserve. 318th Infantry: 1st Battalion passed through elements of the 6th Armored Division and attacked towards Kassel.  The axis of advance was along the main highway from the South and good progress was made, carrying the 1st Battalion to within three miles from the outskirts of the city.  The 2nd Battalion attacked north on the left of 1st Battalion to assault the city from the south and west and reached Altenritte. The 3rd Battalion followed the advance of the 1st Battalion, in Regimental Reserve.  319th Infantry: 1st Battalion moved to a forward assembly area in the vicinity of Melgershausen and immediately attacked to the northeast, and seized a crossing of the Fulda River, south of Kassel.  At 6:45 P.M., the 1st Battalion had crossed the Fulda River and was attacking north, parallel to the Autobahn to assault Kassel form the south and east, and seize the portion of the city which lies east of the Fulda River.  The 2nd Battalion crossed the Fulda River southeast of the 1st Battalion and immediately attacked north on the right of the 1st Battalion.  The 3rd Battalion crossed the Fulda River at 10:00 P.M., in Regimental Reserve.

The 80th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop, on the west flank of the division, reconnoitered to the north and established contact with elements of the First U.S. Army."

Rocket-launcher Tanks Ready To Go Into Action

From the 702nd Tank Battalion A.G.O. records:

"Throughout the month of April, enemy attempts at resistance were marked by their continued feebleness [Author's note: The reader will note the difference in tone of the 80th Div., versus the 702nd's records.  It seems that the "Doughboys" had it a little rougher than the "Tankers". But then not many Germans would argue with the business end of a Sherman's guns, either.]  At only two periods was there any show of strength and by late in the month, our assault had lost its character, and the only proper description for operations engaged in by the battalion was 'road march'.

The cities of Kassel and Erfurt were the focal points of resistance and in the defense of the former, tanks were used in limited numbers. Flak units were the manpower basis for this defense.  But these fanatical sacrifice operations served to no value, for the miscellaneous grab-bag units crumbled before our organized assaults, after only a token-plus resistance.  The tanks which were used in the defense of Kassel, were the first that we had met in any number since leaving the area of Losheim.  The unit involved was the Panzer N.C.O. School, Eisenach, and originally had thirty-two tanks, divided into four companies of eight tanks each.  Companies 1, 2, and 3 had Mk. IV tanks while 4 was equipped with Mk. V's. At first Tiger II's were reported in the vicinity, but they were found to be dead tanks having been destroyed by their own crews.

No new or unusual weapons were used in the Battalion sector during the month.  Enemy military organization was in the last stages of degeneration.  The basic defense units were the CT's of company and battalion size, and KG's of regimental size.  In the case of Erfurt, three of these KG's were combined into a provisional division, named Division Feller. Convalescents, men on furlough, school troops, rear echelon men, stragglers and Volkssturm provided the personnel, although the last of these showed a marked tendency to head for home at the ping of the first shot.  Flak units filled both the functions of artillery and anti-tank weapons.  Infantry heavy weapons and regular field artillery were almost non-existent.

The attitude of the German soldier was one of complete abandonment to his fate.  He found his fate lay only in two directions, death or the P.W. camp, and with a little physical persuasion, generally chose the latter.  P.W. figures grew astronomically, and interrogation degenerated into a simple counting of those who passed through the tills of the IPW cage.  The German people were completely confused and confusing.  Many of them went out of their way to be hospitable to the conquering American, and overt acts by the civilians against our military forces were rare.  Whether this servile attitude on the part of the German people will continue, cannot be answered at the present time.